2 Dailing Gate Townhouses, Malvern: A 1977 Complex With an Outdoor Pool

2 Dailing Gate is one of the original townhouse condominiums of Malvern, the planned community that grew up in the 1970s in Scarborough’s northeast corner. It is a 76-home complex from 1977 with an outdoor pool, three-bedroom homes and an asking price that sits below most freehold options nearby. The catch is a monthly fee that is high for a townhouse, and that is where I’d start. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

One of Malvern’s first-generation condos

Malvern was planned as a model community of affordable housing on former farmland, and its first residents arrived in 1972. Townhouse condominiums like this one, registered in 1977, were part of that early build-out, and many of the original families stayed for decades.

The YCC prefix on the corporation number marks it as an older York Condominium Corporation, the numbering used across Metro Toronto before amalgamation. At almost 50 years old, this is a mature complex with a long operating history, which cuts both ways: you can see how the board has handled big repairs, and you can also see which ones are still coming.

With 76 homes, the corporation is mid-sized. That is enough owners to spread the cost of a pool and private roads, but small enough that a single large project, such as replacing roofs or windows across the complex, has a noticeable effect on each owner’s share.

The homes: three bedrooms and a front door

Condos.ca records these as ground-oriented townhomes, and both homes listed when I checked were three-bedroom plans. That layout is the reason most buyers come here: a family can get stairs, separate bedrooms and outdoor space for well under the price of a freehold house in Malvern.

Homes of this age vary a lot inside. Some will have new kitchens, updated bathrooms and finished basements; others will still have original windows and electrical panels. Walk through with that in mind and price the updates you would need into your offer.

Ask which exterior items belong to you and which belong to the corporation. In townhouse condominiums the declaration often makes the corporation responsible for roofs and exterior walls but leaves windows, doors, fences or patios with the owner. That split changes what a home really costs you over ten years.

One point buyers often miss: the corporation’s insurance covers the common elements and the structures defined in the declaration, not your contents or the improvements owners have made. Ask your broker for a unit-owner policy that matches what the declaration leaves to you, and check the deductible owners are expected to carry.

Why the fee needs a careful read

The two homes listed when I checked carried fees in a narrow range of about $1,048 to $1,054 a month. For a townhouse complex, that is on the high side, and it is the single number I would focus on before making an offer here.

I couldn’t find a published list of what the fee covers, so don’t assume water, cable or any utilities are included. Ask Royale Grande or the listing agent directly, and get the actual utility bills for the home you are buying.

A higher fee can be a good sign if it reflects a well-funded reserve and planned work, or a warning if it is catching up on deferred maintenance. The status certificate, the latest reserve fund study and recent board minutes will tell you which. Look at how fees have moved over the past five years as well.

Make your offer conditional on a review of the status certificate, and give yourself enough days to read it properly. It will show the current fee, the reserve fund balance, any special assessment the board has approved and the corporation’s insurance coverage, and it is the best single document for comparing one old townhouse complex against another.

Milner and Burrows Hall: the daily picture

The complex sits where Dailing Gate meets Burrows Hall Boulevard and Milner Avenue, a short walk from Progress Avenue and Sheppard Avenue East. Groceries are close: New Spiceland Supermarket and a Food Basics are both within about a kilometre, and Sheppard Mall and Malvern Town Centre are a short drive.

Centennial College’s Progress Campus is in the same part of the city, and the employment lands along Milner and Progress bring daytime traffic. Inside the complex, the internal roads keep through traffic away from the front doors.

Transit is the long-term story. The Line 2 subway extension is planned to end at Sheppard Avenue and McCowan Road, and the City’s proposed Eglinton East LRT would run along Sheppard Avenue East with a branch toward Malvern Town Centre. Neither has a firm opening date for this stretch, so treat them as future upside. The panel on this page shows the transit you can use today.

What homes here are asking

Two homes were listed for sale when I checked, asking between $489,900 and $499,900. For a three-bedroom home in Malvern, that is a meaningful discount to a freehold semi or detached house nearby, which is why these complexes stay in demand with first-time buyers.

Keep the fee in the same calculation. Roughly $1,050 a month in fees adds about $12,600 a year to your housing cost, so compare the total monthly cost here against a freehold townhouse with a higher price but no fee, not the purchase price alone.

The next-door complex at 100 Burrows Hall Boulevard Townhouses is the most natural comparison, since it is the same age and type. My building sold report shows aggregate sales for this address, and I can pull nearby townhouse sales if you want the full picture.

Building specifications

Amenities at 2 Dailing Gate Townhouses

The outdoor pool is the one shared amenity, which gives families a summer option without leaving the complex. There is no gym or party room, so the rest of the fee goes to the grounds, roads and building envelope.

Jatin’s honest take on 2 Dailing Gate Townhouses

2 Dailing Gate Townhouses — frequently asked questions

Looking at Scarborough Bluffs, West Hill, Guildwood, Woburn, Malvern and Rouge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.