20 Gilder Dr: Big 1975 Suites and an Indoor Pool Near Eglinton

20 Gilder Drive is one of the few places in Toronto where every suite is over 1,000 square feet and current asking prices sit below $500,000. It is a 1975 tower near Eglinton and Midland with an indoor pool and a fee that covers heat, hydro and cable. The space is real; the work is in checking what a 51-year-old building needs next. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A family-sized building

Suites recorded on condos.ca run from about 1,015 to 1,346 square feet, so even the smallest unit here is bigger than most new two-bedrooms. Three of the four suites for sale when I checked were three-bedrooms, which tells you what this building is mostly made of.

That makes 20 Gilder a family building in practice. Older plans of this size usually have a proper dining area, a separate kitchen and enough closet space that you are not renting a storage locker. Walk the plan before you assume any of that, because layouts and renovations vary.

At 99 suites over 13 storeys, it is mid-sized: big enough to spread repair costs, small enough that the board and the owners know the building.

Suites this size also change who your neighbours are. Large suites tend to attract buyers who plan to live in them rather than investors looking for small, easy-to-rent units. The panel on this page shows the owner and renter mix, and a walk through the lobby and hallways will tell you how the common areas are kept.

An indoor pool in a 1975 tower

Condos.ca lists an indoor pool, a sauna, a gym, a meeting room and a security system, along with an underground garage and visitor parking. An indoor pool is the standout. For families, it means swimming lessons and winter laps in the building.

Pools are also one of the more expensive things an older corporation maintains. The tank, the filtration and heating equipment, and the room itself, with its humidity and ventilation needs, all age. Look for the pool in the reserve fund study and ask when it was last renovated.

The developer is not named on condos.ca and I could not confirm one elsewhere. At this age, that matters far less than how the corporation has kept the building up since 1975.

What the fee covers, and what it doesn’t

Fees on the current listings ran from about $807 to $1,122 a month. The fee includes heat, hydro, cable TV, water, parking and building insurance, which means most owners have no separate electricity or heating bill.

Air conditioning is not on the condos.ca inclusion list for this building, unlike some of its neighbours. That may simply mean suites rely on owner-supplied units, or it may be a gap in the listing data. Ask how the suite is cooled, who owns the equipment and whether the building restricts window or through-wall units.

Because hydro is shared, every owner’s energy use lands in the common budget. Ask how the fee has moved in recent years and whether the board has looked at energy retrofits or submetering.

Parking is part of the fee, which is useful in a location where most families drive. Confirm how many spaces come with the suite you are considering, whether they are owned or assigned, and whether a locker is included, because those details vary from suite to suite in older buildings and should be spelled out in the status certificate.

Living near Eglinton and Midland

Gilder Drive is a short street near Eglinton Avenue East and Midland Avenue, in a pocket of older towers and low-rise houses on the western side of Eglinton East. It is a practical location rather than a pretty one: errands along Eglinton, bus service on the main roads, and most households keep a car. The panel on this page shows the transit routes, schools and food options near the address.

The planned Eglinton East light rail line, which the City now describes as the Scarborough East Rapid Transit project, would run along Eglinton Avenue East from Kennedy Station to Malvern Town Centre with 27 stops. It has no published opening date, so I treat it as a long-term possibility, not a reason to pay more today.

Kennedy Station, where that line would start, is already the area’s main transit hub, and the Line 2 subway extension is being built from it toward Scarborough Centre and Sheppard and McCowan.

Price per square foot and the asking range

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $360 per square foot. That is low even for Scarborough, and it reflects both the building’s age and the size of the suites, since large units sell for less per foot.

There were four suites for sale when I checked, asking between $398,888 and $499,999, with fees of about $807 to $1,122 a month. The spread in fees is wide, so compare the fee to the suite size rather than to the asking price.

The upper end of the fee range is not unusual for suites over 1,300 square feet with hydro and heat included. Divide the fee by the suite’s area and compare it with other older Scarborough towers on the same basis.

For a family, the comparison that matters is often a townhouse. A three-bedroom here costs far less than a freehold or condo townhouse in this part of Scarborough, but the monthly fee is higher, so run both the purchase price and the monthly cost before deciding. My building sold report shows the aggregate record of what has traded at 20 Gilder.

Building specifications

Amenities at 20 Gilder Drive Condos

The indoor pool and sauna are the core of the package, with a gym and a meeting room alongside. For families and retirees, that is a real daily benefit; for anyone who will never swim, it is a cost you share regardless.

Jatin’s honest take on 20 Gilder Drive Condos

20 Gilder Drive Condos — 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.