Celeste Drive Townhouses, West Hill: Walkout Basements Near Guildwood

Celeste Drive Townhouses is a small West Hill complex that suits buyers who want Guildwood’s green space without Guildwood’s detached-house prices. It is 50 homes from 1977 on Celeste Drive and Greenvale Terrace, with three-storey plans, garages and, in at least some homes, a walkout basement onto a yard. It is quiet, it is older, and it rarely has more than one home for sale. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A small 1977 complex on two residential streets

The complex is spread across Celeste Drive and Greenvale Terrace, two quiet residential streets in West Hill, rather than fronting a main road. YCC-358 was registered in October 1977, which makes the corporation nearly fifty years old.

At 50 homes it is small enough that owners tend to know each other and the board knows every roof. It is also small enough that each major repair falls on fewer shoulders, so the reserve fund study matters a lot here.

A complex of this age has been through at least one cycle of roofs, windows and paving. Find out which of those have been done recently and which are still ahead, and read the declaration to see which exterior items the corporation covers and which fall to owners.

Three storeys with a walkout lower level

Condos.ca records the complex as one storey, but a recent listing described a three-storey home, so judge each home on its own plan. That home had a finished walkout basement with a den, laundry on the ground level, the living room, dining room and kitchen on the second level, and three bedrooms on the top floor, with one full and one half bathroom.

A walkout lower level is the feature I would highlight. In that listing the private yard backed onto the complex’s parkette, which gives a family a safe play space just outside the back door. Not every home will have the same orientation, so ask what the yard of any specific home backs onto.

The home I reviewed had a garage, laminate, ceramic and carpet floors and electric baseboard heating. Condos.ca lists visitor parking and permission for barbecues, but not a parking garage, so confirm the parking arrangement for each home.

The vertical layout has trade-offs. Three floors of stairs suit a young family better than a downsizer with bad knees, and laundry on the ground level with bedrooms two floors up means a lot of carrying. Walk the stairs with that in mind before you decide.

Fees and what to confirm

There was only one home for sale when I checked, so I can’t give a fee range from active listings. Ask for the corporation’s budget and the fee history over the past five years, and check whether there have been special assessments.

Condos.ca does not publish what the fee covers. With electric baseboard heat in at least some homes, budget for your own hydro bill until the status certificate tells you otherwise.

The same listing noted that pets are allowed with restrictions. Read the rules for the details, as well as any limits on leasing, exterior changes and use of the parkette.

Insurance is the other item buyers overlook. The corporation’s policy covers what the declaration defines as common elements, so ask your broker for a unit-owner policy that covers your improvements and contents, and check the deductible owners are responsible for after a claim.

West Hill and Guildwood, day to day

Celeste Drive sits on the edge of Guildwood, one of Scarborough’s greener pockets. Guild Park and Gardens, a 50-acre park on the Scarborough Bluffs, is known for architectural fragments salvaged from more than 60 demolished Toronto buildings and arranged as ruins, plus an outdoor Greek Theatre. It is one of the most unusual parks in the city.

The listing I reviewed mentioned the GO train, transit, shopping, schools and parks nearby, and the data panel on this page shows the exact distances. Kingston Road and Lawrence Avenue East carry most of the area’s shopping and bus service.

The City of Toronto’s planned Eglinton East LRT, running from Kennedy Station to Malvern Town Centre via UTSC, would improve east-west rapid transit in this part of Scarborough. It is at the planning stage with no opening date, so I would not pay extra for it today.

The Scarborough Bluffs and the waterfront are within a short drive, and the Guildwood pocket feels more like a settled suburb than most of Scarborough. For buyers coming from a downtown condo, that change of pace is usually the point of moving here.

Pricing a complex with one listing at a time

With one home for sale and none for rent when I checked, there is no active range to quote. In a 50-home complex, a single listing at a time is normal, and buyers who want to live here often wait months for the right home.

Lean on the sold data in the panel above, and compare it with freehold townhouses and semis in West Hill and Guildwood. A condo townhouse should trade at a discount to freehold that reflects the monthly fee and the board’s control of the exterior. If the gap is small, consider the freehold.

Condition and orientation drive price here. A home with a finished walkout basement and a yard backing onto the parkette is worth more than one without. If you want a clear read on value, my building sold report gives you the aggregates for this address.

If you are serious about this complex, set up an alert and be ready to move when a home comes up. With so few listings, the good ones in better condition do not tend to sit for long.

Building specifications

Amenities at Celeste Drive Townhouses

There are no indoor amenities. The shared parkette and Guild Park nearby do the work a gym or party room would in a tower, and for families with young children they are more useful.

Jatin’s honest take on Celeste Drive Townhouses

Celeste Drive 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.