Gates of Guildwood II, 10 Guildwood Pkwy: House-Sized Suites, All In

Gates of Guildwood II is where I take downsizers who are leaving a house and refuse to live in a small box. At 10 Guildwood Parkway, at the entrance to Guildwood Village, the smallest suite on record is close to 1,000 square feet and the largest is well over 2,600, and the fee covers hydro, heat, cable and parking. The price of that comfort is a large monthly fee, and you should see it clearly before you fall for the space. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Built for people leaving houses

The suite range tells the story. Suites on record run from about 961 to 2,691 square feet, and there is nothing compact in the building. That is a profile designed in 1991 for owners stepping down from Guildwood and Scarborough Bluffs homes who wanted to keep their furniture and their dinner parties.

At these sizes, a two-bedroom often has a proper dining room, a den that works as an office and storage closer to a house than a condo. The largest plans are effectively a bungalow stacked in the air.

Many owners here have lived in their suites for years, so condition varies widely. Some suites have been fully renovated and others are close to original. Price each one on what you would need to spend, and walk through more than one before you decide what the building is worth to you.

One of two towers at the village gates

This is the second phase of a two-tower complex. Its companion, Gates of Guildwood I at 20 Guildwood Parkway, is also a 1991 building of 15 storeys, with about 203 suites, and one listing source names Tridel as its developer. Condos.ca does not list a developer for 10 Guildwood Parkway, so I can’t confirm who built this tower.

The name is apt. The Guildwood Gates, salvaged from the old Stanley Barracks and forged in Britain in 1839, stand at the corner of Kingston Road and Guildwood Parkway, the entrance to the village. The towers mark that same entrance.

Each tower is its own corporation, so Gates of Guildwood II has its own board, budget and reserve fund. Ask whether any facilities or costs are shared between the two buildings, because shared agreements belong in your review alongside the status certificate.

The most complete fee list I see

The fee covers common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, cable TV, building insurance, parking and water. That is close to everything. Apart from your phone and internet, there are few other utility bills to pay.

That completeness is why the fees look large. The two suites listed when I checked carried fees of about $900 to $1,343 a month. Spread over suites of 1,000 square feet and more, the per-foot cost is less dramatic, but the monthly cheque is real and it belongs in your budget alongside the mortgage.

Because the corporation pays the building’s energy and cable bills, look at those lines in the budget and at how fees have moved over the last few years. Ask too whether the bulk cable contract still makes sense for how you watch television, since you are paying for it either way.

Living in Guildwood Village

Guildwood Village opened in 1957 as a planned garden community created by Spencer and Rosa Clark, who mapped individual trees from the air and placed the homes between them. Power lines were buried, walkways threaded through the parkland, and the village still feels wooded and quiet compared with the rest of Scarborough.

Guild Park and Gardens, with its collection of architectural fragments salvaged from demolished downtown buildings, and the historic Guild Inn sit at the south end of the village on the bluffs. For an owner here, that is the daily walk, and it is one of the more unusual parks in the city.

The neighbourhood has a strong sense of itself. An active residents’ association, an annual Guildwood Day and long-standing owners give it a small-town feel that newer parts of Scarborough lack, and that continuity is part of what you buy into here.

The towers sit at the busier northern edge of the village, close to Kingston Road. That gives you easier access to shops and roads than the interior streets, while keeping the village and the bluffs on your doorstep.

What Gates of Guildwood II costs per square foot

The building average sits around $559 per square foot on condos.ca. For suites this large, that means total prices that are lower than many small houses in the area, which is exactly why downsizers look here.

Two suites were listed for sale when I checked, with asking prices from $625,000 to $829,900. Supply is usually thin in a building where owners stay a long time, so set up an alert and expect to wait for the right plan and view.

The per-foot figure also hides a useful point about resale. Large suites appeal to a narrower group of buyers than one-bedrooms do, mostly downsizers and families, and that group shops slowly and carefully. Expect a longer marketing period when you sell, and price your purchase with that in mind rather than assuming a quick exit.

When you compare it with a house, include the fee in your monthly number, but remember it replaces your hydro, heat, water, cable, insurance on the structure and the cost of maintaining a roof and garden. For a full look at recent trades, see my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Gates of Guildwood II

An indoor pool and sauna give owners year-round exercise without a membership, and an on-site car wash is a small luxury that downsizers coming from a house driveway tend to appreciate. Security staff and an underground garage round out a package built for comfort rather than nightlife.

Jatin’s honest take on Gates of Guildwood II

Gates of Guildwood II — 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.