Nature’s Path Townhomes, West Hill: Low Fees, Three-Storey Living

Nature’s Path is where I send buyers who want a townhouse in Scarborough for close to the price of a two-bedroom condo, and who can live without a concierge. The fees are some of the lowest per square foot you will see on a condominium in this part of the city. The catch is that you take on more of the house yourself. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Townhouses with condo ownership

Nature’s Path is a townhouse complex, not an apartment building. Condos.ca records 92 homes over three storeys, laid out between Kingston Road and Beechgrove Drive, so some homes face the main road and others sit on the quieter side street.

You own your home as a condominium unit, and the corporation owns and maintains the common elements. In a townhouse corporation, the line between what you look after and what the corporation looks after varies a lot. The declaration will tell you who is responsible for roofs, windows, doors, decks and the driveway or parking area. Read that page before you compare fees with another complex.

Your Home Developments built Nature’s Path and has been active on this corridor; it was also behind SweetLife Condos + Towns further west at 4434 Kingston Road. That gives you a builder with local experience, but as always, the status certificate and reserve fund study tell you more than the builder’s name.

Sizes and layouts

Homes here run from about 1,000 to 1,240 square feet across three floors, with two- and three-bedroom plans on the market. That is more space than most condo apartments at a similar price, spread vertically.

Three storeys mean stairs, often between every main room. That suits young families and buyers who like separation between living and sleeping space. It does not suit everyone, so walk the stairs during your visit and think about carrying groceries and laundry.

Ask where the home parks. Parking is in the fee, but the location of the space, and whether it is a garage, a driveway or a surface spot, varies within townhouse complexes. Also ask where visitors park.

What a 12-year-old townhouse complex needs

Townhouse corporations spend their reserve funds on different things from towers. There are no elevators or chillers, but there are many roofs, many windows and doors, and a lot of paving, and in a complex built in 2014 those items start to come into view over the next decade.

Roofs on low-rise townhouses are often replaced in large phases, and that is one of the biggest single costs a corporation like this will face. Windows, sealants, decks and fences follow. Ask the property manager what has been done already and what the reserve fund study schedules next.

Because the fee is low, small changes in the reserve plan show up quickly as a percentage increase. That is normal, but you want to see it coming. Read the last year of board minutes and ask whether any fee increase or special assessment has been discussed.

Living on Kingston Road in West Hill

This is the eastern stretch of Kingston Road, close to where it meets Lawrence Avenue East. The Highland Creek valley and its trails are part of the landscape here, which is presumably where the name comes from.

The street is changing. Firmland Developments’ Perch Condos, an 11-storey project between Lawrence Avenue East and Military Trail designed by Core Architects, is one of the newer projects on a stretch of Kingston Road that UrbanToronto describes as rapidly regenerating. Perch was planned with a land dedication to the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority to add to the ravine lands, which helps protect the green edge of this area. The University of Toronto Scarborough and Centennial College’s Morningside campus are nearby, which supports rental demand.

Homes that face Kingston Road will hear traffic. If quiet matters, ask for a Beechgrove Drive address and visit at rush hour before you commit.

For daily needs, most residents here drive. The transit panel on this page shows the nearest bus stops and stations.

What Nature’s Path costs, and what the fee covers

At the time of writing there were two homes for sale, asking between $575,000 and $579,000, with one more for rent. That is close to what many two-bedroom condo apartments in Scarborough ask, for 1,000 square feet or more over three floors.

With only two homes for sale, the range is narrow and will move as listings change. Townhouse complexes this size often go weeks without a listing, so if you are serious, set up an alert and look at recent aggregate sales on the data panel rather than waiting for a perfect comparable.

Fees on the current listings were in the high $300s a month. On these sizes, that works out to roughly $0.30 to $0.36 per square foot, which is low for a Toronto condominium. The fee covers common elements, building insurance, parking and water.

Low fees are not automatically good news. With no amenities to fund, you would expect a townhouse complex to cost less, but you want the fee to be low because the corporation is efficient, not because reserve contributions have been kept too low. Ask for the reserve fund study and check that the planned contributions match it.

Heat and hydro are not on the inclusion list, so expect to pay them yourself. In a three-storey townhouse with exterior walls on several sides, ask for recent utility bills so you can budget for winter.

Building specifications

Amenities at Nature’s Path Townhomes

There are no shared facilities to speak of beyond permission to barbecue, which is common in townhouse complexes. Your amenities are the ones you would have in a house: your own front door, space over three floors, and the parks and ravine trails nearby.

Jatin’s honest take on Nature’s Path Townhomes

Nature’s Path Townhomes — 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.