Islington Place Townhouses: 74 Homes from 1978 Near Dixon and Islington

Islington Place is one of two townhouse corporations sharing the same little network of paths off Dixon Road and Islington Avenue, and most buyers who look here never realise it. The two complexes have overlapping street names, the same listed manager and a similar look, but different ages, budgets and reserve funds. Before you fall for a kitchen, find out which one you are buying into. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Two corporations, one set of paths

The address list tells you most of what you need to know. Islington Place, YCC-409, covers 60 to 161 Maple Branch Path, 1 to 21 Sweet Pea Path and 27 to 43 Peach Tree Path. Its neighbour, 26 Peach Tree Townhouses, MTCC-575, covers 1 to 91 Maple Branch Path and 1 to 26 Peach Tree Path. Maple Branch Path numbers in the 60s to 90s could belong to either one.

The two were registered about four years apart: Islington Place in August 1978 and its neighbour in March 1982. Condos.ca lists GSA Property Management for both, which can make them look like a single community. Legally they are not. Each has its own declaration, board, budget, reserve fund and rules.

So the first thing I do on any listing here is read the legal description and confirm the corporation number. Ask your lawyer to check it as soon as the offer is accepted, not on closing. A fee that looks low or high only means something once you know which budget it comes from.

What a 1978 townhouse corporation looks like now

YCC-409 was registered barely a decade after Ontario passed its first condominium law in the late 1960s. The low York Condominium Corporation number reflects that. A corporation this old has had more than four decades to replace roofs, windows, doors and paving, and the documents should show how it has gone about it.

In a complex of 74 homes the big projects are shared among a fairly small number of owners. When a roof cycle or a repaving job comes due across the whole site, each owner’s share is meaningful. That is why I read the reserve fund study before I look at the fee. The fee tells you what owners pay now. The study tells you whether that is enough.

The registration date also helps when you compare with the neighbour. Islington Place is the older of the two, so its building parts are likely to be further into their second or third cycle. Ask for both corporations’ reserve fund studies if you can. You may find one is ahead on its capital work and the other is about to start.

The homes themselves

Condos.ca records the complex as one storey, which is how its database usually lists townhouse complexes. In practice these are multi-level townhouses on internal paths, and condos.ca publishes no size range, so measure the home you are considering. Ask whether the stated area includes the basement, because that changes any price per square foot comparison.

Condos.ca lists no amenities and no fee inclusions for YCC-409. Do not assume. Ask the manager what the fee covers, who looks after the furnace, air conditioner and water heater, and whether any of that equipment is a rental contract that passes to you on closing. In older complexes the answers vary from home to home.

Parking is another question to settle early. Confirm whether the home has its own garage or driveway, a numbered space or only shared parking, and how visitor parking works. None of that is published for this corporation, so it belongs on your list for the status certificate.

Daily life near Dixon and Islington

This is the north end of the former suburb of Etobicoke. The Kingsview name dates from the 1950s and refers to the high ground north of Dixon Road. Westown Shopping Centre is the local plaza, and Highway 401 forms the northern edge of the neighbourhood, with the Humber River to the east.

The area is changing at the edges. Many of the original 1950s and 1960s houses nearby have been torn down and replaced with much larger ones, or their lots split for two or three new homes. That steady rebuilding is a sign that people want to live here, and it gives a townhouse owner a useful benchmark when the time comes to sell.

Life here is mainly by car and bus. Highway access is a strength for commuters heading to the airport area or across the 401. The data panel on this page shows the transit, schools and Walk Score in detail, so I will not repeat them.

How to price a home in Islington Place

At the time of writing there were no Islington Place homes listed for sale or lease, and condos.ca did not publish a price per square foot for YCC-409. With 74 homes and slow turnover, that is normal, and it means you have to build your own comparables.

The neighbour is the natural benchmark. Four homes in 26 Peach Tree Townhouses were on the market at the same time, asking between $720,000 and $774,999, with monthly fees of about $675 to $695. Condos.ca put that complex’s average at about $512 per square foot. Adjust for age, size, basement finish, parking and, above all, what each fee covers.

Then compare with freehold homes nearby. If a townhouse here is priced close to a small semi or bungalow, the house may be the better long-term buy. My building sold report pulls the recorded sales for both corporations and for the freehold streets around them.

Building specifications

Jatin’s honest take on Islington Place Townhouses

Islington Place Townhouses — frequently asked questions

Looking at Downsview, Weston, York University Heights, Rexdale and northwest Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.