Norman Wesley Way Townhomes: 90 Condo Towns West of Downsview Park

Norman Wesley Way is where I point buyers who want a real townhouse, with its own front door and several floors, in Downsview without paying for a detached house. The complex has 90 homes on two private streets, built in 1999, and it sits a short distance from the biggest planning change in this part of the city. It is also a complex where the basement question comes up often. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Two private streets, one corporation

The complex runs along two streets, Norman Wesley Way and Dellview Way, and all 90 homes belong to one corporation, MTCC-1275. That makes it larger than many townhouse corporations nearby, including the 42-home Villages of Downsview complex on Springside Way. More owners means each big repair is spread more thinly, which is good for your share of the bill, but it also means a bigger budget for the board to manage well.

The builder is listed as Villages of Downsview, the same name attached to a 42-home townhouse complex on Springside Way that was finished a year later. Treat the two as separate corporations with separate books, even if they look alike and came from related builders.

Condos.ca records the complex as one storey, which is how its database often handles townhouse complexes. These are multi-level homes. The one home currently listed is described as three bedrooms plus an extra room, which is a typical family plan for townhouses of this age.

The basement question

Lower levels here have been offered for lease separately at times, which tells you some owners have finished their basements as self-contained living space. For a buyer, that can be a real draw: rental income to help carry the mortgage, or space for a parent or an adult child.

It also needs checking before you count on it. Read the declaration and rules to see what the corporation allows, and ask the seller whether the space was built with permits and meets the requirements for a legal second unit. Income from a space that turns out not to be permitted is a weak foundation for a purchase.

Even if you do not plan to rent, find out how many homes in the complex are tenanted. In a townhouse corporation, a high share of tenants can make it harder to fill the board and can change how visitor parking and shared areas get used.

Downsview’s former base lands, next door

This part of Downsview was shaped by the old air force base. Wikipedia notes that off-base military housing on Sunfield Road and Sheppard Avenue west of Keele was demolished in the mid-1990s to make way for townhomes. A complex finished in 1999 in this pocket fits that timeline, but I have not confirmed that this is the same land, so treat it as context rather than fact.

The bigger story is across Keele Street. Bombardier announced in 2018 that it would leave the Downsview airport and aerospace campus, and the City’s Update Downsview study now covers the lands between Keele Street and Wilson Heights Boulevard, from Sheppard Avenue south to Wilson Avenue and Highway 401. The landowners, Northcrest Developments and Canada Lands Company, are planning a long-term community of homes, jobs and parks there.

For an owner on Norman Wesley Way, that means decades of change close by. It could bring shops, services and parks you would otherwise drive to. It also means construction and more traffic on Keele. Check the panel on this page for the transit, schools and parks near the complex today.

A 1999 complex: where it sits in its life cycle

At 27 years old, the complex is in the stage where roofs, windows, exterior doors, paving and site lighting come due in a townhouse condo, often within a few years of each other. How well the corporation has saved for that work matters more than the kitchen in the home you are viewing.

Ask who maintains what. In townhouse declarations, the split between the owner and the corporation for windows, doors, decks, driveways and garages varies a lot, and it decides what you pay for directly and what comes out of the reserve. Read the reserve fund study and recent minutes, and walk both streets to see the state of the roofs and paving before you make an offer.

Parking is the other question to settle early. Condos.ca does not list parking, garages or visitor spaces for this complex, so ask whether the home has a garage, a driveway or an assigned surface space, and whether it is owned or exclusive-use common element. On private streets with 90 homes, visitor parking rules shape daily life more than most buyers expect.

Pricing a family townhouse in Downsview

At the time of writing there was one home for sale and none for lease. I do not quote a single listing’s asking price or fee, and condos.ca did not publish a building price per square foot here, so there is no clean average to anchor on.

The data panel on this page shows recorded sales and leases. For comparables, use other 1990s and 2000s condominium townhouses in Downsview, including the Villages of Downsview homes on Springside Way, then the newer Mattamy townhouses on the edge of Downsview Park. Adjust for whether the basement is finished, how the home is parked and what each fee includes.

Then compare with small freehold houses nearby. If the gap is narrow, the house may be the better long-term buy. If it is wide, a townhouse here gives you house-style living at a lower entry price. I can pull both sets of comparables through my building sold report.

Building specifications

Jatin’s honest take on Norman Wesley Way Townhomes

Norman Wesley Way Townhomes — 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.