SCOOP Condos, 1771 St Clair Ave W: Graywood’s 72-Suite Boutique Mid-Rise

SCOOP Condos is a 72-suite building that was planned around community rather than a pool and a theatre room. Graywood gave it a library that opens to a backyard, a workshop beside a planting area and a shared garden, on a stretch of St Clair West that is still changing. It suits a particular buyer very well. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A boutique building designed to fit the street

SCOOP replaced a surface parking lot, part of which a car dealership had used, on St Clair West just east of Old Weston Road. SMV Architects gave the front a strong horizontal form with a facade of rectangles and squares, and put retail at street level.

The detail I like is at the back. The building steps down from six storeys to three on its south side, toward the family houses behind it, so it reads as a good neighbour rather than a wall. That stepping also creates terraces on the lower floors.

Graywood planned SCOOP as the first of three phases. UrbanToronto reported in 2018 that a second phase was back before the city’s Design Review Panel, so ask what has happened with the later phases and how they would share facilities, if at all.

Shared spaces, and the economics of 72 suites

The amenity list is the building’s personality. UrbanToronto’s preview described a library opening onto a backyard, a formal dining room, a party lounge, a fitness centre, a workroom that opens onto potting and planting space, a community garden and a dog washing station.

None of those is expensive to run the way a pool or a large staffed lobby is. For a 72-suite building, that matters, because a small owner base cannot carry a heavy amenity budget without high fees. Condos.ca confirms a gym, a party room and visitor parking; ask management which of the other spaces are in use today and how they are booked.

Small buildings are pleasant to live in, and they behave differently on paper. Every shared cost, from insurance to elevator maintenance to a roof repair, is split among only 72 suites, so each owner’s share is larger than in a big tower. That is one reason the modest amenity choices here make sense.

A small owner base also means governance is personal. Board members are your neighbours, and a few engaged owners can shape how the building is run. Read recent board minutes to get a feel for how decisions are made.

Registered in 2020, the corporation is still young. Ask whether common-element warranty claims under Tarion have been filed and resolved, and read the reserve fund study for its long-term savings plan. Early fees in a new building are set by the developer, so look at how they have moved since registration.

Layouts with real outdoor space

Suites run from 484 to 1,137 square feet. The plans Graywood released at launch give a sense of the range: a one-bedroom of about 555 square feet with a balcony, a one-bedroom-plus-den of about 623 square feet, a two-bedroom, two-bath of about 859 square feet, and a fourth-floor two-bedroom-plus-den of about 1,093 square feet with roughly 272 square feet of balcony and terrace.

The setbacks mean certain suites carry much larger terraces than the typical balcony. The launch plans showed a second-floor one-bedroom-plus-den with a terrace of around 300 square feet. If outdoor space matters to you, ask which stacks have terraces and which face the quieter south side.

Ground-floor units with patios exist too. They suit pet owners and anyone who wants to step outside without an elevator, at the cost of some privacy on the street side.

St Clair West near Old Weston Road

This is a transitional stretch. To the east are older Italian and Portuguese cafés with newer brunch spots arriving; to the west, past Old Weston Road and the rail tracks, are big box stores for practical shopping. The St Clair streetcar runs along the street out front.

The neighbourhood is still changing, and you can see it in the mix of new mid-rises, older storefronts and car-oriented retail. That suits a buyer who is comfortable buying into an area before it has finished changing, rather than after.

For daily life, that mix is practical. You can walk east for coffee and dinner, drive or cycle west for large-format shopping, and be on the streetcar for the trip toward the subway.

Pricing and the fee

Only one suite was listed for sale when I checked, so I will not quote an asking range from a single listing. The building’s average sits around $756 per square foot. Compare that with recent sales in other newer mid-rises along St Clair West before you settle on a number.

Larger plans with terraces tend to command a premium over the building average, so do not apply the average blindly to a suite with a big outdoor space or a corner exposure.

The fee covers the common elements, building insurance and water. Heat, hydro and parking are not listed as inclusions, so budget for them separately and ask a seller for a year of utility bills.

In a small building, a handful of sales can swing the averages, so look at sold data over a longer window. My building sold report shows what has actually traded here.

Building specifications

Amenities at SCOOP Condos

These are spaces for people who want to garden, cook for a crowd or work on a project, not just pass through a lobby. For a small building, they deliver more daily use per fee dollar than a pool would.

Jatin’s honest take on SCOOP Condos

SCOOP Condos — 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.