111 Brickworks Lane Townhouses: 2006 Towns on the Old Stockyards

The townhouses on Brickworks Lane were part of the first wave of homes built on the old Ontario Stockyards, back when this corner of the west end was better known for meat packing than for housing. Twenty years on, they are a practical way to own a townhouse in the city for less than a semi in the Junction. Listings are rare, and that is the first thing to plan around. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Early homes on the former Stockyards

For most of the last century, the land around Keele, Weston Road and St Clair West was the Ontario Stockyards, at one time the largest livestock market in Canada. The yards moved to Cookstown in 1993, and most of the meat packers around them closed or relocated over the following years.

Redevelopment came in pieces. Big box retail went in first, including a Home Depot on the south side of St Clair, and townhouse complexes followed. This complex, registered in 2006, belongs to that early residential phase, along with the neighbouring Townhomes of St Clair corporations on Brickworks Lane, Birdstone Crescent and Weston Road.

That timing matters. The townhouses were built before the large retail centre at Weston and St Clair and before the newer mid-rise condos along St Clair, so the neighbourhood around them has changed a great deal since the first owners moved in, and it is still changing.

A 20-year-old townhouse corporation

At about 20 years old, TSCC-1756 is at the age when the first big replacement cycle arrives in a townhouse complex. Roofs, windows and exterior doors from the mid-2000s are approaching the end of their lives, and so are the private roads, walkways and any shared underground services. How the corporation has planned for this is the main thing that separates a good buy from a costly one here.

The listed property manager is Ace Condominium Management. Condos.ca does not list what the fee includes or any shared amenities, so ask for the budget and the fee breakdown early. In most townhouse complexes, owners pay their own heat, hydro and water, and the fee covers common areas, building insurance and the exterior work set out in the declaration.

Read the declaration closely for who repairs what. Townhouse corporations differ a lot on whether roofs, windows, decks and driveways belong to the owner or the corporation, and that split affects both your fee and your own repair costs.

A complex of about 100 homes has a reasonable base for sharing those costs, larger than many older townhouse corporations in the city. Even so, a roof or window program across the whole complex is a large bill, and the question is whether the reserve fund has been built to pay for it or whether owners will be asked to top it up.

The homes, and why listings are rare

Condos.ca does not publish sizes, layouts or storey counts for this complex, and there were no homes listed for sale when I prepared this review. So the only reliable way to judge a home here is to see it, get a floor plan and have the size measured.

In a complex this age, check the furnace, air conditioner and water heater, which are usually the owner’s responsibility, along with the windows, the roof over your unit, the condition of any garage or parking pad, and signs of water in the lowest level. Ask the corporation what approvals are needed before you renovate.

Low turnover is usually a good sign that people like living somewhere. It also means you may wait months for the right home to come up. If you are serious about this complex, set up an alert and be ready to act when one lists.

Daily life between the Junction and Stock Yards Village

The everyday convenience here is retail. Stock Yards Village, a large shopping centre with more than 50 stores and restaurants, is close by, along with other big box stores on St Clair West. The St Clair streetcar runs along the avenue, and the panel on this page gives exact walking and transit times.

The Junction’s Dundas West strip, with its independent shops and restaurants, is a short trip south. The area immediately around the complex is less polished: a mix of retail parking lots, newer townhouse streets and pockets of industrial land that date from the Stockyards era. Visit at different times of day before you buy.

Change is coming along St Clair, where newer planning policies are allowing mid-rise condos such as Stockyards District Residences. That will bring more people, more shops and more traffic to the area over the next decade.

Pricing: judge each home on its own

No homes were for sale here when I prepared this review, and condos.ca does not publish a building average per square foot for this complex. With about 100 homes and few sales, any average would be unreliable anyway.

The right comparison is the sold history for this complex and for the Townhomes of St Clair corporations next door, adjusted for size, condition and parking. Then add your full monthly cost: the condo fee plus heat, hydro, water and property tax. Compare that against a condo apartment in a newer building along St Clair, where the fee will usually be higher but more is included.

Parking is worth pricing separately in your head. A home with a garage or a private driveway is a different product from one that relies on a shared or visitor area, and buyers in this part of the city usually pay for the difference.

For recent sold figures for this complex and the neighbouring ones, request a building sold report and I will put them together for you.

Building specifications

Jatin’s honest take on 111 Brickworks Lane Townhouses

111 Brickworks Lane Townhouses — frequently asked questions

Looking at the Junction, Corso Italia, Hillcrest Village and west-central Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.