Lambton Square IV, 270 Scarlett Rd: A 1978 Tower With All-In Fees

Lambton Square IV at 270 Scarlett Road is where I send buyers who want a genuine 800 to 1,100 square feet in Toronto’s west end for roughly the price of a new downtown one-bedroom. It is a 1978 tower, part of a four-building complex, and its monthly fee covers almost every utility. The catch is age, and I will tell you exactly what to look at. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The fourth tower of a planned complex

Lambton Square is a group of towers along Scarlett Road, with buildings at 240, 250 and 260 Scarlett as well as this one at 270. The Roman numeral matters when you search: listings for the other towers will show up alongside this one, and each tower is its own condominium corporation with its own fees, reserve fund and board. This one is YCC-394.

The builder was Cadillac Fairview, which today is best known as a shopping-centre owner but was one of the large residential developers of the 1970s. At 20 storeys and about 59 metres, this tower holds 256 suites, so it is a mid-sized community rather than a small boutique building.

The name reaches back further than the towers. The old village of Lambton Mills grew up along the Humber River in the 1840s and took its name from the Earl of Durham, and the area still carries it on schools, parks and streets.

Being one of four towers is useful for a buyer. It gives you a ready-made set of comparables built by the same company in the same era, so you can see how different boards have managed essentially the same building. When I work with a buyer here, I pull the fees and reserve fund position for the sister towers too, because the contrast often tells you more than any single status certificate.

Space you will not find in a new build at this price

The listed suite range is roughly 779 to 1,126 square feet. In 1978, that was a standard one- or two-bedroom. Today, a new tower would sell you a two-bedroom-plus-den in that size, and charge a great deal more for it.

The building offers plans from one bedroom up to three, and the one-bedrooms are genuinely generous by modern standards. Expect older-style layouts with separate kitchens, defined dining areas and proper hallways rather than the open single-wall kitchens of newer towers. That suits buyers with real furniture and people who like rooms with doors.

The extra space also makes these suites practical for working from home. A one-bedroom of this size can usually fit a desk without it ending up in the bedroom, and the larger plans can give you a dedicated office, which is hard to find at this price anywhere in the city.

As with any building of this age, condition varies widely from suite to suite. Some will be original and some fully renovated, so price each one on what has actually been done inside.

A fee that covers hydro, heat and cable

The fee here includes common elements, heat, hydro, central air conditioning, water, cable TV, building insurance and parking. Hydro and cable in particular are almost never included in newer buildings, so a straight fee-to-fee comparison with a 2015 tower is misleading.

Add back what a newer building leaves out, such as an electricity bill, a cable or TV package and a separate parking charge, and the difference shrinks considerably. The trade-off is that bulk utility costs flow through the corporation’s budget, so energy price increases show up in everyone’s fee over time.

What daily life is like on Scarlett Road

Scarlett Road runs along the east side of the Humber River valley, and that green edge is the main reason people choose this pocket. It is a residential area of older houses and mid-century towers rather than a shopping strip, and most errands are a short drive.

Parking is included in the fee, and the complex lists visitor parking, a parking garage and even a car wash, which tells you this was designed around car owners. For transit, schools and walkability at this address, check the data panel on this page before you decide whether you could manage without a car.

Pricing at Lambton Square IV

The building average sits around $595 per square foot. That is modest for Toronto and reflects the age of the building and its high all-in fee, which the market factors into resale prices.

The two suites currently for sale are asking between $489,900 and $529,900. Monthly fees on current listings run from about $696 to $1,004. Across the building’s 779 to 1,126 square foot range, that lands somewhere between roughly $0.60 and $1.30 per square foot depending on the suite, before you credit back hydro, heat, cable and parking.

That number looks high next to a newer tower quoting $0.60 a square foot, but the newer building is usually charging you separately for hydro, cable and parking. Do the full monthly math, including those bills, before you rule this one out on fee alone.

Two active listings is not much choice. Use the sales history in the panel above, and compare with the other Lambton Square towers next door, before you judge any one asking price.

Building specifications

Amenities at Lambton Square IV

The confirmed list is practical rather than flashy: a sauna, party and meeting rooms, a car wash and staffed security. One portal also lists a pool and a gym, which I could not confirm from the main building data, so ask to see them on a tour before you count on them.

Jatin’s honest take on Lambton Square IV

Lambton Square IV — 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.