Monaco Condos, 28 Byng Ave: All-Inclusive Fees Off Yonge and Finch

Monaco at 28 Byng Avenue is the building I point to when a buyer near Yonge and Finch tells me they want one predictable monthly number. Its fee covers hydro, heat, air conditioning, water and parking, the suites run larger than most of what has gone up on Yonge since, and at 14 storeys it is a mid-rise in a neighbourhood of towers. The trade-off is age, and you need to understand what that means before you write an offer. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A fee that includes hydro is a different product

Most buyers compare buildings on fee per square foot, and on that measure Monaco looks expensive. Fees on the suites listed for sale as I write this range from about $1,015 to $1,125 a month, which on suites of this size works out to roughly $1.00 per square foot or a little more.

What that number hides is the inclusion list. Here the fee covers hydro, heat, air conditioning, water, building insurance, common elements and parking. In most newer Yonge Street towers you pay hydro to a sub-metering company, often heat and cooling as well, and parking may be separately titled with its own fee. Add those bills back onto a newer building and the gap shrinks a lot.

The other side of an all-inclusive fee is that owners share the building’s energy bill. When utility rates rise, or the building runs older, less efficient equipment, that cost moves through the budget to every owner. It also means a careful owner subsidises a careless one. I like the predictability, but I want to see how the utility line in the budget has moved over the last few years before I call it a bargain.

Bigger suites from the early-2000s playbook

Monaco’s suites range from roughly 537 to 1,555 sq ft, and the active listings are two-bedroom and two-bedroom-plus-den plans. That size range tells you what era this is. Buildings finished around 2003 were designed for owner-occupiers, with real bedrooms, separate laundry rooms and dining areas you can fit a table in, before the market shifted toward investor-sized one-bedrooms.

A recent rental listing for a south-facing two-bedroom here described a combined living and dining room with a balcony walkout, a primary bedroom with a walk-in closet and three-piece ensuite, and a separate laundry room. That is a typical layout for the period, and it is the reason families and downsizers still look at this building rather than the newer towers on Yonge.

With 142 suites over 14 floors, the building is also small by Yonge and Finch standards. Fewer neighbours per elevator and per amenity is a real quality-of-life difference, but it also means a smaller pool of owners to share the cost of every major repair.

Off Yonge, not on it

Byng Avenue is a side street east of Yonge, south of Finch. That location is the point. You are a short walk from the Yonge strip with its Korean and Persian restaurants, grocery stores and the subway, but your bedroom window does not face six lanes of traffic and a bus terminal.

Finch is the current northern end of Line 1, which is why this stretch is so busy at rush hour. The planned Yonge North Subway Extension would carry the line north into York Region, and that will change the role of Finch station over time. Construction-related disruption along Yonge is something I would factor in if you plan to live here through the next several years.

The automatic panel on this page shows the walking time to the subway, the nearby schools and the Walk Score, so I will not repeat them here. What I will say is that this is a neighbourhood where a car is optional for daily life, which makes the included parking spot a bonus rather than a necessity.

Who runs it, and what the records say

Property management is listed as Maple Ridge Community Management. The developer is recorded as Edilcan Development, although one data source leaves the developer field blank, so treat the developer credit as reported rather than confirmed.

Condos.ca flags a pet restriction for this building. I do not know the exact terms, and you should not rely on anyone’s summary of them, including mine. Read the declaration and the rules in the status certificate package before you bring a dog to a showing, let alone an offer.

What Monaco costs per square foot

The building average sits around $736 per square foot. For a 2003 building with large suites and an all-inclusive fee, that is a reasonable place to be in Willowdale East, where newer towers on Yonge typically ask more per square foot for smaller suites and then add utilities on top.

Two suites are listed for sale right now, asking between $579,900 and $668,888. There are no active rentals listed at the moment, which suggests a building with a high share of owners who live in their suites rather than lease them out. The sold-data panel on this page gives you the actual 12-month medians, which are a better guide than any asking price.

When you compare Monaco to a newer building, compare total monthly cost, not fee alone: fee plus hydro plus heating and cooling plus parking. On that basis, a fee of around $1.00 per square foot that includes everything can come out close to a newer building with a much lower headline fee once the extra bills are added. Ask for actual hydro and heating bills from the newer building before you decide it is cheaper.

Building specifications

Amenities at Monaco Condos

The amenity list is modest but practical: a staffed concierge and security, guest suites for visiting family and a sauna. One rental listing also mentions an indoor pool, fitness centre and party room, which other data I have does not list, so confirm what is actually in operation on a tour.

Jatin’s honest take on Monaco Condos

Monaco Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.