The Essex is two Tridel towers side by side on Dundas Street West at Kipling — Essex I at 5229 (22 storeys, 234 suites, 2004) and Essex II at 5233 (24 storeys, 314 suites, 2005) — and they are two separate condominium corporations, not one. Both are managed by Del Property Management.
Two things separate them, and both are worth money. Essex II carries the lowest published fee rate of any building I have researched in this part of Etobicoke, at $0.74 per square foot against Essex I’s $0.86. And the published fee inclusion lists differ between the two towers on hydro — which, if accurate, explains most of that gap.
The two towers, side by side
| The Essex I 5229 Dundas St W |
The Essex II 5233 Dundas St W |
|
|---|---|---|
| Corporation | TSCC-1577 | TSCC-1723 |
| Registered | 9 January 2004 | 18 November 2005 |
| Storeys | 22 | 24 |
| Suites | 234 | 314 |
| Built | 2004 | 2005 |
| Developer | Tridel | Tridel |
| Property management | Del Property Management | Del Property Management |
| Fee rate | $0.86 / sq ft | $0.74 / sq ft |
| Hydro on published inclusion list? | Yes | No |
| Walk to Kipling (my measurement) | 277 m · ~3.7 min to the St Albans entrance | 340 m · ~4.6 min to the north entrance |
Figures read 23 August 2026. Neither source publishes an architect for either tower.
Twelve cents per square foot between two adjacent Tridel towers is a large difference — on a 900 square foot suite, roughly $108 a month. The published inclusion lists suggest why: Essex I’s list carries hydro, Essex II’s does not.
If that holds, the two fees are not comparable at all, and Essex II’s “cheaper” fee simply means you pay the hydro bill yourself. Whether that is better or worse depends entirely on your consumption.
I am flagging this as a question, not stating it as fact. The same source contradicts itself on whether parking is included at both towers — its structured list says yes, its own prose omits it. That is exactly the kind of unreliability that makes me refuse to publish fee inclusions generally. Ask for both status certificates and compare them line by line. On a twelve-cent gap, it is worth the two hundred dollars.
When I checked this building on 23 August 2026, the two large public condo databases — condos.ca and strata.ca — disagreed about what the monthly fee covers. That pattern held on most South Etobicoke buildings I checked, which tells me at least one of them is populating the field from individual MLS listings rather than from the corporation’s budget. Under my licence I’m not willing to publish a fee inclusion list I can’t stand behind. The only reliable source is the status certificate, which the corporation must provide within 10 days of a written request and a fee capped at $100 including HST under Ontario’s Condominium Act. Ask for it before you waive conditions, and have your lawyer read it.
This is genuine subway walking distance — I checked
Rather than repeat a listing phrase, I routed both addresses to Kipling station on the OpenStreetMap pedestrian network. Essex I measured 277 metres, about 3.7 minutes, to the St Albans entrance. Essex II measured 340 metres, about 4.6 minutes, to the north entrance. To the main station node the figures are 472 and 430 metres.
One correction that matters for anyone searching: the nearest subway is Kipling, not Islington. Islington station measured 1,372 metres from Essex I — roughly 18 minutes. If a listing mentions Islington, it is describing the wrong station.
Amenities
Both towers publish the same set: gym, pool, sauna, concierge, party room, guest suites, meeting room, parking garage, security guard, entry phone system and elevator.
One caution on sourcing. The second database shows a six-item list for Essex II that omits the pool and sauna — but it is the identical string it publishes for Evolution Condos down the road, which makes it a template artifact rather than data. I have used the first source’s list. If a specific amenity is decisive for you, confirm it with the property manager.
When I checked the two large public condo databases on 23 August 2026, they disagreed about this building’s average price per square foot by a wide margin — and that pattern held across every building I checked in this pocket of Etobicoke. The gaps ran from 18% to 27%. Two databases cannot both be right about the same building on the same day, and I have no way to tell you which one is closer. What that tells you is simple: aggregator price-per-square-foot figures are not a valuation. They are built from small samples, sometimes mixed with rental data, and they move sharply on one unusual sale. If you want to know what a specific suite is worth, ask me for the actual sold comparables and I will show you the individual transactions.
Here the pattern held: Essex I showed $650 and $708 per square foot on the same day; Essex II showed $685 and $745. Both towers showed twelve-month declines — Essex I −4.7%, Essex II −6.0% and −4% across the two sources. Days on market disagreed too: 36 against 23 at Essex I, 25 against 32 at Essex II.
One figure I would take seriously: Essex I was ranked 108th of 170 Etobicoke condominium buildings by price per square foot, trading about 8.8% below the surrounding neighbourhood. For a Tridel building four minutes from a subway platform, that is worth understanding rather than dismissing — and the first question I would ask is whether the fee, and what it includes, is doing that work.
You are buying inside the Six Points rebuild
This is the biggest thing on the page and it needs stating plainly. The Essex towers sit in the middle of the Six Points and Bloor–Kipling redevelopment area, one of the most intensively redeveloping nodes in Toronto. From the City of Toronto’s development applications dataset, within roughly 600 metres:
- 10 Beamish Dr (25 212846 WET 03 SA) — under review, 44 storeys, 530 units, roughly 33 metres away.
- 970 Kipling Ave (26 127458 WET 03 OZ) — council approved March 2026; 43 and 28 storeys, 840 units including 198 affordable.
- 5230 Dundas St W (21 234095 WET 03 SB) — under review; four blocks, 10 to 45 storeys, 2,130 units.
- 3825 Bloor St W (24 174505 WET 03 SA) — notice of approval issued; 36 storeys, 525 units.
- Jopling Avenue — three separate applications totalling roughly 1,700 units at 29 to 41 storeys.
- 5280 Dundas St W (25 125479 WET 03 SA) — under review, 49 storeys, 541 units.
Add it up and it is well over 7,000 proposed units within about 600 metres. That is not a normal amount of change, in either direction. It means years of construction and altered sightlines; it also means the retail, services and transit frequency that justify buying next to a subway in the first place.
Also on the public record within about 184 metres: a municipal shelter of up to 60 beds at 3838 Bloor St W, council-approved in January 2026 (26 105531 WET 02 OZ). I include it because it is a documented approval that buyers ask about, and I would rather you learn it here than after closing. I am not going to characterise it beyond that — it is a fact, and what you make of it is yours to decide.
Check every one of these yourself on the City of Toronto’s Application Information Centre before you offer. Several have moved through approval stages recently and this list will go stale.
What I could not verify
- Architect for either tower.
- Fee inclusions — the source contradicts itself on parking at both towers.
- Unit size range at Essex I. One source says 654–2,119 sq ft, the other 536–1,975. That is a large gap at both ends. Essex II’s sources broadly agree at roughly 600–1,650 sq ft.
- Pet policy, EV charging, locker allocation.
The takeaway
Two Tridel towers, four minutes from a Line 2 platform, at prices below the surrounding neighbourhood — and one of them carries the lowest fee rate I have found in this part of Etobicoke. Before you choose between them, get both status certificates and settle the hydro question, because it probably explains the entire fee gap. Then look at the seven thousand units proposed around you and decide whether you are a buyer who benefits from that or one who will be trying to sell into it.
Thinking about this building?
Send me the unit number or the listing link. I’ll tell you what I actually know about the building, what I’d want to see in the status certificate, and whether the price makes sense against what has sold. No pitch, no obligation.
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Frequently asked questions
Is The Essex one condominium corporation or two?
Two. Essex I at 5229 Dundas Street West is TSCC-1577, registered 9 January 2004; Essex II at 5233 is TSCC-1723, registered 18 November 2005. Both were developed by Tridel and are managed by Del Property Management, but they are legally distinct corporations with separate fees, reserve funds and resale histories.
Why is the fee at Essex II lower than at Essex I?
Essex II showed $0.74 per square foot against Essex I’s $0.86 when I read the figures on 23 August 2026. The published inclusion lists suggest the reason: Essex I’s list carries hydro and Essex II’s does not. If that holds, the two fees are not comparable — you would simply be paying hydro separately at Essex II. Confirm on both status certificates before treating either as cheaper.
How far is The Essex from the subway?
I measured both on the OpenStreetMap pedestrian network. Essex I is about 277 metres, roughly 3.7 minutes, to Kipling station’s St Albans entrance; Essex II is about 340 metres, roughly 4.6 minutes, to the north entrance. Note the nearest station is Kipling, not Islington — Islington measured about 1,372 metres, roughly 18 minutes, from Essex I.
What amenities does The Essex have?
Both towers publish the same set: gym, pool, sauna, concierge, party room, guest suites, meeting room, parking garage, security guard, entry phone system and elevator. One database shows a shorter list for Essex II that omits the pool and sauna, but it is the identical string that source publishes for another building nearby, so I treat it as a template artifact rather than data.
Is there a lot of development planned around The Essex?
Yes — this is the Six Points and Bloor-Kipling redevelopment area. Within roughly 600 metres the City’s dataset shows well over 7,000 proposed units, including a 44-storey, 530-unit application about 33 metres away, a council-approved 840-unit development at 970 Kipling Avenue, and 2,130 units proposed across four blocks at 5230 Dundas Street West. Check current status on the City of Toronto Application Information Centre.
Have values fallen at The Essex?
Both towers showed twelve-month declines on the sources I read on 23 August 2026 — Essex I about −4.7%, Essex II between −4% and −6% depending on the source. Essex I also ranked 108th of 170 Etobicoke buildings by price per square foot, trading around 8.8% below its neighbourhood. Ask for the individual sold comparables rather than relying on an index.
Sources
- condos.ca — The Essex, 5229 Dundas St W. Storeys, suite count, year built, developer, property management, corporation number and registration date, amenity list, fee inclusions and market figures. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- strata.ca — 5229 Dundas St W, The Essex. The maintenance fee rate of $0.86 per square foot, an alternative unit size range, price per square foot and days on market. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- condos.ca — The Essex II, 5233 Dundas St W. Storeys, suite count, year built, property management, corporation number and registration date, amenity list, fee inclusions and market figures. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- strata.ca — 5233 Dundas St W, The Essex II. The maintenance fee rate of $0.74 per square foot, twelve-month value change, days on market and Walk Score. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- City of Toronto — Development Applications open data. Application numbers, status, heights and unit counts for the Six Points area proposals listed, including 25 212846 WET 03 SA at 10 Beamish Drive and 26 127458 WET 03 OZ at 970 Kipling Avenue. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- City of Toronto Application Information Centre. Free public search of active development applications by address, for checking current status. Accessed 23 August 2026.
- Condominium Act, 1998, S.O. 1998, c. 19 (Ontario). The statute governing status certificates, the 10-day delivery requirement and the prescribed maximum fee. Accessed 23 August 2026.
Related reading
- Condos near Islington and Kipling stations — the subway buyer’s guide
- Nuvo at Essex and Parc Nuvo, Viking Lane: compared
- Living at The Kip District, Thomas Riley Road
- Michael Power Place condos: all eight buildings, compared
- What a status certificate tells you about an Ontario condo
About the author — Jatin Dua, Etobicoke real estate agent
I’m a licensed Realtor with RE/MAX Quantum Realty at 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke, a few minutes from every building on this page. I work with buyers, sellers and investors across Mimico, Humber Bay Shores, New Toronto, Long Branch, Alderwood and the Stonegate–Queensway corridor. I write these building guides the way I’d brief a client at my own kitchen table: what is documented, what isn’t, and where the published numbers disagree with each other.
Questions about a specific suite? connect@jatindua.com or 437-987-1925.