123 Woodbine Ave: Beaches Studios With Hydro and Parking in the Fee

123 Woodbine Avenue is the lowest-cost way I know to own a condo in the Beaches. It is a quiet, three-storey 1975 building of compact suites of around 330 square feet, with heat, hydro and parking in the fee. It is not for everyone, and the price per square foot will mislead you if you read it the wrong way. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A small-suite building in a neighbourhood of houses

Most of the Beaches is semi-detached and detached houses, with some older low-rise apartment buildings and very few condominiums. 123 Woodbine is one of the exceptions: 84 suites over three storeys, registered as a condo corporation in 1975, long before most of Toronto’s condo boom.

What sets it apart is suite size. Condos.ca records suites at about 329 to 330 sq ft, which means compact studio layouts throughout. Other sources describe sizes up to around 450 sq ft, so a few plans may be larger, but the building is overwhelmingly studios.

That gives it a very particular buyer profile. It is a first purchase, a pied-à-terre near the lake or a small investment, rather than a place to raise a family or downsize from a house.

The small scale also shapes the building’s feel. Three storeys and 84 suites means no busy tower lobby, and in a part of the city built around Queen Street and the lake, many residents come and go on foot or by streetcar. Ask whether the building has an elevator if stairs are a concern.

Living in 330 square feet

A 330 sq ft suite is roughly the size of a large hotel room. Done well, it fits a sleeping area, a compact kitchen, a bathroom and a sitting area. Done badly, it feels cramped. Built-in storage, a murphy or daybed, and good lighting make a bigger difference here than in almost any other building.

Before you buy, walk the suite with the furniture you actually own in mind, and measure. Check closet space, the kitchen’s appliance sizes and whether the suite has its own laundry. Older studio buildings often rely on shared laundry, and some descriptions of this one mention an on-site laundry room, so confirm what the suite you are viewing has.

If you plan to renovate, read the corporation’s rules on flooring, plumbing and electrical work first. In a 1975 building, moving a kitchen or bathroom can be costly and may not be allowed.

A 1975 building: what to look for

At more than 50 years old, this building has been through at least one cycle of major replacements, and some systems will be on their second. Windows, the roof, the boiler and cooling plant, electrical service and any garage or parking surface are the items that drive capital costs.

Because heat, hydro and air conditioning are all included, the corporation pays energy costs for every suite. That keeps your monthly costs predictable, but it means the corporation’s budget, and eventually your fee, moves with utility rates.

Read the status certificate, the reserve fund study and recent board minutes. Ask what has been replaced in the last ten years, what is scheduled next, and whether fees have risen sharply. With 84 small suites, each owner’s share of a big project is modest in dollars, but it is large relative to the value of a studio.

Daily life near Queen and Woodbine

The building sits on Woodbine Avenue near Queen Street East, at the western end of the Beaches. Queen Street is the neighbourhood’s main street, with independent shops and restaurants and the 501 streetcar running east-west to downtown.

South of Queen, Woodbine Avenue leads toward Woodbine Beach, a Blue Flag swimming beach, and the boardwalk that runs east along much of the shoreline. The land on the south side of Queen between Eastern and Woodbine avenues was once the Woodbine racetrack, and today it is a newer residential pocket and parkland.

This is the appeal of the building in one sentence: a studio here puts the beach, the boardwalk and Queen Street within a short walk for far less than any house nearby. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and parks in detail.

Why $1,212 per square foot is misleading

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $1,212 per sq ft. That number looks like a luxury building, but it is mostly a function of size. Small suites always carry a higher price per square foot because the kitchen, bathroom and the address cost roughly the same regardless of floor area.

The better way to judge value here is total price and total monthly cost. At about 330 sq ft, a suite at that average comes in well under $450,000, which is very low for owning in the Beaches. At the time of writing there was a single studio for sale and none for rent, which is typical for a building where owners hold for years.

The fee covers common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, water, building insurance and parking. That is close to all-inclusive, and parking in the fee is genuinely valuable in the Beaches, where street parking is limited. When you compare with a newer building, add back hydro, cooling and parking to its fee before you decide which is cheaper.

Financing is worth checking early. Some lenders apply stricter rules to very small suites, such as a larger minimum down payment, so speak to your mortgage broker before you make an offer rather than after. The same question will matter to your eventual buyer, which is one more reason studios tend to suit buyers who plan to stay for a while.

Building specifications

Amenities at 123 Woodbine Ave

There is no gym, pool or concierge, and for a studio building that keeps the fee focused on the essentials. Condos.ca lists a security system, visitor parking and permission for barbecues, and parking is included in the fee.

Jatin’s honest take on 123 Woodbine Ave

123 Woodbine Ave — frequently asked questions

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