222 Finch West, 222 Finch Ave W: A 27-Suite Mixed-Use Boutique

222 Finch West is one of the smallest condominiums I track in North York, and it is not a typical one. It is a four-storey mixed-use building from 2013, with shops at street level, professional offices on the second floor and only a couple of dozen homes above. That format brings real advantages and some risks you would not face in a 300-suite tower. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Shops, offices and homes in one small building

Most condos in this part of North York are either towers or townhouse complexes. 222 Finch West is neither. A local brokerage page describing the building calls it a boutique mixed-use building, with retail on the ground floor, professional offices on the second floor (it mentions law and medical practices) and residential suites on the floors above. The property is zoned CR, Commercial Residential, under the City of Toronto’s zoning by-law 569-2013.

The developer was MAD Development, which condos.ca lists as both developer and builder. I could not find an architect credited in the sources I checked. Condos.ca counts 27 units for the corporation, while the brokerage page refers to 25 residential suites. The difference may come down to how commercial units are counted, so confirm the exact unit mix in the declaration.

Living above offices has a practical upside: during the day your neighbours below are working, and in the evening the lower floors are largely empty. It also means some of the building’s users are businesses with different priorities from residents, which matters when the board sets budgets and rules.

Small suites, with terraces on the north side

Condos.ca gives a suite range of about 394 to 1,114 square feet. The smaller end is studio and compact one-bedroom territory, and the upper end is a real two-bedroom. According to the brokerage page, north-facing suites have terraces, while south-facing suites look over the Finch Avenue corridor.

That orientation detail matters. A north-facing suite with a terrace backs onto the quieter side of the property. A south-facing suite gets more sun but also faces a busy arterial road with buses and traffic. I would visit both at rush hour before deciding.

I could not verify ceiling heights or whether any suites are loft-style. Bell Fibe and Rogers Ignite are both reported as available, which matters if you work from home.

The realities of a 27-unit corporation

Small corporations behave differently. Every major repair is shared among a small number of owners, so a roof or garage project can mean a larger per-unit bill than the same work in a tower. The reserve fund study and the status certificate tell you whether the corporation has been saving enough to avoid that.

Resale and lending also work differently. With so few suites, months can pass with nothing for sale; condos.ca showed no active listings when I checked. That makes pricing harder for appraisers and buyers alike, and some lenders look more carefully at small mixed-use buildings. If you are financing, talk to your lender about this specific building before you make an offer, not after.

The commercial side deserves its own questions. Ask how common expenses are split between the retail, office and residential units, whether the commercial owners pay toward residential-only areas, and how many board seats each group holds. Ask too about insurance, because premiums for buildings with commercial tenants can differ from purely residential ones, and the corporation’s insurance is part of your fee.

Finch Avenue West, between Yonge and Bathurst

Finch Avenue West here is a working arterial road, lined with low-rise retail and small residential buildings, with houses on the side streets behind. Further east, Yonge and Finch is the end of Line 1 for now, and the Yonge North Subway Extension is planned to carry the line north into York Region. That project will bring years of construction to the Yonge corridor before it opens.

It is a commuter location rather than a destination. You are close to the Yonge strip for shopping and food, and the side streets to the north and south are quiet residential pockets. The data panel on this page shows the exact transit, schools, parks and food nearby.

A low price per square foot, with a thin market

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $468 per square foot. That is well below nearby small buildings on the same road, such as 118 Finch Avenue West at about $737 and Chelsea Gate at 108 Finch West at about $601. Some of the gap reflects the mixed-use format and the Finch frontage. Some of it is simply a small sample: with only a couple of dozen homes, one or two sales can move the average a lot.

Condos.ca lists common elements, building insurance, parking and water as included in the fee, which means heat, hydro and air conditioning are usually on your own account. I did not find active listings to quote fees from, so ask for the current fee schedule and a year of utility bills for any suite you consider.

With no active listings when I checked, there is no asking-price range to give. The data panel on this page shows recorded sales and leases, and for a building this small I would look at the last two or three years together rather than any single sale.

Building specifications

Amenities at 222 Finch West

There is no gym or pool, and in a building this size that is a good thing for your fee. A party room and meeting room are the shared spaces, so plan on a gym membership elsewhere. Fewer shared facilities also means fewer big-ticket items waiting in the reserve fund plan, which matters in a corporation this small.

Jatin’s honest take on 222 Finch West

222 Finch West — frequently asked questions

Looking at Willowdale, Yonge & Sheppard, Bayview Village and North York Centre more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.