24 La Rose Avenue Townhouses: 16 Homes from 1978 by the Future Scarlett LRT

The townhouses at 18 to 24 La Rose Avenue are a small, 16-home condominium from 1978 in Humber Heights-Westmount, near Scarlett Road, where the Eglinton LRT extension will have a station. Small complexes like this one rarely make headlines, but the transit coming down Eglinton is about to change how this corner of Etobicoke is valued. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Sixteen homes, a real manager and a car wash

Sixteen homes is a very small corporation. What sets this one apart from other tiny townhouse complexes is that condos.ca lists a professional manager, Canlight Management, and a short but practical set of shared features: bike storage, a car wash, visitor parking and permission to barbecue.

A car wash bay is an unusual extra for a complex this size, and it tells you something about how the place was planned. So does bike storage. Neither costs much to run, but both are things owners use every week.

The professional manager matters more. In a 16-home corporation, a good manager keeps the records, budgets and contractor work organised so that a small volunteer board is not doing it all. Ask how long Canlight has been in place and ask to see the most recent annual budget.

A 1978 complex and its reserve fund

YCC-438 was registered on 1 December 1978, barely a decade after Ontario passed its first condominium law. At more than 45 years old, the complex will have replaced many of its original roofs, windows and paved areas at least once, and some components may be due again.

The reserve fund study is the document that shows where the corporation stands. It lists each major component, its expected life and the money set aside for it. With 16 owners sharing the cost, a large project such as a roof cycle or a full repaving falls heavily on each household if the fund is short.

Read the last two or three years of board minutes too. They show what owners have been discussing, whether any major work is planned, and whether fees have been rising steadily or held flat and then jumped. Steady, modest increases are usually the healthier pattern.

Building insurance deserves a look as well. Premiums for condominium corporations have climbed in recent years, and a 16-home budget has little slack to absorb a jump. Compare the insurance line in this year’s budget with last year’s, and ask whether the deductible has changed, because owners may carry part of it.

The homes and the street

Condos.ca records the complex as one storey, which is how it lists most townhouse complexes, and publishes no size range. Measure the home you are considering and ask whether the stated area includes the basement. Ask, too, whether parking is a private garage or driveway, and how many spaces come with the home.

La Rose Avenue is the local main street of the neighbourhood. La Rose Plaza has a well-known bakery, a variety store and everyday shops, and the street also has All Saints Catholic Church and St Demetrius church and school. The original La Rose family farmhouse from 1858 still stands on the avenue.

Around it, Humber Heights-Westmount is mostly single-family homes, from large houses on estate lots to modest postwar bungalows. The Humber River valley forms the eastern edge, and local parks include LaRose Park and Scarlett Heights Park. It is a settled, family neighbourhood rather than a busy urban one.

What the Eglinton extension means here

The Eglinton Crosstown West Extension is under construction from Mount Dennis toward Renforth, and the City lists an elevated station at Scarlett Road. Scarlett Road is also the site of the extraction shaft for the tunnel boring machines, so expect construction activity on this part of Eglinton for some time. Completion is currently expected around 2031.

For a townhouse owner here, rapid transit nearby is likely to be a long-term plus, both for daily life and for resale. In the shorter term, construction traffic and road changes on Eglinton are a real inconvenience. Visit at different times of day and drive the routes you would use.

New higher-density housing is already appearing along Eglinton, such as the Royal York Grand condominium further west. More may follow once the line is running, which will add choice nearby and change the comparison set for older townhouses. The data panel on this page shows the current transit, schools and Walk Score.

Pricing a home here

At the time of writing, no homes were listed for sale and one was listed for lease. Condos.ca did not publish a price per square foot. With 16 homes, sales are infrequent, so there is no dependable building average.

Start with the recorded sales and leases in the data panel on this page. Then compare with other older condominium townhouses in the area and with freehold homes on the nearby streets, adjusting for size, basement finish, parking and what each fee covers. The Sovereign, a condominium apartment building at 95 La Rose Avenue, gives a useful contrast if you are deciding between a townhouse and an apartment.

If a townhouse here is priced close to a small house nearby, the house may be the better buy. If the gap is wide and the corporation is healthy, the townhouse is a sensible way into a neighbourhood that is about to gain rapid transit. My building sold report pulls the comparables together.

Building specifications

Amenities at 24 La Rose Avenue Townhouses

These are small, practical features rather than a lifestyle package: somewhere to wash the car, somewhere to keep bikes, room for guests to park and permission to barbecue. They cost little to run, which keeps more of the fee for the roofs and grounds.

Jatin’s honest take on 24 La Rose Avenue Townhouses

24 La Rose Avenue Townhouses — frequently asked questions

Looking at Downsview, Weston, York University Heights, Rexdale and northwest Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.