253 Wellesley St E: A Victorian Mansion Conversion With Garden Townhouses

253 Wellesley Street East is a condominium most buyers would walk past thinking it was a house. Behind the Victorian front is a small corporation of just 11 suites: five in the old mansion and six townhouses at the back around a shared garden. It is one of the few ways to buy period character west of Parliament without buying a whole house. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The Mansion and the townhouses

Listings market the front building as “The Mansion”: a Victorian house divided into five condominium suites. Behind it, six townhouses face a shared, landscaped garden, and the two parts together make up the 11 suites registered as MTCC-1045 in 1993.

I could not find a public record of who built the house or who carried out the conversion, and condos.ca does not list a developer. The registration date tells you the condominium was created in the early 1990s, when a number of large old houses in this part of the city were being divided up or redeveloped.

condos.ca lists the complex as two storeys. One recent listing described a two-storey suite occupying the upper floors of the mansion, so the house itself is likely taller than that figure suggests. Treat the storey count as approximate.

The seller’s listing described the complex as well managed and maintained. That is the seller’s view rather than an independent assessment, but it is the right question to test, because in a building like this the quality of upkeep shows up in the masonry, the roof and the garden more than anywhere else.

What the suites are like

Expect a real mix. condos.ca records suite sizes from about 316 to 953 square feet, while one listing for a mansion suite described about 1,070 square feet over two levels, with ten-foot ceilings, two bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms. Sizes from different sources do not line up, so measure or check the registered plan before you rely on a figure.

In a conversion, no two suites are alike. Ceiling heights, window sizes, stairs and room shapes follow the old house, which is the charm and also the compromise. Small suites in the house may have awkward layouts; the townhouses at the rear are likely to be more regular.

The same listing described a heat pump with forced-air heating and cooling in the suite, a balcony, a large locker or storage room and an underground parking space. Ask whether those systems are owned by the suite or the corporation.

The two parts of the complex are also likely to carry different costs. A suite inside an old house shares a roof, walls and stairs with four other owners, while a townhouse may have more of its own envelope. How the declaration divides responsibility and fee shares between the two is worth reading line by line.

Storage is worth checking in detail too. Old houses were not built with closets in mind, and the listing’s mention of a large locker or storage room suggests the corporation has found space for it, but every suite will differ. If you are coming from a house, measure what you need to keep before you fall for the ceilings.

Wellesley and Ontario, day to day

This stretch of Wellesley Street East runs between St. James Town to the north-west and the Victorian streets of Cabbagetown to the east. Parliament Street’s groceries, cafés and restaurants are a few minutes’ walk east, and Riverdale Park and Riverdale Farm are within walking distance.

Wellesley is a busy street, so ask which way a suite faces; suites facing the rear garden will be noticeably quieter than the ones on the street. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability.

The shared garden deserves a question of its own. Who maintains it, what it costs each year and whether any suites have exclusive use of part of it can all affect what you are actually getting, so ask before you fall for the view from the back windows.

Pricing 11 suites that rarely trade

condos.ca shows a building average of about $1,280 per square foot, but with only 11 suites and very few sales, that figure rests on a tiny sample and could be skewed by one small suite. I would not use it to price anything. Only one suite was listed at the time of writing, which is not enough to describe a range.

To value a suite here, I compare the building’s own sales over several years, other small house conversions and townhouse condos around Cabbagetown, and freehold semis nearby. The character and garden are worth something; the shared ownership of an old house and the lack of amenities pull the other way.

There is also a discrepancy on fees. condos.ca lists common elements, building insurance, parking and water as included, while a recent listing said the fee also covered heat, hydro, cable and central air. The status certificate and budget are the only reliable answer. For aggregate recent trades, see my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at 253 Wellesley

The amenity here is the garden. There is no gym, concierge or party room, and the shared outdoor space between the house and the townhouses is what you are really paying for besides the suite itself. If you want a gym, budget for a membership on Parliament Street or nearby.

Jatin’s honest take on 253 Wellesley

253 Wellesley — frequently asked questions

Looking at Church–Wellesley, Corktown, Moss Park and Cabbagetown more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.