2645 Jane Street Condos: Big 1978 Low-Rise Suites With Hydro In the Fee

2645 Jane Street is a building most condo buyers drive past without noticing, and that is a mistake if you need space. It is a six-storey, 1978 low-rise with some of the largest suites in northwest Toronto, a fee that covers nearly every utility, and prices that work out to under $400 a square foot. It is not glamorous, and I will tell you exactly what to check. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A low-rise with family-size suites

At six storeys and 211 suites, this is a long, low building rather than a tower. That shape matters day to day: fewer floors means shorter elevator trips, and stairs are a realistic option for many residents, which is a real comfort for families with strollers or anyone who dislikes waiting on elevators.

Condos.ca lists suites from about 841 to 1,517 sq ft. The upper end of that range is larger than many townhouses, and the building includes plans of up to four bedrooms. Four-bedroom condo suites are rare in Toronto at any price, and they are a big part of why families look here.

This is 1978 construction, and suite condition varies widely. Some owners have modernised kitchens, bathrooms and flooring; others are close to original. With suites this size, a full renovation is a sizeable budget, so factor it into your offer.

The fee: high number, broad coverage

Current listings show fees of roughly $1,040 to $1,350 a month. On its own, that number puts people off. But the listed inclusions are hydro, heat, air conditioning, water, parking, cable TV, building insurance and common elements, which covers almost every regular housing bill except property tax and internet.

Listing sizes are not published consistently, so I cannot give an exact per-square-foot fee, but across the building’s size range it works out to somewhere around a dollar a square foot, more or less depending on the suite. Compare that with a house of similar size, where heating, cooling, hydro and water bills alone can be several hundred dollars a month.

The trade-off is that a fully bundled fee rises when energy and maintenance costs rise, and in a 1978 building those costs are not small. The fee history and the reserve fund study will tell you whether the corporation has kept up.

Jane Street and the Downsview future

The building sits on Jane Street in Glenfield-Jane Heights, a North York neighbourhood on the western edge of the wider Downsview area, with Highway 401 and Highway 400 both close for drivers. The data panel on this page shows the actual transit and walking times, nearby food and parks.

The biggest change on the horizon is a few kilometres east. Northcrest Developments, working with Canada Lands Company, is planning the redevelopment of roughly 520 acres around the former Downsview airport and Bombardier lands into new mixed-use neighbourhoods with homes, offices, parks and schools. The planning phase alone is expected to take years and the full build-out could run more than two decades, so I would not pay for it today, but it is a long-term positive for the whole area.

The change is not only far off. UrbanToronto’s Downsview growth roundups have tracked mid-rise, condo and townhouse infill along Wilson Avenue and around the west edge of Downsview Park for years, so this is an area already in slow transition. For an owner of a large suite here, that steady arrival of new housing nearby tends to bring more shops and services over time.

Closer to home, the reality is a car-friendly, residential stretch of Jane Street. It suits people who want space and value and are comfortable driving for most errands.

Outdoor living and the amenity list

The listed amenities are an outdoor pool, a sauna, a security guard, a security system, an enter-phone entry system and an underground parking garage, and condos.ca notes that barbecues are permitted. In a lot of Toronto condos, barbecues are banned outright, so if summer cooking matters to you, this is worth confirming in the rules for your specific suite.

The outdoor pool is a summer-only amenity and a real cost for the corporation to maintain, so ask about its condition. The security guard gives the building a staffed presence that many low-rises do not have. Ask the property manager how the pool season is run and whether any repairs to the pool deck or equipment are planned in the reserve fund study.

What it costs, in aggregate

The building average on condos.ca is about $389 per square foot, well below newer condos in North York and among the lowest figures for any family-size condo in the city.

Four suites were listed when I reviewed the building, with asking prices ranging from roughly $400,000 to $600,000. With suite sizes this varied, a range that wide is expected, and it gives you real choice.

When comparing suites, put the fee next to the price. Because fees scale with suite size, a larger suite at a higher price can still be the better buy per square foot, and a cheaper suite with a high fee may cost more to carry each month than you expect.

Before making an offer, I pull the building’s recent sold results in aggregate and compare them with similar 1970s low-rises in the area, adjusting for size and condition. With fewer than a handful of listings at any time, those comparisons matter more than the asking prices. My building sold report is a good place to start.

Building specifications

Amenities at 2645 Jane Street Condos

This is a practical amenity list built around families: a summer pool, a sauna, a staffed security presence and permission to barbecue. You are not paying for a gym, party room or concierge, which helps keep a broad fee from climbing higher.

Jatin’s honest take on 2645 Jane Street Condos

2645 Jane Street Condos — 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.