500 St Clair Ave W: The Taller Twin at Bathurst, With Heat and AC Included

500 St Clair is the building I point to when a buyer wants St Clair West without giving up a concierge and a full-size suite. It is the taller of two towers at St Clair and Bathurst, built in 2010, with heat, air conditioning and parking in the fee. The price per square foot is high for the area, and I’ll explain where it is and isn’t earned. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

One of a pair: the Forest Hill towers

500 St Clair is one half of a two-tower project that Lash and The Goldman Group built on the south side of St Clair between Bathurst Street and Raglan Avenue, marketed as The Forest Hill. Richmond Architects designed both towers. This one is the taller, at 23 storeys and roughly 277 feet to the roof, while its sister tower is 19 storeys.

The site previously held low-rise buildings, and the towers went up at the same time as the dedicated streetcar right-of-way on St Clair, one of the more disruptive transit projects the city has undertaken. Today the result is a tall, established pair of buildings set on one of Toronto’s main streetcar avenues. Sixteen years on, it is no longer new, and that is useful: there is a track record of fees, budgets and reserve fund studies you can read before you buy, which a pre-construction purchase never offers.

Being one of two matters when you compare prices. The two towers share a developer, architect and era, so the sister building is the natural yardstick. If a suite here is priced well above a similar plan next door, ask why: view, floor and finishes usually explain it, and sometimes they don’t.

Fees that cover heat, cooling and parking

Active listings carry fees of about $1.03 per square foot, which looks expensive next to a newer tower at $0.70. Look at the inclusions before you judge it. Here the fee covers common elements, heat, air conditioning, building insurance, parking and water, so only hydro and internet are clearly on you.

That matters more in a building with larger suites. Heating and cooling a 900 or 1,000 square foot suite on your own meter is a real monthly cost, and so is a separately billed parking space. Add those back to a cheaper-looking building and the comparison tightens.

The flip side is that bundled heat and cooling expose every owner to energy price increases through the budget. Look at how fees have moved in recent years and what the reserve fund study says about the heating and cooling plant, which in a 2010 building is approaching the stage where major components need attention.

Suites sized for people moving up, not just starting out

Suites range from about 567 to 1,383 square feet. That is a more grown-up mix than many newer buildings, with a good share of two-bedroom plans, and it tends to suit couples, downsizers from the surrounding houses and professionals who want room to work at home.

In a 23-storey tower on a street of mostly low-rise buildings, floor and exposure do a lot of work. If you are comparing two suites of similar size, the view will often explain much of the difference in asking price, so look at both at the same time of day before you decide.

Guest suites are on the amenity list, which is a practical plus for downsizers who have given up a spare bedroom but still host family.

Parking is part of the fee here, which is worth noting on St Clair, where street parking is tight and many newer buildings sell spaces separately. Confirm that the space is actually conveyed with the suite you are buying, whether it is owned or exclusive-use, and whether a locker comes with it.

St Clair West, day to day

This is a streetcar-and-subway location. The St Clair streetcar runs in its own lane out front, and the panel beside this review shows the nearest subway station and walking times. The streetcar lane also means fewer places to stop a car out front, so ask how deliveries and pick-ups work at the building.

The neighbourhood is a meeting point of Wychwood to the west and Forest Hill South to the north and east, and it reads as a main street rather than a tower district. St Clair West is one of the city’s avenue corridors, so expect continued mid-rise redevelopment along this stretch, which can bring construction nearby as well as new shops.

Pricing: a premium for midtown, and how to read it

The building averages about $870 per square foot, which is high for a 2010 tower and reflects the address, the larger suites and the fee inclusions. When I checked, four suites were listed for sale, asking between $549,000 and $1,299,999. That is a wide spread, and it mostly reflects the range of suite sizes and floors.

Asking prices are not sale prices, and in a building with only a handful of listings at a time, the gap between the two can be meaningful. The 12-month sold summary on this page shows what has actually traded. For a detailed comparison with the sister tower and nearby buildings, request my building sold report.

On carrying costs, judge the fee against what it includes rather than its headline number. At roughly $1.03 per square foot with heat, cooling and parking in, the true premium over a newer building with everything metered separately is smaller than it first looks.

Building specifications

Amenities at 500 St Clair

The package leans toward hosting rather than fitness: a concierge, a rooftop deck, a party room, a media room, a meeting room and guest suites. Condos.ca does not list a gym in its summary, so confirm the fitness facilities in person if that matters to you.

Jatin’s honest take on 500 St Clair

500 St Clair — frequently asked questions

Looking at York Mills, Don Mills, Lawrence Park, Bathurst Manor and midtown-north Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.