89 Elm Ave: Four House-Sized Condo Homes in South Rosedale

89 Elm Avenue is about as close as a condominium gets to owning a house in South Rosedale. There are only four homes, each around 2,500 sq ft or more, on one of the neighbourhood’s best-known streets, inside the South Rosedale Heritage Conservation District. You are really buying a share of a tiny, owner-run corporation, so the paperwork matters more than the floor plan. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Four homes, not four apartments

Condos.ca records four suites over two storeys, with sizes of about 2,462 to 2,794 sq ft. Those are house sizes. Each home here is larger than most detached houses in the newer parts of the city, and far larger than anything you will find in a midtown condo tower outside the penthouse floors.

The City’s heritage inventory, as reproduced by the Architectural Conservancy Ontario, records a pair of semi-detached houses at 87 to 91 Elm Avenue that sit behind 89 Elm and are reached by laneways on either side of that property. A four-unit, two-storey corporation registered in 1981 fits a small cluster of house-form homes on one lot. I could not confirm exactly which structures make up MTCC-560, so read the registered plan before you assume what you are buying.

That arrangement, if it is what the plan shows, explains much of the appeal. A rear home reached by a laneway is set back from the street and very private. A front home has the street presence. They are different purchases, and should be priced differently.

Ask for floor plans and measurements as well. At this size, small differences in layout, ceiling height, light and outdoor space add up to large differences in value, and a recorded size range of more than 300 sq ft across four homes tells you they are not identical.

Inside a heritage conservation district

South Rosedale was studied for designation as a Heritage Conservation District under Part V of the Ontario Heritage Act in 2002, and the ACO record lists 87 to 91 Elm as a heritage property within the district. In practice, that means changes to the outside of the buildings need a heritage permit from the City.

The district guidelines favour repair over replacement, ask that new materials match the old, and discourage changes to the ratio of wall to window. Some work, such as painting, like-for-like repairs, eavestroughs and work not visible from the street, can be exempt. Interiors and landscaping are not controlled.

For an owner, that cuts both ways. The street around you is protected from the kind of redevelopment that has changed other midtown streets. But replacing windows, doors or roofing on your own building may take longer and cost more than it would elsewhere, and in a condominium, the corporation will usually be the applicant.

Self-managed by four owners

There is no management company. Four owners run the corporation themselves: they collect fees, maintain the reserve fund, insure the buildings and hire the trades. In a corporation this small, the relationship between the owners is part of what you are buying.

The fee includes water, building insurance and common elements. Heat, hydro and parking are not listed as included, so ask for recent utility bills. Condos.ca also lists a security system, an enter-phone system, visitor parking and barbecues permitted; confirm the rules in writing rather than relying on a database.

With four owners, every decision is close to personal. Who pays for the laneway, the shared roofs, the snow, the trees? How is a vote decided if two owners disagree with two? The declaration and any rules or agreements answer those questions, and you want to read them before you commit, not after.

Elm Avenue and South Rosedale

Elm Avenue runs through the heart of South Rosedale, a neighbourhood of large Victorian and Edwardian houses, mature trees and winding streets set against the ravines. Very little in South Rosedale is sold as a condominium, which is why a building like this has such a small and specific buyer pool.

That small buyer pool shapes the purchase. When a home here comes up, it is usually marketed to people who already know the street, often through word of mouth before it is widely seen. If you want in, the practical move is to have an agent watching for it and to have your financing and due diligence ready, so you can act quickly without skipping the checks.

Day to day, the appeal is quiet and setting. The shops and restaurants of Yonge Street and Summerhill and the Bloor-Yorkville area are within reach, but the streets around you are residential and protected. Transit, schools, parks and Walk Score for this address are shown in the data panel on this page.

Pricing four homes with almost no comparables

Condos.ca does not publish a building average price per square foot for 89 Elm, and no homes were listed for sale or for rent when I checked. With four suites, years can pass between sales.

That means the condo market is the wrong benchmark. A home of 2,500 sq ft or more in South Rosedale competes with semi-detached and detached houses nearby, discounted for shared ownership, the lack of land you own outright, and any limits the declaration places on what you can change. It also competes with the largest suites in Yorkville and Rosedale condominiums, which come with staff and amenities but not a front door on Elm Avenue.

To price a home here, I look at what the corporation has sold, at semi-detached sales in South Rosedale, and at large boutique condominium suites in the area, and adjust for setting, parking and condition. Ask for my building sold report before you set a number.

Building specifications

Amenities at 89 Elm Avenue Condos

There are no shared amenities. You are paying for space, privacy and a South Rosedale setting, with the corporation handling the outside of the buildings.

Jatin’s honest take on 89 Elm Avenue Condos

89 Elm Avenue Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at Yorkville, the Annex and Midtown more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.