Annex Town5, 126 Spadina Rd: Five Self-Managed Townhouses in the Annex

Annex Town5 is about as small as a condominium gets: five townhouses on Spadina Road, registered in 2018, with no property manager and no concierge. It is a way to own a newer, house-sized home in the Annex without buying a Victorian that needs work, and it comes with a responsibility most condo buyers never think about. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

New townhouses on an old street

Spadina Road north of Bloor is classic Annex: large brick Victorian and Edwardian houses, many of them long since divided into apartments, on a street that residents famously fought to protect from the Spadina Expressway in the 1960s. New construction here is rare, because the neighbourhood’s heritage protections and low-rise character make redevelopment difficult.

Annex Town5 is one of the few recent additions: five townhouses, built by Joy Developments and registered as a condominium in January 2018. That makes them among the newest homes on the street, and it means you get modern construction, insulation and systems in a neighbourhood where most housing is well over a century old.

If you love the Annex but do not want to take on a 130-year-old house, this is the trade-off in its simplest form. You give up the original detail and the private garden; you gain a newer home with far fewer surprises behind the walls.

House-sized, with the roof as your yard

Each townhouse is roughly 1,450 to 1,800 sq ft, which is the size of a modest semi-detached house. For a couple, a small family or a downsizer, that is real space, and it is rare in a condominium this close to Bloor Street.

The outdoor space is the rooftop deck. On a narrow Annex lot, that is usually where your private outdoor room ends up, and on a good day it is one of the best features of the home. Ask about the deck’s size, what it faces, what the membrane is and how old it is, and whether you can add planters or a hot tub.

Townhouses mean stairs. A plan of this size usually spreads over several levels, so think honestly about whether you will be happy carrying groceries up a few flights, and check where the bedrooms and laundry sit. Confirm whether parking comes with the unit; it is not listed as included in the fee.

Self-managed means you are the board

This is the most important thing to understand. Annex Town5 has no property management company. The five owners run the corporation themselves: they hire the trades, collect the fees, insure the building, keep the books and maintain the reserve fund.

That can work very well. Fees in self-managed buildings are often lower, decisions are quick, and neighbours tend to know each other. It can also go badly if one owner does all the work and then sells, or if owners disagree about spending. With five households, there is no buffer.

Before you buy, ask for the status certificate, the reserve fund study, the most recent financial statements and the minutes of owners’ meetings. Ask who actually does the administration today, how decisions are made, and whether the owners have ever discussed hiring a manager.

Your lender and your insurer may ask questions too. Some lenders look harder at very small, self-managed corporations, so speak to your mortgage broker early, and make sure your lawyer reviews the declaration and by-laws rather than just the summary on the status certificate.

Living on Spadina Road

You are a short walk from Bloor Street, with its cafes, restaurants and shops, and from the University of Toronto’s St. George campus to the south and east. The Annex is one of the most walkable neighbourhoods in the city, and the data panel on this page covers transit, food and parks.

Spadina Road is a through street, so expect traffic noise in the front rooms. The side streets around it are quieter and very residential. Many of those streets are lined with the brick, turreted Annex-style houses the neighbourhood is known for, which is the view most owners here look out on, and a 1975 height freeze is a big part of why so many of them survived. Nearby condominiums on Spadina Road, such as the 12-suite 142 Spadina Road and Seventy-Four Spadina closer to Bloor, are the closest comparables in building type and scale.

Pricing: valued like a house, not a condo

There is no building average price per foot for Annex Town5, and there were no townhouses for sale or rent when I checked. With five units, sales are rare, and a single sale can tell you very little.

To value one, I would look past condo averages and compare it with recent sales of Annex semis and row houses of similar size and condition, then adjust for the newer construction, the rooftop deck and the shared costs. Nearby condo buildings on Spadina Road, such as 142 Spadina Road at about $905 per square foot and Seventy-Four Spadina at about $817, give a floor for what condo space trades for on this street; a newer townhouse should sit above that.

The real risk with a five-unit building is that there may be no true comparable at all. When a townhouse here lists, expect the price to be set by the seller’s view of the Annex house market, and be ready to support any offer with your own comparables.

Ask for the fee schedule and the past few years of fee changes. In a self-managed five-unit building, a reserve fund contribution that is too low today becomes a special assessment tomorrow, and that cost belongs in the price you offer.

Building specifications

Amenities at Annex Town5

The only listed amenity is the rooftop deck, and that is the right way to think about this building. You are buying a private home with a shared roof over the paperwork, not a condo lifestyle with a gym and concierge.

Jatin’s honest take on Annex Town5

Annex Town5 — 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.