Biaritz Terrace, 335 Lonsdale Rd: A Six-Storey Condo by Forest Hill Village

Biaritz Terrace is a small, six-storey building on Lonsdale Road for buyers who want to live in Forest Hill Village without paying for a house or a tower. It has 62 suites, a rooftop deck and one of the most complete fee structures in midtown, with heat, hydro and parking included. What it does not have is a long list of amenities, and that is mostly a good thing. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A small building that fits the street

Biaritz Terrace rises six storeys, about 16.7 metres, which keeps it in scale with the low-rise apartment buildings and houses around Forest Hill Village. That height is typical of how the village has accepted new condos: modest buildings that read as part of the street rather than towers above it.

The developer’s own name, Lonsdale By The Village, tells you the pitch. You are a short walk from the shops, cafes and restaurants on Spadina Road in the village, in a part of the city where most homes are detached houses on large lots. For many buyers, a suite here is the most affordable way into that address.

With 62 suites, the building is big enough to fund a proper reserve but small enough that you will recognise your neighbours. Lonsdale Road has other small condominiums nearby, including Lonsdale House at 350 Lonsdale and the Condominiums of Forest Hill Village at 317-319 Lonsdale, which give you something to compare against.

Heat, hydro and parking are in the fee

Condos.ca lists the fee as covering common elements, heat, hydro, building insurance, parking and water. Hydro is the unusual item. Most buildings completed around 2010 meter electricity to each suite, so owners here avoid a separate electricity bill, which in a larger suite with air conditioning running all summer is not a small line.

That has two consequences. First, compare fees with other buildings on an all-in basis, because a fee here that looks higher than a newer building’s may be cheaper once you add back that building’s hydro and parking. Second, included hydro means the corporation carries the energy risk; if electricity costs rise, the fee rises with them. Look at how the utility line in the budget has changed over the past few years.

Parking is included in the fee, and condos.ca lists a parking garage, visitor parking and a car wash bay. Confirm on the status certificate that a space and any locker are attached to the suite you are buying.

Suites from compact to family-sized

Condos.ca lists suites from about 460 to 1,324 sq ft, with a range of layouts and exposures. At the small end are one-bedrooms suited to a single buyer or a pied-a-terre; at the top are two-bedroom and larger plans that work for downsizers leaving a house in the neighbourhood.

In a six-storey building, exposure matters more than height. Views are limited, so the questions are which way a suite faces, what is across from it and how much light it gets. Suites at the top, closest to the rooftop deck, and those facing away from Lonsdale will usually be the most sought after.

I could not find published floor plans or ceiling heights for the building. Ask the listing agent for the plan and the measured size, and compare the layout itself, not just the square footage.

Daily life in Forest Hill Village

Living here means the village does the work of an amenity floor. Groceries, coffee, bakeries, restaurants, banks and services are a short walk along Spadina Road, and the residential streets around it are among the quietest and leafiest in central Toronto. It is the kind of place where an evening walk is the main entertainment, and for the buyers who choose it, that is the point.

The trade-off is that the village is a neighbourhood retail strip, not a major shopping area, and for bigger shopping trips most residents drive or head to St. Clair West or Yonge. The transit, school and walkability details are in the data panel on this page.

What Biaritz Terrace costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $596 per square foot. That is low for a 2010 building in Forest Hill, and I would treat it with caution, because averages in a 62-suite building can move a lot on just a few sales. Look at the most recent sales of similar suites before you rely on it.

There were no suites for sale when I checked, and one for lease. That is typical of a small building in a neighbourhood where owners tend to stay, and it means you may wait for the right suite rather than choosing among several at once.

When a suite does come up, compare the fee per square foot against other buildings only after adjusting for what is included. Here you are paying for heat, hydro, water and parking inside the fee, which most newer buildings do not cover. On an all-in monthly basis, this building may cost less to live in than its fee suggests.

For downsizers, the more useful comparison is with the house you are leaving. A suite here removes the roof, the snow, the furnace and the hydro bill from your life for one monthly payment, while keeping you within walking distance of the same shops and streets. Put the fee next to what you spend now on utilities, insurance and upkeep, and the decision often becomes clearer.

Building specifications

Amenities at Biaritz Terrace

The core package is a rooftop deck with barbecues, a car wash bay and visitor parking. Sources differ on the rest: one listing site adds a gym and a concierge, while condos.ca does not list them and a rental profile mentions a caretaker. Confirm what is actually staffed and available before you assume it.

Jatin’s honest take on Biaritz Terrace

Biaritz Terrace — frequently asked questions

Looking at Yonge & Eglinton, Davisville and North Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.