Brownstones on Wallace, Elsie Lane: Low-Rise Towns With Low Fees

Brownstones on Wallace is what I show buyers who have outgrown a one-bedroom tower suite but cannot stretch to a house in the Junction Triangle. You get townhouse-style living, roughly 850 to 1,300 square feet, a parking garage and a fee near half a dollar a square foot. You also get the responsibilities that come with a low-rise complex, and those are what I want you to understand first. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A brownstone idea on a factory street

When this project was marketed in 2007, the name and the sales imagery borrowed from the classic Brooklyn brownstone. Readers on Spacing Toronto argued at the time about whether the renderings lived up to that photograph. Today the finished complex is on Elsie Lane, and you can walk it and judge for yourself.

What the low-rise format delivers is the thing most condo buyers in this part of the city cannot find: no long elevator rides, fewer neighbours per entrance, and suites big enough to feel like a home rather than a unit. It is a low-rise condominium, so you are still in a corporation with a board, a budget and shared parking, but the daily experience is closer to a townhouse.

The street matters too. Wallace Avenue sits in the heart of the Junction Triangle, an area Heritage Toronto describes as one of the city’s busiest manufacturing districts in the early 1900s. Brick homes, converted factories and newer infill now share the same blocks.

Layouts and the space you actually get

Suites run from about 846 to 1,321 square feet. The suites listed at the time of writing were two-bedroom-plus-den plans in the 800s, and the top of the range runs past 1,300 square feet. That is a big step up from the roughly 500 to 850 square feet at Upside Down Condos II on Lansdowne, for example.

The complex is listed at two levels, so check how the unit you like is laid out. If it spreads over more than one floor, count the stairs between the kitchen, the bedrooms and any terrace, and think about how that works with a stroller, groceries or ageing knees. A den in a townhouse plan can be a genuine office or a nursery, but check whether it has a window and a door.

Outdoor space is one of the reasons people buy here. The complex lists a rooftop deck and permits barbecues, which is unusual in a tower and valuable to anyone who cooks outside. Confirm in the status certificate which outdoor areas are exclusive-use to your unit and who is responsible for maintaining them.

Low fees, and what they leave out

The fee is the headline. Active listings at the time of writing showed fees of roughly $0.51 per square foot, between about $431 and $444 a month. For a suite of this size in central Toronto, that is low.

Read the inclusions carefully, because they explain the number. The fee covers common elements and water. Heat, cooling and hydro are on your own meters, so ask the seller for a year of utility bills; a multi-level suite with exterior walls on more than one side can cost more to heat than a tower suite of the same size.

Low fees are only good news if the reserve fund is healthy. In low-rise complexes, roofs, terraces, waterproofing over the garage and exterior brick and stone are the expensive items, and they tend to come due together. A 2011 complex is entering the years when the reserve fund study should be planning for them.

Daily life on Wallace and Elsie Lane

The complex sits near the west end of Wallace Avenue, close to the rail corridor. The historic Wallace Avenue footbridge, built in 1907 and kept because residents liked it, carries pedestrians over the tracks, and the West Toronto Railpath runs along the corridor for walking and cycling.

To the north, the redevelopment around Dupont and Lansdowne has added a grocery store, a pharmacy and a bank in the base of the Fuse towers, according to UrbanToronto. That has made this pocket far more self-sufficient than it was when the Brownstones were built.

The trade-off is that you live beside working rail lines and an area that is still changing. Visit at different times of day, listen for train noise from the unit you want, and ask the property manager about development planned nearby. Check the City’s development applications map for sites on Wallace and the surrounding streets, too. Transit, school and Walk Score details are in the data panel on this page.

Pricing at Brownstones on Wallace

Two suites were for sale at the time of writing, asking from $734,900 to $759,900. On suites in the 800-square-foot range, that is a higher asking price per square foot than the roughly $736 average at Upside Down Condos II nearby. Buyers here are paying for the townhouse format, the lower fee and the larger plans, not for a discount per foot.

Supply is thin, and that cuts both ways. With 134 suites and only a couple listed at a time, you may wait for the right layout, but comparables are close and easy to read when one does come up. For recorded sales and lease figures, use the data panel or ask me for a building sold report.

When you compare against a tower suite, add back heat and hydro here and add back parking and amenities there. The real monthly gap is usually smaller than the fee alone suggests, but the space advantage is real.

Building specifications

Amenities at Brownstones on Wallace

There is no gym, pool or concierge listed, and that is part of why the fee is low. What you get instead is outdoor space, barbecues, a garage and a security system, which suits people who want a home rather than a club.

Jatin’s honest take on Brownstones on Wallace

Brownstones on Wallace — frequently asked questions

Looking at the Junction, Corso Italia, Hillcrest Village and west-central Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.