Caledonia Towns on the Park: 50 LEED Gold Minto Towns off St Clair West

Caledonia Towns on the Park is the kind of complex most buyers drive past without knowing it is there. It is 50 Minto townhomes tucked onto Caledonia Park Road just south of St Clair West, finished in 2013 and certified LEED Gold, which is still unusual for a townhouse condo in this part of the city. If you want a townhouse layout at a condo price west of Dufferin, it belongs on your list. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A Minto townhouse project built to LEED Gold

Minto lists Caledonia Towns on the Park as a completed 2013 project of 50 townhomes at the corner of St Clair Avenue West and Caledonia Park Road, and records that it earned LEED Canada for Homes Gold that year. Minto is one of the larger and longer-established builders in Ontario, and green certification was something it pushed on its urban projects in that period.

The certification is not a marketing badge you can ignore. According to Minto, the homes were built with a drain water heat recovery system, a heat recovery ventilator for fresh air, double-pane low-E argon windows, Energy Star appliances, water-efficient fixtures and an all-off switch by the front door that cuts fixed lighting and some outlets as you leave.

In practice that means lower utility bills than a typical townhouse of the same age, and better air in a home that is sealed tightly. It also means equipment you need to look after: an HRV has filters and a core that need regular cleaning, and a drain water heat recovery unit is a part most inspectors will not recognise unless you point it out.

Layouts: two and three bedrooms, real square footage

Minto describes the plans as two- and three-bedroom designs, and listing records put the range at roughly 681 to 1,298 square feet. That is a wide spread for 50 homes, so the complex suits both a couple buying their first place and a small family that needs a third bedroom without moving to a freehold.

Condos.ca classifies the complex as a low-rise condo, and it has a parking garage, visitor parking and permission for barbecues. Being allowed to grill on your own outdoor space sounds minor until you live in a tower where it is banned. I have not been able to confirm the storey count or ceiling heights from a source I trust, so walk the specific home and measure.

Before you compare two homes in the complex, ask each listing agent for the floor plan and the measured square footage. With a range this wide, two homes that both say three bedrooms can differ by a few hundred square feet, and that changes the per-foot value more than any finish upgrade.

Small corporation, small budget

With only 50 owners, every decision the board makes shows up quickly in your fees. There is no concierge, no gym and no pool to fund, which is why townhouse fees here tend to be modest. The flip side is that a small reserve fund has fewer contributors when the roofs, the underground garage membrane or the exterior cladding come due.

The building is now 13 years old. That is the age at which the first reserve fund study cycles start calling for real money on garage waterproofing and roofing. Ask for the most recent study and the status certificate before you firm up, and read what the study says about the parking structure specifically.

The daily reality off St Clair West

Caledonia Park Road is a short residential street, so the complex is quiet even though St Clair West and its streetcar are steps away. Minto places it in Davenport Village, while the city groups the area under Corso Italia-Davenport. Either way, the Corso Italia stretch of St Clair, with its cafes, bakeries and family-run shops, is the main street you will end up using.

What I like about this location for a townhouse buyer is that you are on a side street with your own front door, but you are not out in the suburbs to get it. Most of the newer housing nearby is condo apartments, so a two- or three-bedroom townhouse with a garage is a different product from what the towers on the surrounding main streets offer.

This is a working, family-oriented pocket rather than a polished one. Buyers who like it tend to stay, which is part of why only a handful of homes come up in a given year. The automatic panel on this page shows the transit, schools, parks and food options nearby.

What it costs, and how to read the numbers

The building’s average works out to about $621 per square foot. For a newer townhouse with a garage in the city, that is well below what most high-rise condos in the west end are asking per foot, and it is the main reason people look here.

Supply is the catch. At the time of writing there is one home for sale and two for rent, so I would not lean on a single asking price as a benchmark. Use the 12-month sold figures in the data panel, and compare per square foot against other Davenport and St Clair West townhouse complexes rather than against towers.

Two homes listed for rent at the same time tells me some owners here are investors, which is normal for a 2013 complex. If you are buying to live in, ask how many homes are tenanted, because owner-occupied townhouse complexes usually keep the common areas and the garage in better shape.

On fees, I do not have a confirmed list of what is included, so get it from the status certificate. Townhouse corporations often leave water, heat and hydro to each owner, and with LEED features your own utility bills may be lower than you expect. Ask the seller for the last 12 months of utility statements.

Building specifications

Amenities at Caledonia Towns on the Park

There is no amenity package to speak of, and that is deliberate. You are paying for your own home and a shared garage, not a lobby and a gym, which keeps the corporation’s costs focused on the structure.

Jatin’s honest take on Caledonia Towns on the Park

Caledonia Towns on the Park — 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.