Chateau Royal, 650 Mount Pleasant Rd: Art Deco Boutique Condo in Midtown

Chateau Royal is the building I show buyers who want the feel of an older, more formal apartment house but in a building from 2009. It is eight storeys of Art Deco-inspired design on Mount Pleasant Road, with 98 suites, a staffed lobby and a fee that covers heating and cooling. That fee is the first thing buyers notice, and it is the right place to start. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Art Deco styling on a mid-rise scale

Listings describe Chateau Royal as an Art Deco building, and that is the right way to think about it: a newer building designed to evoke the formal apartment houses of the 1920s and 1930s rather than another glass tower. At eight storeys it sits comfortably on Mount Pleasant Road, where most of the street is low-rise shops and houses.

The tone carries inside. Listings describe a community-oriented building with a welcoming lobby and a 24-hour concierge, which is unusual for a building of under a hundred suites. That staffing is a big part of what you pay for, and a big part of why buyers who choose it stay.

I could not find the architect named in any public source I checked. If design pedigree matters to you, ask the corporation or check the original sales materials.

A wide range of suites, up to very large

Condos.ca lists suites from about 626 to 2,628 sq ft. At the lower end are one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens; the upper end reaches suites the size of a house, which is the kind of plan downsizers look for.

The suites I reviewed in listings had open-plan kitchen, dining and living areas, hardwood floors, granite counters, built-in stainless appliances, in-suite laundry and central air. Corner suites are worth seeking out in a building like this, and at least one listing highlighted a corner balcony with no neighbouring balconies on either side.

Listings also describe an owned underground parking space and a locker. Confirm both on the status certificate, because what comes with a suite varies.

A staffed building with only 98 owners

Most buildings with a 24-hour concierge near Yonge and Eglinton are towers with several hundred suites. Chateau Royal offers the same front-desk service with fewer than a hundred owners, which changes the feel of the place. Staff get to know residents, deliveries are handled, and the lobby is never anonymous.

The flip side is arithmetic. Every salary, contract and repair is split 98 ways, so a large project, such as a garage repair or a mechanical replacement, lands harder per suite than it would in a big tower. A healthy reserve fund matters more here than in a larger building, and so does a board that plans ahead.

Small, staffed buildings also tend to have strong views among owners about how the building should be run, which is usually a strength because engaged owners tend to look after a building. Check the declaration and rules for any leasing or renovation restrictions rather than assuming, and read a full year of board minutes to see how decisions are made and what the board is spending on.

Mount Pleasant Road between Davisville and Eglinton

The building sits on Mount Pleasant Road, east of Yonge, between Davisville and Eglinton. This stretch of Mount Pleasant is a neighbourhood main street of independent shops, cafes, restaurants and services, with residential side streets running off it in both directions.

That gives you a quieter daily life than living on Yonge, while keeping the Yonge and Eglinton hub within reach. Bayview and the Leaside shops are also a short drive or a longer walk east. The transit, school and walkability details are in the data panel on this page.

Yonge and Eglinton has seen years of construction, and more towers continue to be proposed around the intersection. Mount Pleasant itself has changed less, which is part of the appeal, but ask what is planned near the building before you buy.

What Chateau Royal costs, and what the fee buys

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $736 per square foot. That is below many newer buildings around Yonge and Eglinton, which reflects the building’s age, its smaller amenity package compared with the big towers, and its higher fees.

When I checked, three suites were listed for sale, asking between $539,900 and $799,000, from a one-bedroom of about 600 to 699 sq ft to suites of 900 to 999 sq ft. Fees on those listings worked out to about $1.41 per square foot, which is high for midtown.

Before you dismiss that fee, look at what it covers. Condos.ca lists air conditioning, heat, water, building insurance, parking and common elements, and one listing also said internet was included, which condos.ca does not show, so confirm it. In most buildings nearby, heating, cooling and parking are paid separately. Add those back and the gap narrows, though it does not close. A 24-hour concierge in a 98-suite building is a big part of why fees run higher than in a larger tower, where staff costs are spread over more owners.

The real question is whether you will use what you are paying for. If you value a staffed lobby, a guest suite and predictable utility costs, the fee buys something. If you would rather keep your monthly costs low, a larger building nearby will usually be cheaper to carry.

Building specifications

Amenities at Chateau Royal

This is an amenity package built around service rather than recreation: a staffed lobby, guest suites for visiting family, a party room and media room, a gym and a rooftop terrace with city views. There is no pool, which keeps one large cost out of the reserve fund.

Jatin’s honest take on Chateau Royal

Chateau Royal — 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.