Chelsea Gate, 108 Finch Ave W: Large Stacked Townhomes Near Yonge and Finch

Chelsea Gate is the answer I give buyers who say they want a townhouse near the Finch subway but cannot stretch to a freehold. It is a 1997 complex of 99 stacked townhomes on Finch Avenue West, and the suites are big: roughly 1,000 to 1,650 square feet, most of them over two levels. The price per square foot is one of the lower ones in the area, and there are reasons for that worth understanding. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Townhouse living over an underground garage

Chelsea Gate is stacked townhomes, not apartments. Suites are numbered by block, with A, B and C prefixes, and a recent listing describes a two-storey suite with its own ground-level entry straight to the street. You get a front door, stairs inside your home and no shared corridor.

Below the complex is an underground garage. The same listing notes indoor access from the parking area and to the garbage room, which is a genuine winter advantage over complexes where you walk outside to reach your car or your bins.

Some suites face Finch and some face the interior of the complex. That matters more here than in a tower. Finch Avenue West is a busy road, and an interior-facing suite will be noticeably quieter, so factor orientation into what you are willing to pay.

At 99 suites, the complex is small enough that owners and the board tend to know it well, and large enough to share the cost of a garage, grounds and a security system. Visitor parking is listed, which helps when family comes over, but confirm how many spaces there are and how they are managed.

Big suites by condo standards

Condos.ca puts suite sizes at about 1,028 to 1,652 square feet, which means even the smallest suite here is larger than most two-bedroom condos built in North York in the last decade. Current listings are two-bedroom, two-plus-den and three-bedroom plans, and that is who this complex suits: families and buyers who need real separation between rooms.

The format has trade-offs. Two-level suites mean stairs every day, and stacked townhomes rarely have elevators. A suite on the upper level of a stack may involve an exterior stair as well as the internal one, so walk the route from the garage to the front door before you fall for a floor plan.

Suites from 1997 that have not been updated will have original kitchens, bathrooms and windows. Budget for that, and check the corporation’s approval process before you plan anything structural or plumbing-related.

A lean fee, with utilities on you

Condos.ca lists common elements, building insurance, parking and water in the fee. Heat, hydro and air conditioning are not listed, which usually means each suite has its own equipment and meter. Ask the age of the furnace or heat pump and the air conditioner in the suite you are buying, because replacing them is your cost, not the corporation’s.

Current listings carry fees of about $658 to $954 a month. Spread over 1,000 to 1,650 square feet, that is a moderate fee per square foot for a complex that includes parking, but remember to add your own utility bills when you compare it with a tower where heat and cooling are in the fee.

Townhouse complexes of this age face roof, terrace, garage and exterior repairs at the same time. Read the reserve fund study for those items in particular, and the board minutes for any water-penetration issues between stacked suites.

Ask too whether front doors, windows, terraces and decks are the corporation’s responsibility or the owner’s under the declaration. In stacked townhouse complexes that split varies from one corporation to the next, and it decides who pays when those items wear out.

Life on Finch, a short walk from Yonge

The practical draw is the location. A recent listing describes a short walk to Finch station with a bus stop across the street, and the transit details are in the panel on this page. Edithvale Community Centre sits across Finch at 131 Finch Avenue West. The City opened it in 2010 with a double gymnasium, an indoor running track, a weight room, fitness and dance studios and a seniors’ lounge, which makes up for the complex having no gym of its own.

Change is coming to the corridor. The City’s North York at the Centre study is reviewing the North York Centre Secondary Plan for Yonge between Highway 401 and Cummer Avenue, and looking at expansion areas within about 800 metres of Finch station. More density near Yonge and Finch is likely over the coming years, with the construction that brings.

Price per square foot, and what is listed

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $601 per square foot. That is low for a location this close to the Finch subway, and it reflects the age of the complex, the townhouse format and the fact that utilities are not included. Large suites also tend to trade at a lower price per square foot than small ones.

At the time of writing there were three suites for sale, asking from about $759,000 to $950,000. For a ground-related home of more than 1,000 square feet with parking, this close to a subway station, that is a price range most freehold houses in this area cannot touch.

For recorded sales and leases, use the panel on this page or my building sold report. When comparing with other townhouse complexes, compare price per square foot together with the fee and utilities, not the asking price alone.

Building specifications

Amenities at Chelsea Gate

There is no gym, pool or party room, and that keeps the fee down. Your amenities are your own front door, your space and the City’s Edithvale Community Centre across the street.

Jatin’s honest take on Chelsea Gate

Chelsea Gate — frequently asked questions

Looking at Willowdale, Yonge & Sheppard, Bayview Village and North York Centre more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.