English Ivyway Townhouses, North York: 69 Garage Towns Under Old Trees

English Ivyway is the kind of complex I show buyers who want a house but can’t stretch to a detached price in North York: 69 townhouses on a quiet loop road, each with its own garage, under more than a hundred mature trees. It is forty-plus years old, and how its board has handled that age is the most important thing to understand before you buy. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A private loop road and a 5.3-acre landscape

The thing that sets English Ivyway apart is its setting. The 69 units sit on their own crescent that starts and ends on Bluffwood Drive, so there is no through traffic. The only cars going past your door belong to neighbours and visitors.

The site is about 5.3 acres with more than 100 mature trees and shrubs. The corporation has run a tree care program with an arborist, which tells you the board treats the landscape as an asset, not an afterthought. In a townhouse complex, the grounds are a big part of what you are paying for.

This is low-density living by Toronto condo standards. There is no lobby, no elevator and no amenity floor. What you get instead is a front door at grade, your own garage, and a neighbourhood feel that apartment buildings at Steeles and Leslie cannot offer.

Layouts: basements, walkouts and garages

The units are multi-level townhouses in one-, two- and three-bedroom plans. Sources differ on height: the corporation’s own profile describes them as three-storey, while listing data shows two floors, likely because the lower level is counted differently. Expect two main floors above a lower level either way.

That lower level is where the units split. About half have a conventional basement and the rest have a walkout lower level, which brings in daylight and often direct access to the yard. Five units have fully enclosed backyards. If outdoor space matters to you, ask which type you are looking at before you fall in love with the kitchen.

Every unit has a one-car garage. Listed sizes run from about 1,499 to 2,090 square feet, which is real family space. Many units have been renovated over the years, so condition varies a lot from door to door; compare the furnace, windows and kitchen age, not just the finishes.

Forty years of maintenance, and the catch-up

Here is the part buyers skip and should not. According to a 2021 profile of the corporation, the complex went 16 years without a full reserve fund study until the board commissioned a Class 1 study in 2015. Before that, reserve contributions had simply risen by 2% a year.

The study changed the numbers. In 2016 the average maintenance fee went up by about $65 a month, the painting budget grew from $16,000 to $46,000 a year, and other maintenance rose from $32,000 to $56,000. By 2021 the corporation had spent more than $500,000 on upgrades and repairs, including repaving the roads and repairing facades.

Roofing repairs and refurbishing the rear facades were next on the list at that point. I read this as a board facing its age honestly, which is a good sign. It also means you need to know where that work stands today and how it is being paid for.

When you request the status certificate, look at three things together: the reserve fund balance, the planned spending in the latest study for the next five years, and any notice of a fee increase. If those line up, the catch-up is being funded steadily. If they don’t, the gap usually shows up later as a bigger fee jump.

Daily life near Steeles and Leslie

The complex sits south of Steeles Avenue East between Bayview and Leslie, in a part of North York built mostly as detached houses and townhouse communities in the 1970s and 1980s. It is a settled, residential pocket where most people drive, with the shopping plazas along Steeles and Leslie close by.

For commuters, Highway 404 and the 401 are both a short drive. Transit is by bus along Steeles, Bayview and Leslie; the panel on this page shows the nearest stops and the zoned schools.

This is not a place for nightlife or a walkable main street. It suits people who want quiet, a garage, a bit of green and a manageable commute by car, and who are happy to drive for most errands.

Pricing and fees: what I can tell you

English Ivyway trades rarely. With only 69 units and long-term owners, there was a single unit listed for sale when I reviewed it, and I won’t quote one listing’s price or fee. Ask me for the aggregate sold data in my building sold report rather than anchoring on a single ask.

The useful comparison is with freehold townhouses and semi-detached houses in this part of North York. A condo townhouse here usually costs less to buy, and the monthly fee pays for work you would otherwise fund yourself: roofs, exterior painting, roads, landscaping and snow. When you compare, add a realistic budget for those items back onto the freehold option.

I could not confirm what the fees include. Ask for the status certificate, which lists inclusions, the current budget and the reserve fund balance. In a complex this age, fee value depends on the reserve fund, not the headline number.

Building specifications

Amenities at English Ivyway Townhouses

There is no gym, pool or concierge, and that is the point: your fee goes to the grounds, roads and building exteriors instead of shared facilities. Each unit has its own garbage, recycling and green bins, and the board has organised an annual spring clean-up dumpster for residents.

Jatin’s honest take on English Ivyway Townhouses

English Ivyway Townhouses — frequently asked questions

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