Governor’s Manor, 67-93B Douglas Cres: A 1920s Tudor Courtyard Condo

Governor’s Manor is one of the few places in Toronto where you can own a condo inside a designated 1920s building on a ravine-edge street, with no tower and no lobby. It is a two-storey English Tudor complex wrapped around a courtyard on Douglas Crescent, and it became a condominium in 1987. It is also nearly a century old, and you have to buy it with your eyes open. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A designated Tudor courtyard, not a converted house

The building is a two-storey main block with wings on either side, set around a large central courtyard. The style is sixteenth-century English Tudor: brick, with half-timbering on the courtyard faces. The provincial heritage register describes it as a unique example of Tudor architecture in the area, and that is a fair description when you stand in the courtyard.

The Borough of East York designated the property under the Ontario Heritage Act in September 1986, by By-law 87-86. The condominium was registered the following year. So unlike most heritage conversions, the designation came first and the condo was created around it.

The architect was Eustace G. Bird. The register gives a construction date of 1928, while a local history by Alan Redway, quoted in later write-ups, puts it at 1926. Either way, the building is from the decade when Governor’s Bridge was first built up.

How many homes, and what kind

The suite count is the first thing I would pin down. Condos.ca lists 16 units under MTCC-742. Other published descriptions of the complex count 30 homes in total, made up of larger townhouses and smaller units. Those may be different ways of counting the same buildings, or the complex may not all sit in one corporation.

That question matters because it decides how many owners share the repair bills, and who you are actually in a corporation with. Ask for the declaration and the description, and confirm which addresses on Douglas Crescent belong to MTCC-742.

Suites are not uniform. In a 1920s building arranged as a main block and wings, layouts follow the original walls rather than a modern floor plate. Expect rooms rather than open-plan space, and expect each suite to differ in ceiling height, window placement and stairs. A recent listing was marketed in the 800 to 899 square foot band as a two-bedroom, which gives you a sense of the smaller suites.

Governor’s Bridge: a small, quiet enclave

Governor’s Bridge is one of the smallest neighbourhoods in Toronto, with only a couple of hundred homes. It sits just northeast of Rosedale and Moore Park, but it was part of East York, not the old city. The land was bought and subdivided in 1911, and building waited until the bridge over the Moore Park Ravine was finished in 1923.

Douglas Crescent is named after William Douglas, one of the two lawyers who subdivided the land. The bridge itself is named after the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario, whose official residence, Chorley Park, stood just to the south. The manor’s name almost certainly comes from the same source.

The neighbourhood has resisted density before. In 1959 a developer started an apartment building on the east side, but work stopped in 1960 when the municipality refused road access, and the unfinished shell stood until it was demolished in 1981. The later infill was a 60-home subdivision of houses in the late 1990s, not towers. Recently, many of the smaller original homes have been replaced by much larger new houses.

The daily reality is quiet. The neighbourhood is entirely residential, bounded by Bayview Avenue, the rail line and the ravine, with Nesbitt Park nearby. There are no shops on the street, so you drive or walk out to Bayview, Leaside or Moore Park for errands. The park, transit and school data beside this review covers the details.

Living in a heritage-designated condo

Designation protects what makes the building special, and it also shapes what you can change. Exterior alterations, including windows, doors, roofing and the courtyard facades, generally need heritage approval from the City as well as the board. Before you plan any change to the outside of a suite, find out what the designation by-law covers.

Inside, owners usually have more freedom, but plumbing, electrical and structural work in a building this old should go through the corporation. Ask what has been done to the original systems and whether the corporation has rules on renovations.

Heritage status also works in your favour. The courtyard and facades that make the complex attractive are protected by the designation, so the character you are paying for cannot simply be altered or removed without heritage approval.

Pricing a building with almost no comparables

This complex rarely has more than one suite on the market at a time, and condos.ca does not publish an average price per square foot for it. That makes conventional condo pricing hard. One sale a year cannot set a trend, so I would not rely on any single number.

The useful comparisons are other heritage and low-rise condos in Leaside, Moore Park and the Bayview corridor, and the small-house market nearby. You are buying a scarce format in a pocket often described as an elite enclave, and that scarcity is part of the price.

Fees need the same care. Ask for the current budget and the fee for the specific suite, and find out what it covers, since condos.ca does not list the inclusions. The panel beside this review shows the available sales data, and I can prepare a building sold report that puts this complex against nearby low-rise sales.

Building specifications

Amenities at Governor’s Manor

There is no gym or party room here. The shared amenity is the courtyard itself, a landscaped space enclosed by the Tudor facades that gives the complex its character.

Jatin’s honest take on Governor’s Manor

Governor’s Manor — frequently asked questions

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