The Greens at Tam O’Shanter, 168 Bonis Ave: Tridel Tower, All-In Fee

The Greens at Tam O’Shanter is the anchor of Bonis Avenue: the first and tallest phase of a five-phase development, built by Tridel, with suites that run from about 961 to more than 3,600 square feet. Condos.ca lists hydro, heat, air conditioning and parking in the fee, and there are indoor and outdoor pools. The Agincourt Mall redevelopment to the south will change this street over the next decade, and that is part of the decision. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Phase one of the Bonis Avenue plan

This tower started the Greens at Tam O’Shanter community. A 1998 City of Toronto report on the fourth phase, at 138 Bonis Avenue, describes a five-phase residential development on the north side of the street and identifies 168 Bonis as the existing Phase I, Condominium Number 1027.

CondoInvestments.ca credits the building to Tridel, with architecture by Kelton and Lacka Architects, and gives its height as about 73 metres. At 25 storeys, it is one of the two tallest buildings on this stretch of Bonis, matched in storey count by Tam O’Shanter Highlands at 228.

A Tridel tower from the early 1990s generally means solid concrete construction and a developer with a long track record in Toronto. That is a good starting point, but at 34 years old, how the corporation has maintained the building matters more than who built it.

The phasing also explains the street. Later phases followed through the 1990s, with The Greens at Tam O’Shanter II at 138 Bonis completed as Phase IV in 1998, which is why the north side of Bonis reads as one planned community rather than a set of unrelated towers.

Shared parking and facilities with 138 Bonis

The phases are tied together on paper. The 1998 report says the Phase I declaration includes provisions for shared visitor parking, recreation facilities and easements in favour of the 138 Bonis tower, and that 85 surface and underground visitor spaces in this building’s lot are available to the Phase IV building next door.

The City also required the final declaration for 138 Bonis to secure mutual access between the two properties for vehicles, pedestrians, visitor parking and servicing. In practice, two corporations share some of the same ground and some of the same costs.

That is not a problem in itself; it is how large phased developments often work. But it means part of your fee may go toward facilities another corporation also uses. Ask for the shared-facilities or reciprocal agreement in the status certificate, and ask how costs are split and how the boards work together.

Suites that run to 3,600 square feet

Condos.ca lists suites from about 961 to 3,606 square feet. The smallest plan is the size of a generous two-bedroom, and the largest is bigger than most detached houses in the area. Current listings are all two-bedroom-plus-den plans, which is the core of the building.

Large suites with an all-inclusive fee attract owner-occupiers: downsizers selling a house, multi-generational families and retirees who want one monthly number. That tends to make for a stable, low-turnover building.

Expect early-1990s layouts, with separate dining rooms, enclosed kitchens and formal living areas. Plenty of suites have been renovated, and plenty have not, so compare condition carefully between listings of the same size.

The very largest suites are a market of their own. Few buyers need 3,000-plus square feet in a condo, so those plans can take longer to sell and are harder to price, with few true comparables. If you are looking at the top of the range, expect to rely more on careful judgment than on recent sales.

Bonis Avenue and the Agincourt Mall plan

Bonis Avenue is a quiet residential street of condo towers north of Agincourt Mall, near the City’s Tam O’Shanter Golf Course, which gives the development its name. The panel on this page covers transit, schools, shops and parks in detail.

The bigger story is the mall. Its owner, North American Development Group, won zoning approval in 2022 for a phased redevelopment of the 26-acre site into ten towers of 11 to 43 storeys with more than 4,300 homes and two new parks totalling 3.7 acres, according to blogTO. The Walmart and a grocery store are planned to be relocated within the new community.

For an owner here, that means years of construction to the south, followed by new shops, parks and many more neighbours within walking distance. Ask which way a suite faces, and think about how the view and the noise might change before you commit.

What The Greens at Tam O’Shanter costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $431 per square foot. On Bonis Avenue it lists The Greens at Tam O’Shanter II at about $443, Tam O’Shanter Highlands at about $444, Tam O’Shanter Casitas at about $423, and the newer Legends at Tam O’Shanter at about $607. The 2015 and 2018 Gemterra towers, Love and Joy, sit at about $662 and $716.

Four suites were listed for sale when I checked, asking from $649,000 to $799,900, with monthly fees between about $953 and $1,143. None were listed for lease. Given how large these suites are, those fees are moderate for a building that includes hydro and heat.

The gap with the newer towers is the real story. A buyer here gets far more space per dollar than at Love or Joy, along with utilities in the fee, and gives up modern finishes and a newer building envelope. For an owner-occupier who needs room, that is usually a trade worth making.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Greens at Tam O’Shanter

Indoor and outdoor pools, a sauna and a car wash make up a suburban resort package that new towers rarely build now. Some of it is shared with 138 Bonis under the original agreements, so how the two corporations run it together is part of what you are buying.

Jatin’s honest take on The Greens at Tam O’Shanter

The Greens at Tam O’Shanter — frequently asked questions

Looking at Agincourt, L’Amoreaux, Milliken, Dorset Park and Wexford in Scarborough more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.