Greenwich Village Towns, 871 Sheppard Ave W: Stacked Towns, Honestly Rated

Greenwich Village Towns is the complex I bring up when a young family tells me they want stairs, a door to the outside and a subway nearby, but cannot stretch to a freehold house in North York. Crown Communities finished it in 2022 on Sheppard Avenue West, east of Allen Road, and it is one of the few places in this pocket where you can buy a new condo townhouse rather than a tower suite. It is not for everyone, and the rental mix is the first thing I want you to look at. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A stacked-town complex, not a tower

This is a low-rise development, which changes almost everything about ownership compared with a condo tower. When Crown Communities launched it in early 2020, the plan was seven brick buildings: 28 traditional townhouses and 125 stacked units, laid out around landscaped courtyards. condos.ca now counts 154 suites, so the final number shifted by one; small changes like that are normal between launch and registration.

The name comes from New York’s Greenwich Village, and the design leans on that idea with brick facades and a street-facing presence on Sheppard. Crown said at launch that roughly 70% of the homes had sold before construction started, with occupancy targeted for spring 2022. The building data now shows 2022 as the completion year, so the schedule appears to have held, which is not something every townhouse builder managed through the pandemic years.

Crown Communities is a small, Concord-based developer founded in 2014 by Adam Taverna, whose family has been in construction since the 1970s. It started with boutique projects of around 50 units and has since built other North York townhouse sites, including Winlock Towns on Finch Avenue west of Bayview. That is a short track record compared with the big tower builders, which is a reason to read the status certificate closely, not a reason to walk away.

The three-storey lower suites are the interesting part

The usual complaint about stacked towns is the lower unit. In many complexes it is half below grade and feels like a basement. Crown’s pitch here was that its lower suites run across three levels, with proper window space and a balcony looking over the courtyards, and it marketed them as the first of their kind in Toronto. I cannot verify the “first” claim, but the format itself is a real difference from the standard two-over-two stacked town.

At launch, suites ranged from about 450 to 1,700 sq ft, with some layouts around 1,030 sq ft. condos.ca now lists a range of roughly 450 to 2,150 sq ft, so the largest traditional towns are bigger than the early marketing suggested. Many units have private outdoor space, and depending on the plan that means a backyard, a balcony or a rooftop terrace.

Before you fall for a floor plan, count the stairs. Multi-level living is the trade for ground-oriented space, and an upper stacked unit with a rooftop terrace can mean three or four flights between the garage and the roof. That suits a young family well and suits a downsizer or anyone with mobility concerns poorly.

Parking, bikes and how the site works

Parking is underground in a shared garage rather than in private garages, and condos.ca lists bike storage and an outdoor patio among the common features. There is no gym, pool or concierge, and for a townhouse complex that is normal. It also keeps the fee down.

A shared underground garage is the single biggest long-term cost item in most townhouse condos. The membrane, drainage and concrete all need repair eventually, and in a low-rise complex those costs are spread over far fewer owners than in a tower. Nothing is wrong at four years old, but this is where the reserve fund will be spending money in the decades ahead.

Daily life on Sheppard West

The complex fronts a busy stretch of Sheppard Avenue West, east of Allen Road and Sheppard West station. Suites facing Sheppard will hear the traffic, and courtyard-facing units are the quieter choice. If you are touring, visit at rush hour and stand on the balcony for a few minutes.

Day to day, this is a residential pocket of mostly detached houses, with shopping along Bathurst to the east and the Allen as your fast route south. The Sheppard West corridor is slowly filling in with mid-rise proposals, including an 11-storey plan at 665 Sheppard West. Expect more construction along the avenue over time, which tends to bring new shops and also some disruption.

The data panel on this page shows transit, schools and nearby parks, so I will not repeat it here. What I will say is that having the subway and the Allen on the same corner is the main practical reason people choose this location over cheaper townhouses further from the line.

What the numbers tell you, and what they don’t

This complex has very little resale history yet, and there is currently only one unit listed for sale, so I am not going to quote an asking price or fee. One listing is not a market, and publishing it would only identify one owner’s sale. Ask me for the sold report on this address before you write an offer.

For context, Crown’s 2020 launch pricing ran from about $700,000 to $1.2 million across the range of sizes. Resale values since then have moved with the wider GTA townhouse market, which cooled after 2022, so assume launch buyers are not all sitting on large gains.

The fee is where townhouse condos often win. At launch, Crown projected maintenance at about 15 cents per sq ft, far below what tower buildings charge, because there is no concierge, pool or large mechanical plant. First-year fees in new complexes are often set low, though, and they usually rise once the first reserve fund study comes in. Compare the current budget with that original projection.

The more telling number is the listing split: one for sale against nine for rent at the time of writing. That points to a large investor share, which means more tenants as neighbours and a board where landlords have a strong voice. It also means a steady supply of rental comparables if you are buying to lease.

Building specifications

Amenities at Greenwich Village Towns

There is no gym, pool or concierge here, and that is the point: the money goes into your own outdoor space and a lower fee instead of shared facilities. If you want a lobby and a fitness room, look at a tower instead.

Jatin’s honest take on Greenwich Village Towns

Greenwich Village Towns — 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.