Hillsborough Court II, 8 Lee Centre Dr: Big Suites, Hydro in the Fee

Hillsborough Court II is the building I show buyers who want the most square footage Scarborough City Centre will give them for the money, and who would rather pay one all-in cheque each month than juggle utility bills. The fee looks high until you see what it covers. The real questions here are about a 29-year-old building’s next decade, not about the suites. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

One half of the original Lee Centre plan

Lee Centre Drive was built out in phases by one developer over roughly a decade. The first phase, Hillsborough Court, was two residential towers, 8 Lee Centre Drive and its sister at 18 Lee Centre Drive, plus ground-floor retail. A 1998 City of Toronto planning report records that phase as complete, at 464 residential suites registered as three separate condominiums.

The same report notes that Hillsborough Court and Tridel’s Consilium office complex together gave Corporate Drive a distinct street edge, and that May Tower was then under construction to continue it. The Ellipse towers at 36 and 38 Lee Centre Drive came later, in 2004.

That history matters when you buy. You are in one of several corporations that share a street and, in places, driveways and services, so ask the manager which facilities are owned by this corporation and which are shared under agreements with neighbouring corporations. Shared costs show up in the budget, and you want to know how they are split.

The sister tower at 18 Lee Centre Drive was registered a year earlier as MTCC-1129, with 228 suites over 22 storeys. The two are close cousins in age, builder and suite sizes, so when this building has nothing in the plan you want, the listings next door are the natural place to widen your search.

A fee that covers almost everything

Condos.ca lists air conditioning, common elements, heat, hydro, building insurance, parking and water in the fee. Hydro is the unusual one. In most towers built since the early 2000s, each suite has its own electricity meter, and heat and cooling often come off it too.

Across the suites listed for sale when I checked, fees worked out to about $1.20 per square foot, with monthly fees from about $650 to $1,800. On its own that is high for Scarborough. Once you take electricity, heating, cooling and a parking space off your own monthly budget, much of the gap with a newer building disappears.

The trade-off is that the corporation carries energy-price risk for everyone, and light users subsidise heavy ones. Ask how utility costs have moved in the last few budgets and whether the board has studied suite metering or energy retrofits. Either can change your fee in the future.

Suites sized for households

Suites here run from about 510 to about 1,515 sq ft. The upper end is the story: the larger plans are bigger than many three-bedroom suites in towers going up today, and the current listings include three- and four-bedroom layouts as well as one-bedroom-plus-den and two-bedroom plans.

That mix is why families and multi-generational households look at this building. A 1990s floor plate usually means more enclosed kitchens and separate dining space than a current open-plan design, which some buyers love and others plan to renovate. Budget for that if a suite still has original finishes.

For smaller households, the one-bedroom-plus-den and compact two-bedroom plans are the entry point. They are the suites that come up most often, and they give you the same pool, security and all-in fee as the big corner units at a much lower price.

Condos.ca also flags the building as having pet restrictions. Read the declaration and rules for the specifics before you commit, especially if you have a larger dog.

Living in Scarborough City Centre

This is the Scarborough City Centre district, a planned office, civic and residential core, with Highway 401 just north. Daily life revolves around the Scarborough Town Centre area and the transit hub there, and the panel on this page lists the nearest stations and stops.

The bigger change is underground. Metrolinx is building the Scarborough Subway Extension, which carries Line 2 from Kennedy Station to new stations at Lawrence and McCowan, Scarborough Centre, and a new terminus at Sheppard and McCowan. Construction is underway, and when it opens it replaces the transfer that City Centre riders have had to make since the old Scarborough RT closed.

Expect more construction nearby as the subway gets closer and land around the stations is redeveloped. That is good for long-term value, and less good if you want quiet during the build.

What Hillsborough Court II costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $528 per square foot. That is low for Toronto, and it reflects the building’s age and the size of the suites, since bigger suites always trade for less per square foot.

When I checked, nine suites were for sale, and the eight with prices posted were asking between $390,000 and $569,900. Two were for lease. That is a wide spread for one building, which is what you get when the plans range from compact one-bedrooms to four-bedroom suites. For what has actually sold, use the panel on this page or ask me for a building sold report.

Judge the fee as part of your housing cost, not as a separate line. If a newer building charges $0.70 per square foot and bills you separately for hydro, heat, cooling and parking, the all-in figure here can come out close, or ahead, on a larger suite.

Building specifications

Amenities at Hillsborough Court II

An indoor pool and sauna in a 236-suite building is a real advantage in this part of Scarborough, and the security guard matters to a lot of the owners I meet here. Pools are also expensive to run and to rebuild, so read what the reserve fund study says about this one.

Jatin’s honest take on Hillsborough Court II

Hillsborough Court II — frequently asked questions

Looking at Scarborough Bluffs, West Hill, Guildwood, Woburn, Malvern and Rouge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.