Hollywood Plaza, 18 Hollywood Ave: Pool, Solariums and Hydro in the Fee

Hollywood Plaza at 18 Hollywood Avenue is a building I show to buyers who have been looking at new North York condos and are tired of 600-square-foot two-bedrooms. The suites are big, many have solariums, and the fee pays your hydro. You pay for that in a higher monthly fee and an older building, so it is worth knowing exactly what you are buying. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The first tower of a three-part complex

Hollywood Plaza was built in phases. This 19-storey tower at 18 Hollywood came first in 1991, followed by the low-rise Town Villas at 38 Hollywood in 1994 and the 17-storey Hollywood Plaza II at 28 Hollywood in 1995. Each has its own condominium corporation, its own budget and its own reserve fund, so when people say Hollywood Plaza you need to know which one they mean.

Listing sites credit Camrost-Felcorp, the developer behind Imperial Plaza and Yorkville Plaza, with completing the complex. Condos.ca does not list a developer, so treat that as reported rather than confirmed.

The practical result is a set of buildings with a shared style and a shared street. Across Hollywood Avenue you have the newer Conservatory towers, including Platinum at 23 Hollywood, which gives you an easy comparison between a 1990s building and a mid-2000s one on the same block.

Being the oldest tower in the complex is not automatically a drawback. It also means the building has more than three decades of budgets, reserve fund studies and board minutes for you to read, so you can see how the corporation has handled major repairs, rather than guessing how a newer building will.

Suites that feel like apartments, not hotel rooms

Condos.ca records suite sizes from about 620 to 2,909 square feet, and the large end of that range is rare in North York. The current listings include a one-bedroom-plus-den in the 900 to 999 square foot range, which is the size of a new two-bedroom today, as well as larger two-bedroom and two-plus-den plans.

Many suites have a solarium, the enclosed glassed-in room that was popular in buildings of this era. In practice it works as a den, office or nursery, and it brings a lot of light into the main living space. Listings also describe corner suites with breakfast nooks, full-size laundry and balconies off the bedrooms.

These are 35-year-old plans, so kitchens are usually closed or semi-open and the finish level varies a lot from suite to suite. Some have been fully renovated; others are close to original. That variation is where the value, and the risk, sits.

An all-inclusive fee: who comes out ahead

The fee here covers hydro, heat, air conditioning, water, cable TV and parking, as well as common elements and insurance. On the current listings, fees run from about $946 to $1,551 a month, which looks high next to a new building until you add back the hydro and heating bills you would pay there.

All-inclusive buildings work best for people who use a lot of energy, such as those who work from home or run air conditioning all summer. Light users subsidise heavy ones, and when utility costs rise, the whole building pays through the budget. Ask for three years of budgets to see how quickly fees have moved.

Some older all-inclusive buildings in Toronto have studied or installed suite hydro meters to control costs. If the board has looked at that here, it will be in the minutes, and it would change what your fee covers.

Living just off Yonge, north of Sheppard

Hollywood Avenue runs east off Yonge Street a short walk north of Sheppard. You are close to the restaurants, grocery stores and shops along the Yonge strip and around Empress Walk and Mel Lastman Square, while the building itself sits on a quieter side street.

This part of North York keeps changing, with new towers filling in along Yonge between Sheppard and Finch. Expect cranes nearby for years. The data panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability, which are a large part of why people choose this location.

What Hollywood Plaza costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $572 per square foot, well below the newer towers on Yonge. For comparison, condos.ca has Platinum across the street, built in 2005, at about $742 per square foot. Part of that gap is age and part is the all-inclusive fee, which buyers price in.

When I checked there were three suites listed, asking from $499,000 to $998,000. Fees on those listings ran from about $946 to $1,551 a month. That is a higher monthly figure than at a new building, but your hydro, heat and cooling are already in it.

Within the complex, condos.ca has 28 Hollywood slightly lower at about $546 per square foot. The two towers are similar in age and style, so the difference usually comes down to the specific suite, its renovation level and its view, rather than one building being clearly better. If you are open to either, look at both and compare suites, fees and reserve funds side by side.

When comparing with a newer building, add your estimated hydro, heating and cooling costs to that building’s fee and compare the total monthly cost. For recent closed results, use the sold data on this page or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Hollywood Plaza

An indoor pool and sauna are the standouts, and one listing site describes the pool as renovated. Add the concierge, gym, guest suites and party and media rooms and you have a full package, but it is one that a 143-suite building pays to run and eventually replace.

Jatin’s honest take on Hollywood Plaza

Hollywood Plaza — frequently asked questions

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