Hullmark Centre, 2 Anndale Dr: Subway Below, Whole Foods at the Door

Hullmark Centre is the building I point to when a buyer tells me they never want to stand outside waiting for a bus again. The complex sits over Sheppard-Yonge station, with indoor entrances to both subway lines and a Whole Foods in the podium. The catch is a maintenance fee well above its neighbours, and that is what decides whether it is good value for you. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The south tower of a mixed-use complex

Hullmark Centre is two towers on a shared podium. 2 Anndale Drive is the 35-storey south tower; the taller north tower, which also holds roughly ten floors of office space branded Hullmark Corporate Centre, is a separate condominium. UrbanToronto reported the north tower at 49 storeys in 2013, while its project thread lists 45, and the residential corporation at 5 Sheppard Avenue East is listed at 34 floors. Listings for the two towers are easy to confuse, so check that the status certificate names TSCC-2364 for the suite you are buying.

Tridel built the residential side with Hullmark, the commercial landlord behind the project, and Kirkor Architects designed it. The site was a strip mall before construction began in 2010. The finished complex combines condos, offices, retail and a transit hub on one block, which was the point of the North York Centre plan.

The look is restrained: mostly charcoal-grey panels with white strips marking the tower volumes, aluminum-clad balconies on the lower nine floors and smoked glass balcony rails above. It is not a showpiece, but it has aged well next to newer glass towers.

What being on top of the station means

This is the main reason to buy here. UrbanToronto described the complex as sitting above Sheppard-Yonge, with indoor entrances at opposite ends connecting to the Yonge line and the Sheppard line. In January you can get from your elevator to a train without a coat, and that convenience does not depend on a shuttle or a bus route.

The Whole Foods Market at grade is the second half of it. A full grocery store downstairs changes daily life more than any amenity room does, and it is one reason tenants pay a premium here. The office floors next door also bring daytime activity and a steady pool of renters who work in the area.

The trade-off is that this is the busiest corner in North York. You get noise, crowds at rush hour and a lobby that sits inside a commercial complex rather than on a quiet street. Buyers who want calm should look at a side-street building a few minutes away instead.

Suite sizes and who they suit

Condos.ca puts suites at about 462 to 2,272 square feet, a wider spread than most Yonge Street towers from this period. The larger plans near the top of that range are uncommon in North York Centre and attract downsizers who want the subway without giving up space.

Most of what trades sits in the middle. When I checked, four of the five suites for sale were two-bedroom layouts between 800 and 999 square feet, plus a one-bedroom in the 500s. That is a good sign for buyers who need a real second bedroom rather than a den with a door.

I could not confirm ceiling heights or the parking and locker allocation from a reliable source. Ask for the floor plan, and check on the status certificate whether the suite you are buying has a parking unit and a locker, because neither is listed in the fee.

Yonge and Sheppard, a decade after it was built

When Hullmark and Emerald Park went up together around 2011 to 2014, UrbanToronto framed them as the pair that would reshape Yonge and Sheppard. That has happened. The corner is now lined with towers on every side, and the low-rise streets east of Yonge, around Anndale Drive, sit directly behind them.

For a resident, that means real choice of restaurants, banks and services within a few minutes, plus Highway 401 a short drive south. It also means competition when you sell. Emerald Park, Minto 88 and the towers further north all offer buyers a newer or cheaper option, so the subway connection and the larger plans are what you are really selling.

Suite orientation matters more here than in most buildings. Ask which way the suite faces and what sits in front of it, because the outlook from a mid-floor suite at this corner can change a lot as neighbouring sites fill in. The data panel on this page shows the transit, schools and parks around the building.

A higher fee and a lower price per square foot

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $783 per square foot. That is below the roughly $893 at Minto 88 and the $903 to $943 at the two Gibson Square towers, even though Hullmark has the more direct subway connection. On price alone, it looks cheap for its location.

The fee is why. Active listings showed fees around $1.24 per square foot, with monthly fees from about $708 to $1,203 across the suites for sale. That is well above Gibson Square at about $0.70 and Emerald Park at about $0.91. Heat, air conditioning and water are in the fee, but parking is not listed, so a suite with a space may carry a separate charge.

The five active listings asked from $628,000 to $698,800 when I checked. Before you compare those numbers with a nearby tower, add the difference in fees over five years. On a two-bedroom, the gap can easily erase what you saved on the purchase price.

Building specifications

Amenities at Hullmark Centre

Condos.ca lists a concierge, a rooftop deck with barbecues, a party room, a media room and a meeting room. That is a modest package for the fee; here you are paying for the location and the connection to the station, not for the amenity floor.

Jatin’s honest take on Hullmark Centre

Hullmark Centre — frequently asked questions

Looking at Willowdale, Yonge & Sheppard, Bayview Village and North York Centre more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.