Kenair Apartments, 500 Avenue Rd: A 1950s Dickinson Building, Now a Condo

Most people who look at 500 Avenue Road assume it is a 2008 building, because that is the year on most condo websites. It is not. This is a late-1950s apartment building by Peter Dickinson, one of the architects who brought postwar modernism to Toronto, and 2008 is when it became a condominium. That one fact shapes everything about buying here, from the suite sizes to what you need to read in the status certificate. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A Peter Dickinson building, converted in 2008

Peter Dickinson was an English-born architect who designed many of Toronto’s best-known modernist buildings of the 1950s. The published list of his works includes 500 Avenue Road, designed in 1955 and completed in 1959; a current MLS listing gives the year as 1958 and describes it as a boutique building by Dickinson. Either way, you are buying into a building that is close to 70 years old.

The condominium came later. TSCC-1986 was registered on 23 December 2008, which is why condo websites show 2008 as the build year. In practice this was a rental apartment building that was converted to condominium ownership, so the concrete, the structure and much of the original layout predate the corporation by half a century.

That history is a feature, not just a footnote. Buildings from this era were planned with generous rooms and solid construction, and Dickinson’s apartment buildings were meant for people who wanted a house-sized home without a house. You see that in the suite sizes here, which are far larger than anything built on Avenue Road in the last 20 years.

Big suites and a small number of neighbours

With 85 suites over 13 storeys, this is a small building by midtown standards. Recorded suite sizes run from about 718 square feet to roughly 3,373 square feet, so even the smallest one-bedroom here is bigger than many two-bedrooms in a new tower.

The building has frontage on both Avenue Road and Heath Street, with an inner lobby that displays artwork and a landscaped garden with an outdoor seating area. A current listing also notes triple-glazed windows, which matters on a road as busy as Avenue Road. Ask whether that applies to every suite or was a later upgrade in some of them.

Because this is an older building, suites vary a lot in condition. Some have been fully renovated and others are closer to original. Two suites with the same floor plan can be very different purchases, so judge each one on its own renovation history, not on the building average.

Older layouts also tend to have more walls: separate kitchens, formal dining rooms and real hallways. Some buyers love that and some will want to open things up. If you plan to renovate, ask the management office early about the approval process, working hours and any restrictions on moving plumbing in a concrete building of this age.

Valet parking, a car wash and a concierge

The service package is built around the car and the front door. The building lists a concierge and security, valet parking, visitor parking, a car wash, an exercise room, and party and meeting rooms. Underground parking is included in the maintenance fee, which is unusual and worth a lot on this stretch of Avenue Road.

There is no pool and no large amenity floor, and you should not expect one. What you are paying for is staff, space and a quiet address, not a resort-style amenity list. For the buyers who look here, that is usually the point.

Pets are listed as permitted in the building’s amenity profile. Rules on size and number are set in the declaration and rules, so read those before you assume your dog qualifies.

Avenue Road at Heath, day to day

This corner sits between Forest Hill to the west and Deer Park and Yonge-St. Clair to the east, with the mansions of Casa Loma and the ravine parks a short walk away. Forest Hill Village and the shops on Yonge are both within walking distance, and the St. Clair strip is a few minutes north and east.

Avenue Road is a major north-south route, so traffic noise is a real consideration on the east side of the building. Suites facing west over the garden or north and south along Heath Street are a different experience. The data panel on this page covers transit, schools, Walk Score and nearby food and parks.

Price per foot, and a fee that covers more than most

The building averages about $855 per square foot. For midtown that is moderate, and it reflects the age of the building and the wide range in suite condition. A fully renovated suite will sit well above that average, and an original one below it.

Fees look high in absolute terms because the suites are large. Across the three suites currently listed, monthly fees range from about $923 to $1,768. On the one listing with a recorded size band, that works out to roughly $1.15 to $1.30 per square foot, but that fee covers heat, parking, water and building insurance on top of common elements. Hydro is the main utility you add back. A current listing also mentions central air in its fee, while the building profile does not, so confirm exactly what is included before you budget.

At the time of writing, the three suites for sale, a one-bedroom and two two-bedrooms, were asking from about $648,000 to $1,650,000. That spread tells you how much size and renovation drive price here. My building sold report shows what has actually closed.

Building specifications

Amenities at Kenair Apartments

This is a service building, not an amenity building. Valet parking, a car wash and staff at the door do more for daily life here than a pool would, and the garden gives you outdoor space without leaving the property.

Jatin’s honest take on Kenair Apartments

Kenair Apartments — frequently asked questions

Looking at Yorkville, the Annex and Midtown more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.