Kilgour Estate II, 21 Burkebrook Pl: Daniels Mid-Rise Beside Sunnybrook

Kilgour Estate II is where I bring downsizers from Leaside, Lawrence Park and the Bridle Path who want to stay close to the ravines without the upkeep of a house. It is an 8-storey Daniels building from 2008 on a quiet cul-de-sac off Bayview, with suites that run from compact one-bedrooms to more than 3,000 square feet, and a fee that covers heat, cooling and parking. It is not cheap, and it is not meant to be. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Built on the old Kilgour lands

The name is not marketing invention. This part of Bayview was farmland owned by Edward Burke in the 1860s, which is where Burke Brook, and Burkebrook Place, get their names. Joseph Kilgour, a partner in the Canada Paper Company, later assembled the land into Sunnybrook Farm, with York Lodge as the family’s country house at the top of the ravine.

Joseph’s wife, Alice, later gave the property to the city as a park, on the condition that it stay free to the public and that no road be cut through from Bayview to Leslie. Sunnybrook Hospital was later built on former estate land in the mid-1940s. York Lodge itself was demolished around 1980; its gatehouse and gates are on the Toronto Heritage Register.

That history is why the setting feels the way it does. You are next to a large hospital campus and a protected ravine park rather than a commercial strip, and that is unlikely to change.

A Daniels phase, not a one-off

Kilgour Estate is a multi-phase Daniels community, and this is the second building. A later phase, Kilgour Estate IV, sits at 10 and 12 Burkebrook Place and 50 to 70 Kilgour Road. When you search, you will see several Burkebrook addresses; make sure you know which corporation a suite belongs to, because each phase has its own fees, reserve fund and board.

Daniels is one of Toronto’s longest-running developers, and it also runs a rental arm, Daniels Gateway, that markets suites in the Kilgour Estate community. The practical point for a buyer is that some neighbours may be tenants, and you should check the leasing share in the status certificate if that matters to you.

The Daniels Gateway listing describes an indoor pool, library, fitness room and dining room in the community. Condos.ca’s amenity list for 21 Burkebrook does not show all of these, so ask which facilities belong to this corporation and which are shared or in another phase.

From one-bedrooms to house-sized suites

The suite range is unusually wide for an 8-storey building: about 570 square feet at the low end and roughly 3,148 at the top. The current listings tell the story. All four suites for sale were two-plus-den or three-plus-den layouts, which shows where the demand sits.

The large suites are the reason this building exists in many buyers’ minds. A three-bedroom of 2,000-plus square feet with a concierge downstairs is a genuine alternative to a Leaside or Lawrence Park house for someone who no longer wants stairs, snow or a roof to replace.

If you are coming from a house, measure your furniture against the floor plan, check ceiling heights in person and look at storage. Larger suites in this era usually have good closets, but locker size and allocation vary, and that is where downsizers most often feel the squeeze.

What the location means day to day

Burkebrook Place is a quiet pocket rather than a through street, so evenings are calm. Sunnybrook Hospital is around the corner, which is a real consideration for older buyers and medical staff, and the Daniels listing points to ravine trails for walking and cycling close by.

For driving, the 401 and the Don Valley Parkway are both a short trip away. Bayview Avenue’s shops and the Leaside retail areas are close by car. The data panel on this page covers transit and nearby parks in detail.

Fast internet is part of the package here too. Condos.ca lists FibreStream internet in the building, which matters if you work from home or simply expect your connection to be reliable.

Why the price per foot is high, and the fee is fair

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $1,110 per square foot. That is high for a 2008 mid-rise, and it reflects the address: buyers pay for the ravine setting, the Bayview location and the large suites that are hard to find in a low building.

When I checked, four suites were listed for sale, asking between $1,389,000 and $3,499,000, with monthly fees from about $1,319 to $3,188. One suite was listed for lease. The spread is wide because the suites are so different in size, so a single building average tells you less here than it does in a building of identical one-bedrooms.

Those fees look large in isolation, but they track suite size, and they cover heat, air conditioning, water, building insurance, common elements and parking. If you are comparing with a house, add up what you spend now on heating, cooling, water, insurance, snow removal and exterior repairs, and the gap narrows.

With so few suites changing hands, I would not price a suite here off one recent sale. I would look at two or three years of sales in this corporation and the other Kilgour Estate phases, and adjust for size, floor, view and renovation.

Building specifications

Amenities at Kilgour Estate II

The amenities here are geared to owners who entertain and host family: a party room, a media room, guest suites and a staffed front desk. Ask which of the community facilities Daniels markets, such as the indoor pool and library, your corporation actually owns and pays for.

Jatin’s honest take on Kilgour Estate II

Kilgour Estate II — frequently asked questions

Looking at York Mills, Don Mills, Lawrence Park, Bathurst Manor and midtown-north Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.