L’Esprit Residences, 15 Maitland Pl: Hydro, Heat and a Pool in the Fee

L’Esprit Residences is the building I bring up when a buyer says they want a predictable monthly bill above everything else. Hydro, heat, cooling and water are all inside the fee, and the amenity list reads like a 1990 athletic club: pool, squash, racquetball, basketball and a rooftop tennis court. The fee per square foot looks high on paper, and the whole question with this building is whether that number is really high once you account for what it covers. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Five buildings, one corporation

L’Esprit is not one tower. It is a group of five brick buildings set between Maitland Place and Homewood Avenue, sharing one corporation, one amenity package and one budget. The tallest reaches 21 storeys, and the buildings share a private gated courtyard.

That layout matters more than people expect. Which building and which exposure you buy in changes the view, the noise and the walk to the amenities. A suite looking into the courtyard is a very different daily experience from one facing Homewood or Maitland, even at the same size and floor.

The architecture is classic late-1980s downtown brick, with none of the glass curtain wall you see on newer towers. In practical terms, brick buildings of this era tend to age more gracefully on the outside than early glass towers, but windows, balcony doors and the garage are the items that come due.

An amenity list built like an athletic club

The amenity package is the real reason to look here. Listings for the building describe an atrium-style indoor pool with a whirlpool and saunas, squash and racquetball courts, an indoor basketball court, a rooftop tennis court and a full gym. Very few downtown buildings of any age offer that range of court sports.

There is also a library, boardrooms, a private bistro space for residents and a gated courtyard, with 24-hour concierge and security at the door. For a 409-suite complex, this is a large footprint of shared space to heat, clean and repair.

That is both the attraction and the risk. If you play squash or swim, you are getting a club membership folded into your fee. If you never will, you are still paying your share of keeping those courts and that pool running.

Suites, and how to choose one in a five-building complex

Suites here run from roughly 494 to 1,414 square feet. The one-bedroom-plus-den suites listed at the time of writing fall in the 800 to 900 square foot range, which is the size of a two-bedroom in many towers built in the last decade.

Expect a 1990 floor plan: more defined rooms and more interior hallway than a modern open layout. In a building this age, original and renovated suites trade side by side, so compare finishes carefully before you compare prices.

Parking is not listed among the fee inclusions, so if a suite comes with a spot, confirm whether it is owned, how it is described on title, and whether there is a separate charge.

In a complex like this, the address on the listing matters. Ask which of the three addresses the suite is in, which floor, and which way it faces, then walk from the suite to the pool, the courts and the garage. Some owners will be steps from everything; others will cross the complex every time.

Upper floors of the tallest building get the longest views, while lower suites facing the courtyard trade a view for quiet and greenery. Neither is wrong, but they should not be priced the same, and in a building with only a few listings at a time it is easy to overpay for a suite that looks like a bargain on a per-foot basis.

Finally, ask the property manager how elevator, pool and court bookings work across the buildings. With 409 suites sharing one set of amenities, the booking rules tell you how busy the place really is at the times you would use it.

Daily life between Homewood and Maitland

Maitland Place and Homewood Avenue are quiet residential streets just north of Carlton, a few minutes east of Church Street. The Church-Wellesley Village is on one side, Allan Gardens is close by to the south, and the Yonge Street corridor is close enough to walk most days.

The immediate block is mostly older condominiums and rental towers, including Celebrity Place at 77 Maitland and the newer buildings along Homewood. It is a settled, residential pocket rather than a nightlife street. The data panel on this page covers transit, groceries and Walk Score in detail.

Why the fee looks high, and what it really covers

The building has averaged about $647 per square foot, which is well below the newer towers around Yonge and Wellesley and below Celebrity Place across Maitland, at about $714. Part of that discount is age, and part is the fee.

Across current listings the fee works out to about $1.24 per square foot. That is high next to a newer building at $0.70 to $0.90, but those buildings usually bill hydro separately and often heat and cooling too. Here hydro, heat, air conditioning and water are all included.

Do the math on a typical 850-square-foot one-bedroom-plus-den. At $1.24 you pay about $1,050 a month. At $0.85 plus a realistic hydro bill for a suite with electric cooling, the gap narrows to a few hundred dollars a month, and some of that difference is the pool and courts.

At the time of writing there were three active listings asking from $459,000 to $689,900, from a one-bedroom-plus-den to a two-bedroom-plus-den, with monthly fees from about $1,050 to $1,420. Two suites were listed for lease. My building sold report shows what has actually traded here.

Building specifications

Amenities at L’Esprit Residences

This is one of the deepest sports-and-pool packages in downtown east Toronto, and it is the reason to choose L’Esprit over a cheaper-fee neighbour. Walk the pool, courts and gym before you buy and judge their condition yourself.

Jatin’s honest take on L’Esprit Residences

L’Esprit Residences — frequently asked questions

Looking at Church–Wellesley, Corktown, Moss Park and Cabbagetown more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.