Leslie Boutique Residences, 2756 Old Leslie St: Small Building, Lean Fee

Leslie Boutique Residences is an 11-storey, 182-suite building on Old Leslie Street, tucked off Leslie just south of Sheppard. It is a modest building with a modest price per square foot, and the developer pitched it on its position beside the Sheppard subway line. The thing I want buyers to understand first is the fee: it covers very little, so the real monthly cost is higher than it looks. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

An 11-storey building on a slope

The building sits on a sloping site, and the developer’s description makes a point of the podium stepping with the hillside. The facade is glass and precast concrete, and UrbanToronto’s 2016 photo feature described the exterior as muted, with residents’ balcony furniture providing most of the colour.

That is a fair summary. This is not an architectural statement; it is a well-proportioned mid-rise on a small site. The planning file shows a floor space index of about 3.0 and roughly 154,000 square feet of gross floor area, with a small commercial space at grade.

Northgrave Architects designed it. UrbanToronto also lists Land Art Design as a related firm, presumably for the landscape, though the page does not say so.

Who built it: sources disagree

Condos.ca lists Harhay Developments as both developer and builder. UrbanToronto’s project record lists Great Lands Corporation. I could not find a source that explains the relationship between the two, so I am reporting both rather than picking one.

The history is short. According to the planning summary on UrbanToronto, Great Lands acquired the site at the end of 2009, City Planning issued a preliminary report to North York Community Council in April 2010, and a report recommending approval followed for January 2011. The building was finished and registered in 2014, which is a quick turnaround for a Toronto condo.

For a buyer, the practical question is not the name on the hoarding but how the building has performed since 2014. A ten-year record of fees, reserve fund contributions and repairs tells you more than the developer’s brand.

Ask for the status certificate, the latest reserve fund study and the last two years of board minutes. Those documents will show whether any construction issues were raised after turnover and how they were handled.

Suites and layouts

Condos.ca gives a suite range of about 496 to 1,095 square feet. The developer marketed a range of one-bedroom and two-bedroom-plus-den plans, so expect mostly compact suites, with a smaller number of larger two-bedrooms.

At 182 suites over 11 storeys, the floor plates are moderate and the building feels quieter than the large towers nearby. That is the boutique part of the name, and it is real.

The planning proposal set out the mix: 56 one-bedrooms, 86 one-bedroom-plus-dens, 22 two-bedrooms and 18 two-bedroom-plus-dens, which adds up to the 182 suites condos.ca lists. Almost eight in ten suites are one-bedroom formats, so this is a building of singles and couples more than families. If you are buying a two-bedroom here, you are buying one of the scarcer suite types, which helps on resale.

The building has two levels of underground parking, according to the planning proposal summarised on UrbanToronto. I could not find published ceiling heights or locker details. Parking is not listed as included in the fee, so confirm whether the suite comes with a space and a locker, whether they are owned or exclusive-use, and what any separate charge is.

Daily life at Leslie and Sheppard

Old Leslie Street is a short side street off Leslie, which keeps the traffic noise down for a building this close to a major intersection. The developer’s own material described the site as beside Leslie station on Line 4 Sheppard; the data panel on this page lists the transit options.

The site sits beside the TTC commuter parking lot for Leslie station, and the planning proposal included expanding that surface lot. The setting is practical rather than charming: large condo communities, older houses and arterial roads. Drivers have the 401 close by.

Bayview Village shopping centre and the Yonge and Sheppard area are to the west. Walk the area at different times of day, especially if you plan to commute by foot to the subway in winter.

Price per square foot, and a fee that covers little

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $710 per square foot. That is at the lower end for this part of North York, which is what you would expect for a compact 2014 mid-rise without heat or parking in the fee.

There was only one suite listed for sale when I checked, so I am not quoting an asking price or a fee from it. One listing is not a market. The sold data panel on this page is the better reference.

The fee is where you need to be careful, and it is the single biggest reason I slow buyers down here. Condos.ca lists only common elements and building insurance as included. That means heat, air conditioning, hydro and possibly water are separate, and parking is not listed either.

A low headline fee can make this building look cheaper to own than it is. Get the seller’s actual utility bills for the past year and add them, plus any parking charge, to the fee before you compare it with a building that bundles heat, cooling and parking.

Building specifications

Amenities at Leslie Boutique Residences

Condos.ca lists a concierge, gym, party room, meeting room, recreation room, rooftop deck, barbecues and bicycle storage. The planning proposal put the main outdoor amenity on the second-floor roof, a terrace of about 5,000 square feet, which is generous for a building of 182 suites; there is no pool, which keeps shared costs down.

Jatin’s honest take on Leslie Boutique Residences

Leslie Boutique Residences — 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.