Midtowns on the Subway, 713-721 Lawrence Ave W: Stacked Towns by Transit

Midtowns on the Subway is a small stacked-townhouse community that puts ground-oriented living on a main road with transit nearby, at a fee level most high-rises cannot touch. It is not glamorous, and it is not trying to be. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Stacked towns turned away from the street

The project replaced a row of houses on the south side of Lawrence Avenue West with low-rise stacked townhouse blocks of about three storeys, roughly 11.6 metres tall in the planning record. Condos.ca lists the homes as two floors, which fits the usual stacked-town arrangement of two-level homes over or under one another.

The blocks are set perpendicular to Lawrence rather than lined up along it. That was criticised by some urbanists for leaving gaps in the street wall, but for residents it has a real benefit: most front doors face an internal walkway instead of a busy arterial road. Ask which way a unit faces before you book a showing.

Sitting across Lawrence from Lawrence Square, this is a location chosen for convenience. Groceries, a pharmacy and everyday shopping are across the road, and the subway is in the project’s name for a reason. The transit panel on this page shows the real walking distance.

Layouts and what living here is like

The current listings fall into two size bands: two-bedroom homes in the 600 to 699 square foot range and larger two-bedroom plans in the 900s. A two-bedroom at under 700 square feet is tight, so walk it with your furniture in mind and check whether the second bedroom has a window and a closet.

Stacked towns are stair-heavy. Upper homes usually have the most stairs and the best light, and often a rooftop terrace. Lower homes are easier to get in and out of, and some have patios at grade. Neither is better, but they suit different buyers.

With 84 homes, you will know your neighbours by sight. BBQs are permitted, which is not a given in Toronto condos, and that matters more than it sounds if you have a terrace or patio.

Noise is the other practical question. Units at the Lawrence end of a block will hear the road and the buses, while units deeper into the site are much quieter. Visit at rush hour, and on a weekend evening, before you decide which end of the site suits you.

Storage is also worth a close look. Stacked towns rarely have the closet space of a freehold, and a 600-square-foot two-bedroom leaves little room for bikes, strollers or seasonal gear. A locker, if the unit has one, is worth more here than in most apartment buildings.

Fees, management and the paperwork

Fees across current listings work out to about $0.47 per square foot, which is low. There is no concierge, pool or gym to fund, so the budget goes mostly to insurance, landscaping, snow clearing, the garage and the reserve fund.

Condos.ca does not list what the fee includes. In stacked-town corporations, utilities are usually paid by each owner, so ask the seller for a year of hydro and gas or heating bills. Confirm too whether parking and a locker come with the unit, because they are often sold separately in projects like this.

FirstService Residential, one of the larger management firms in Toronto, is listed as the manager. That usually means standard reporting and a professional approach, but the quality you get depends on the individual manager assigned, so ask the board how long the current one has been in place.

Lawrence West, and what is changing

This stretch of Lawrence Avenue West is in transition. Several low-rise and stacked-town projects have gone up or been proposed along the corridor, including LA Courtyards a few blocks east and the Liberty Walk townhomes nearby on Lawrence, and the area around Lawrence Square is a natural candidate for more density over time.

For an owner here, that means more neighbours, more services and probably more competition when you sell, because new stacked towns will keep coming to market on the same road. A five-year-old home with a known fee history can hold up well against new inventory, provided it has been maintained.

The surrounding streets are mostly post-war houses, and the Allen Road and Highway 401 are close by car. It is a practical address for commuters who want transit and a car, not a destination neighbourhood.

Pricing and fees at Midtowns on the Subway

Two homes are listed for sale right now, asking between $599,999 and $668,888. That is below many one-bedroom-plus-den condo apartments in newer towers in midtown, for a ground-oriented home with its own entrance.

Monthly fees across current listings run from about $306 to $460, or roughly $0.47 per square foot. Compared with a typical high-rise fee, which in midtown commonly runs well above that, the saving is several thousand dollars a year, which goes a long way toward offsetting the utilities you pay yourself.

Condos.ca does not show a building average per square foot here, and with only two active listings the asking range is a snapshot. For a fair price, look at the resales of the past year as a group; my building sold report is a good place to start.

When you compare, line up the full monthly cost: mortgage, fee, property tax and your own utilities. Stacked towns look cheapest on the fee line, and they usually still win on the total, but the gap is smaller than the fee alone suggests once heating and hydro are added back.

Building specifications

Amenities at Midtowns on the Subway

The package is basic: a party room, bike storage and visitor parking, plus permission to barbecue. Low amenities are a large part of why the fee is so low, and for most buyers here outdoor space and a front door matter more than a gym.

Jatin’s honest take on Midtowns on the Subway

Midtowns on the Subway — 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.