The Milan, 825 Church St: A 37-Storey Tower With a Pool Near Rosedale

The Milan sits on the quiet north end of Church Street, a few minutes from Yorkville’s shops but on the side of Yonge that feels closer to Rosedale. It is a 2016 tower with an indoor pool, a big podium terrace and a full-service amenity floor, at prices that sit below the Yorkville towers west of Yonge. The fee structure is the part most buyers misread. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A developer that built its own tower

The Conservatory Group did not hire a general contractor for The Milan; it acted as its own construction manager. E.I. Richmond Architects designed the building, Hudson Kruse Design did the interiors, and the structural and mechanical engineering came from established Toronto firms, Jablonsky Ast & Partners and M.V. Shore Associates.

The form is a tall tower on a slightly curved eight-level podium. Eight podium storeys is more than most downtown towers have, which gives the building a solid presence on Church Street and puts the amenity terrace well above the street. The site was being excavated in 2011, the podium was being clad at the end of 2012, and the corporation registered in January 2016.

Below grade there are five levels of underground parking. That is a deep garage for a tower of this size, and it is worth asking whether spare spaces are ever available to buy or rent from other owners if your suite does not come with one.

A developer acting as its own construction manager is not unusual for an established family builder, and it means one company was answerable for both the design decisions and the build. It also means there was no separate general contractor whose warranty work you would look for, so review how deficiencies were handled during the Tarion warranty period in the early board minutes.

Suites sized for living, not just investing

Recorded suite sizes run from about 577 to 1,735 square feet. There are no tiny studios on the record here, and the current listings are mostly one-plus-dens in the 600s and two-bedrooms in the 700s and 800s, with a larger two-plus-den at the top.

That mix tends to attract owner-occupiers: couples, people moving out of a house in Rosedale or North Toronto, and professionals who want a second bedroom for an office. A two-bedroom in the 800s is a genuinely usable home, not a one-bedroom with a closet for a second room.

The developer’s own marketing played up the views toward the Rosedale valley, and orientation matters a great deal here. In a 37-storey tower the difference between floor 8 and floor 30 is large, both in view and in price, so compare suites on the same stack and similar heights. When you see two suites of the same size listed far apart in price, floor and exposure usually explain most of the gap, and a lower-floor suite facing a neighbouring tower should be priced accordingly.

The pool, the terrace and the amenity floor

The amenity package is broader than many buildings in this price range. The construction reporting lists a health club, an indoor pool, a theatre, a billiards room, a library and a conference room, and the building profile adds a concierge, a party room and visitor parking.

The podium roof was planned as a large landscaped terrace with views toward the Rosedale valley. For a buyer who does not have a big balcony, that terrace is effectively a shared backyard, and it is one of the better features of the building.

A pool in a 2016 tower is still relatively young, but pools are among the most expensive amenities to run. Look at what the budget spends on it each year, and check the reserve fund study for when the pool equipment and the terrace membrane are scheduled for replacement.

North Church Street, day to day

Church Street north of Bloor is calmer than the stretch most people picture. You are a short walk from the Yonge and Bloor intersection and the shops on Yonge, and Yorkville is a few minutes west, but the immediate streets are residential and noticeably quieter at night.

The trade-off is that you are not in the middle of Yorkville, and some buyers who want the restaurant-and-gallery lifestyle on their doorstep will prefer a building west of Yonge. The data panel on this page covers transit, Walk Score and nearby food and parks.

Pricing and the fee question

The building averages about $944 per square foot, the lowest of the six midtown towers I have reviewed alongside it, below The Yorkville at 32 Davenport (about $970) and Pears on the Avenue (about $1,059). You are paying a little less for being east of Yonge, and in exchange you get a pool and larger average suites.

Five suites were for sale at the time of writing, asking from about $599,000 to about $1,040,000, with two-bedrooms in between. Fees on those listings ran from roughly $709 to $1,118 a month, or about $1.00 to $1.15 per square foot.

Here is the catch. The building profile lists only heat and water as included. If air conditioning, building insurance or parking are billed separately, the true monthly cost is higher than the fee suggests. Ask for the current budget and a breakdown of what the fee covers before you compare it with a building where those items are bundled. My building sold report shows what has actually closed.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Milan Condominiums

This is a full amenity building: you can swim, train, watch a film and host a meeting without leaving. The podium terrace is the feature I would weigh most if the suite you are looking at has a small balcony.

Jatin’s honest take on The Milan Condominiums

The Milan Condominiums — 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.