Minto Gardens, 33 Sheppard Ave E: Studios to Two-Beds at Yonge & Sheppard

Minto Gardens is the Yonge and Sheppard building I send people to when they want the intersection itself and a choice of suite sizes, from a studio to a full two-bedroom. It is a 34-storey Minto tower from 2004, the fee covers heat, cooling and parking, and it is one of the few buildings here where a studio comes up for sale. It is also a busy rental building, and you should know that going in. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Minto’s first move at Yonge and Sheppard

Minto Gardens sits on Sheppard Avenue East a few steps from Yonge Street, which puts it at the corner where North York Centre meets the Sheppard corridor. At 34 storeys and 377 suites, it is a full-size tower with a corporation large enough to spread repair costs widely.

Minto kept building in this area. Its own project archive describes Spring at MintoGardens, a 33-storey, 342-suite tower at Yonge and Sheppard East completed in 2010 and certified LEED Gold, with features such as individual suite meters and heat recovery ventilation. That later tower is a separate building, and it shows how the MintoGardens name has grown into a cluster.

The difference between the two matters to a buyer. 33 Sheppard is the earlier, 2004 building, with heat and cooling inside the fee. The 2010 tower was designed around suite-level metering. If you are deciding between them, compare total monthly cost, not just the fee.

From studios under 400 sq ft to two-bedrooms over 1,400

Condos.ca puts suites at roughly 366 to 1,409 square feet. The bottom of that range is a true studio, smaller than the starting size at the Menkes Broadway towers or the Daniels buildings at Bayview, and the top is a full two-bedroom.

The current listings show the spread: a studio under 500 square feet, a one-bedroom in the 600 to 699 square foot band and a two-bedroom in the 900s. That variety is useful if you are a first-time buyer starting small, or a parent buying a suite for a student and wanting a choice of sizes.

I could not confirm the architect, ceiling heights or original finishes. For a 22-year-old building, expect a wide range of condition between suites, and price any unrenovated kitchen and flooring into your offer. In a studio, every square foot counts, so look closely at storage and how the bed area is separated from the living space.

What the fee includes, and the one item to confirm

Condos.ca lists air conditioning, common elements, heat, building insurance and parking as included. On the three current listings, fees run from about $325 to about $1,060, or about $1.11 per square foot on condos.ca’s calculation.

Water is not on condos.ca’s list here, while it is for most neighbouring buildings. That may be an omission in the listing data, or it may mean water is billed separately. Ask the manager and confirm in the status certificate before you compare this building with others.

Condos.ca also flags a pet restriction. If you have a dog or cat, read the declaration and the rules before you write an offer, not after.

Living at the intersection

The appeal here is being at Yonge and Sheppard itself, with the subway, the shops and restaurants along Yonge, and the services of North York Centre all within walking distance. The panel on this page shows the nearest stations, schools, parks and restaurants.

Day to day, that means many errands can be done without a car. If you are buying a suite with parking you may not use, check the declaration before assuming you can lease the space to someone outside the building, because many corporations restrict that. A parking space you cannot use or rent is still part of what you paid for.

The flip side is noise and activity. Suites facing Sheppard or Yonge will hear traffic, and the area keeps adding towers, which means construction for years to come. A higher floor facing away from the arterial roads is quieter, so check the exposure of any suite you are considering.

With about nine suites listed for rent at the time I checked and only three for sale, this is clearly a popular rental building. That supports investor demand, but it also means more move-ins, more elevator bookings and more turnover. Read the owner-occupancy figures in the panel.

Pricing: a Yonge and Sheppard address at a mid-2000s price

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $721 per square foot. That is close to the roughly $736 condos.ca shows for the Menkes Broadway towers to the north, and well above the $557 at the all-inclusive mid-rise Bayview Mansions II to the east, which tells you the intersection is doing the work.

The three active listings ask from about $365,000 to about $685,000, with the one-bedroom in between. Fees on those listings run from about $325 to $1,060 a month.

The spread between the three listings is mostly size. Per square foot, the smaller suites ask more and the two-bedroom asks less, while the fee per square foot runs the other way, rising with size. The choice comes down to how much space you need, how long you plan to stay and which monthly cost you can carry comfortably.

A studio at this price is one of the lowest-cost ways to own at Yonge and Sheppard, but studios resell to a narrower pool of buyers. If you plan to sell within a few years, a one-bedroom is usually the easier exit. For recent sold prices, see the automatic panel on this page.

Building specifications

Amenities at Minto Gardens

Condos.ca lists concierge, a party room, a meeting room and visitor parking. I could not confirm a pool or gym at 33 Sheppard from the sources I checked, so tour the amenity floor before you rely on one.

Jatin’s honest take on Minto Gardens

Minto Gardens — 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.