Monarch Townhomes, 2800 Eglinton Ave E: Family Space on a Future LRT

Monarch Townhomes is where I look when a family needs three or four bedrooms but a detached house in Scarborough is out of reach. It is a 109-home condominium townhouse complex from 2006 on Eglinton Avenue East, between Brimley and McCowan, and condos.ca puts its average price per square foot well below most Scarborough condo towers. The trade-off is a busy arterial road out front. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A townhouse, run like a condo

These are townhomes, not apartments, so there are no elevators, corridors or shared lobby to maintain. What you share with your neighbours is the land, the internal roads, the visitor parking, the landscaping and the outside of the buildings. That is why a townhouse corporation can often keep fees lower than a tower while you still get a front door of your own.

The corporation, TSCC-1821, was registered in December 2006, so the complex is now about 20 years old. That age is when roofs, windows, exterior doors and paved areas start to come due, and in a townhouse corporation the declaration decides who pays for which of those items. Read it before you buy.

Monarch is a long-established GTA home builder, and this was a straightforward family townhouse project rather than a luxury one. Expect practical, builder-standard homes, with whatever upgrades individual owners have added since.

Buying a condo townhouse is different from buying a freehold one. You get a status certificate, a reserve fund and a board, which protects you from a surprise roof bill, but you also accept rules on exterior changes, parking and use of common areas. If you want total control over the outside of your home, a freehold is the better fit.

Family-sized floor plans

Condos.ca has recorded one size here, about 1,846 square feet, which is far more space than nearly any condo apartment in Scarborough. The plans I have seen put the living room, dining area and kitchen on the main floor and the bedrooms upstairs, with an ensuite off the primary bedroom.

That makes these homes a real alternative to a semi-detached house for a family that needs three or four bedrooms. Before you compare, confirm whether the plan you are looking at has a finished basement, a garage or a surface space, and how many bathrooms it has, because those details vary across a complex of this size.

Carpeted bedrooms and original kitchens are common in homes from this era. Price in any updating you want to do, and ask management which exterior changes, such as windows or doors, need the board’s approval.

What the fee covers, and what it doesn’t

The fee covers common elements, building insurance, parking and, according to condos.ca, air conditioning. Air conditioning is an unusual inclusion for a townhouse complex, so confirm exactly what it means for your unit, whether that is a shared service or the maintenance of equipment, before you rely on it in your budget.

Heat, water and hydro are not on the inclusion list, which is typical for townhomes where each home has its own meters. Ask for the past year’s utility bills for the specific home so you know the true monthly cost.

With no units for sale when I checked, I can’t give a current fee range. Ask for the corporation’s budget and fee schedule, and look at how fees have moved over the past five years.

One more point people miss: the corporation’s insurance covers the common elements and the buildings as defined in the declaration, not your contents or your own improvements. Ask your insurance broker for a condo unit-owner policy that matches what the declaration leaves to you, and check the deductible owners are responsible for.

Eglinton Avenue East, today and tomorrow

The complex fronts Eglinton Avenue East between Brimley Road and McCowan Road, a busy arterial lined with plazas and retail. Daily shopping is close and easy by car. Homes that back onto the internal roads will be quieter than those facing Eglinton, so ask which side a unit sits on.

The bigger story is transit. The City’s planned Eglinton East LRT is intended to run from Kennedy Station east along Eglinton and on to the University of Toronto Scarborough and Malvern Town Centre, which would put rapid transit on the avenue in front of this complex. It was at the environmental assessment stage on the City’s project page, with no opening date, so treat it as long-term upside rather than a reason to pay more today.

Kennedy Station, where Line 2 and Line 5 meet, is to the west, and the Line 2 subway extension under construction will add a station at Lawrence Avenue and McCowan Road to the north. The panel on this page shows the current routes and stops.

Pricing a family townhome here

Condos.ca shows an average of about $371 per square foot for the complex, which is well below the price per foot of most Scarborough condo apartments. That is normal for townhomes, which are priced per home more than per foot, but it shows how much space your money buys here.

No homes were listed for sale when I checked, so there is no current asking range to quote. With 109 homes in the complex, listings come up from time to time, and the right comparables are other condo townhouse complexes in Scarborough and nearby semi-detached houses, not towers.

My building sold report shows the aggregate sales record for this address, and I can pull comparable townhouse sales if you are serious about the area.

Building specifications

Amenities at Monarch Townhomes

There is no clubhouse or pool, and that is the point: the fee goes to the roofs, roads and grounds rather than shared rooms. Barbecues are permitted, which matters to families who want to use their own outdoor space.

Jatin’s honest take on Monarch Townhomes

Monarch Townhomes — frequently asked questions

Looking at Scarborough Bluffs, West Hill, Guildwood, Woburn, Malvern and Rouge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.