Panache, 212 Eglinton Ave E: The Midtown Condo Where Hydro Is in the Fee

Panache is the building I bring up when a buyer tells me a midtown fee looks too high. At first glance it does look high per square foot, but it covers almost everything, hydro included, which very few buildings around Yonge and Eglinton still do. It is a mid-size, 2008 tower on Eglinton, and the right suite here can be cheaper to live in than a newer building with a lower fee. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The fee that covers almost everything

Here is the reason to look at Panache. Its fee includes heat, air conditioning, hydro and water, plus common elements, building insurance and parking. In most midtown towers built in the last 15 years, hydro is on your own meter and heating and cooling are often billed separately too.

On the three suites for sale when I checked, all one-plus-den plans between about 600 and 799 sq ft, fees ran from about $710 to $840 a month. That works out to roughly $1.09 per square foot, which sounds steep next to a newer building at $0.70 to $0.80.

Do the real comparison. Add a monthly hydro bill, a heating and cooling bill and a parking charge back onto the cheaper-looking building, and the gap narrows a lot or disappears. The one thing to confirm is that the suite you are buying actually has a parking space; the fee inclusion means nothing if the unit was sold without one.

Ask for the last two or three budgets in the status certificate package. In a building that buys electricity and gas for every suite, utility costs are a big line in the budget, and how the board has handled rate increases tells you a lot about how fees will move from here.

A glass tower with terraces on the north side

Panache is a slim glass tower with clean lines, oversized windows and wide balconies. Its most distinctive feature is on the north side, where the building steps back and creates large terraces. A long-running Urban Toronto discussion of the building also notes a lower, three-storey section on the west side.

At 21 storeys and 196 suites, it sits in a useful middle ground. It is big enough to support a concierge, a security guard and guest suites, but small enough that you will recognise your neighbours and elevator waits stay manageable.

Sources do not agree on the full amenity list. Condos.ca shows concierge, a party room, guest suites, a meeting room, security and visitor parking. REW also lists a gym and a pool, and a resident in the Urban Toronto thread mentions a pool and gym. Walk through the amenity floor yourself before you count on it.

Small suites, mostly one-plus-dens

Suites run from about 423 sq ft at the smallest to about 1,495 sq ft at the top. The market here is dominated by one-bedroom and one-plus-den plans in the 600 to 800 sq ft range, which is exactly what was for sale when I checked.

If you are buying a one-plus-den, check whether the den has a door and a window and could work as a home office or a nursery. In this size band, that is what separates a suite that resells quickly from one that sits.

The larger north-facing terrace suites are the ones I would look at first if you want outdoor space. They come up rarely, and a big terrace in a building where hydro and heat are in the fee is a genuinely unusual combination for midtown.

At the small end, the sub-500 sq ft suites are investor territory. They lease easily to students and young professionals working in midtown, but they are the hardest plans to resell to an owner-occupier, so price them on rent and not on hope.

Living on Eglinton between Yonge and Mount Pleasant

This stretch of Eglinton has been through more than a decade of disruption from the Eglinton Crosstown project, and the side streets north of it are still filling with new towers. That is the trade-off: you are minutes on foot from the Yonge-Eglinton shops, restaurants and the subway, and you live on a busy arterial road.

Suites facing Eglinton get more traffic noise; north-facing suites look toward the quieter residential blocks and, depending on the floor, over new construction. The subway, grocery and parks nearby are in the data panel on this page.

The upside of the disruption is what it leaves behind. Once construction around the Crosstown stations settles, this stretch of Eglinton will be better connected than it has ever been, and buildings that are already here, with known reserve funds and established comparables, benefit from that without the pre-construction risk.

Pricing: in line with midtown, with more in the fee

Panache averages about $818 per square foot on condos.ca. That is close to its 2008 and 2009 neighbours: Quantum North Tower shows about $827, The 88 on Broadway about $826 and 900 Mount Pleasant about $828. Newer towers ask more: E Condos at Yonge and Eglinton, completed in 2019, averages about $916.

When I checked, three suites were for sale, all one-plus-den plans, asking from about $499,999 to $564,900. Three more were for rent, which tells you a fair share of this building is held by investors.

Because the fee covers hydro, heating and cooling, your total monthly cost is more predictable here than in most of the area. When you compare Panache with a newer building, compare the full monthly cost of ownership, not just price per foot and the fee line. The sold medians in the data panel are a better guide than asking prices.

Building specifications

Amenities at Panache

The confirmed package is about service rather than leisure: concierge, a security guard, guest suites and a party room. Some listing sites also show a gym and a pool, so confirm what is on the amenity floor during your showing.

Jatin’s honest take on Panache

Panache — frequently asked questions

Looking at Yonge & Eglinton, Davisville and North Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.