Park Vista, 8 Silver Bell Grove: A 96-Suite Malvern Mid-Rise

Park Vista at 8 Silver Bell Grove is the kind of building most Toronto buyers have never heard of, and that is part of its appeal. It is a 96-suite mid-rise from 1990 on a quiet side street in north-east Malvern, with large suites and a fee that covers every utility. The trade-off is that the fee is high in dollars, and you need to understand why before you buy. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Small, quiet and off the main roads

Silver Bell Grove is a short residential street near Neilson Road and Sewells Road, on the north-east side of Malvern. The building sits back from the arterial traffic, which is unusual for a Scarborough condo: most towers in this part of the city face a major road.

With 96 suites over 10 storeys, Park Vista is a mid-sized building. That means fewer neighbours per elevator and hallway than the big 1970s towers, and a board that represents a small community. It also means fewer listings, so if you want this building you may need to wait for the right suite.

The developer was Silverbell Holdings, a holding company name rather than a well-known builder brand. That is common for buildings of this era, and it means the building’s own record, not the developer’s reputation, is what you should judge.

Suites from about 700 to 1,320 square feet

Suites recorded on condos.ca and liv.rent range from about 700 to 1,323 square feet. There is no studio or compact one-bedroom stock here to speak of; this is a building of larger one-bedrooms, two-bedrooms and two-bedroom-plus-den plans.

That size range is the main draw. A two-bedroom here can be considerably larger than a two-bedroom in a new building, and older plans tend to have separate dining areas, real storage and walls between rooms rather than one open box.

Because the building dates from 1990, finishes depend entirely on what each owner has done. Price the renovation in, not just the square footage, and ask whether any work required board approval.

Parking is part of the fee, which matters in a location where most households drive. Ask whether the suite you are looking at comes with one space or two, whether it is owned or exclusive-use, and whether a locker is attached. I could not confirm the locker arrangements here, so get them in writing from the listing agent and the status certificate.

Why the fee looks high

Fees on the two current listings were about $1,060 to $1,142 a month. In dollars, that is a lot for a Scarborough condo, and it is the first thing buyers notice.

The context matters. The fee includes heat, hydro, air conditioning, water, parking and building insurance, so you have no separate electricity or gas bill for the suite. In a newer building those can easily add a few hundred dollars a month in winter and summer. On large suites, the fee per square foot is less extreme than the dollar figure suggests.

The flip side is that you share the building’s energy costs with everyone else, whether you run the air conditioning all summer or not. Rising utility prices flow straight into the fee. Ask the manager how fees have moved over the last few years and what the budget assumes.

Air conditioning is on the inclusion list, which usually means the building supplies cooling through a shared system rather than leaving each owner to run and repair their own unit. Confirm how your suite is heated and cooled, and who pays to fix the in-suite equipment when it fails, because that split is set out in the declaration, not in the listing.

Living in Malvern

Malvern is a large, established residential community of townhouses, detached homes and a small number of condo buildings. Day to day, most residents here drive, with bus service on the main roads. The panel on this page shows the transit routes, schools, parks and food options near the address.

The longer-term transit change is the City’s planned Eglinton East light rail line, now described as the Scarborough East Rapid Transit project. It would run 18.6 km from Kennedy Station past the University of Toronto Scarborough to Malvern Town Centre, with 27 stops. It is still a plan with no published opening date, so treat it as a possible future benefit rather than something you are paying for today.

The Line 2 subway extension, now under construction, will end at Sheppard and McCowan. That is not walking distance from here, but it should improve connections for anyone who drives or buses to a station.

Pricing with very few data points

There were two suites for sale when I checked, asking between $424,900 and $474,900, with maintenance fees of about $1,060 to $1,142 a month. Condos.ca did not show a building average price per square foot, so I won’t quote one.

With a building this size, a few sales can swing any average, so I price suites here by size, condition and floor rather than a building-wide number. Compare against other older Malvern and north Scarborough condos with all-inclusive fees, then adjust for the larger plans here.

The spread between the two current asking prices is narrow, which tells you the market here is fairly consistent once you adjust for size. Condition, view and floor height will usually decide where a particular suite lands within that range.

When you compare total monthly cost, add the utilities a newer building would bill separately before deciding this one is expensive. My building sold report shows the aggregate record of what has actually traded at 8 Silver Bell Grove.

Building specifications

Amenities at Park Vista

The amenity list is modest: a gym, a sauna, a recreation room and a security guard, with underground parking. There is no pool to fund, which keeps the operating budget focused on the building itself.

Jatin’s honest take on Park Vista

Park Vista — 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.