Pleasant Boulevard Towns, 45-107 Pleasant Blvd: Ravine-Side Stacked Towns

Pleasant Boulevard Towns is for the buyer who wants a townhouse feel at Yonge and St. Clair without paying for a freehold house. There are only 32 homes here, all in a narrow size band, on a quiet street that backs toward one of the best ravine parks in the city. Listings are rare, and when one comes up you need to know what you are looking at. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Thirty-two homes beside the ravine

The complex sits on Pleasant Boulevard, a short residential street just east of Yonge, on the edge of the Vale of Avoca and David A. Balfour Park. That ravine system is the reason to live here. You can walk into a wooded trail network within minutes of your front door and be back on Yonge for coffee just as quickly.

With 32 homes, this is a small corporation. That cuts both ways. Neighbours know each other and decisions are made by a handful of owners, but the costs of roofs, brick, the garage and landscaping are shared among very few people. Reserve fund planning matters more here than in a 300-suite tower.

The exterior is brick in a Georgian-inspired style, designed to sit comfortably beside the older houses of Rosedale and Deer Park rather than stand out. It reads as a row of townhouses from the street, not as a condo building.

Layouts: stacked, multi-level and close in size

These are stacked townhouses, so most homes are split over more than one level and share walls and floors with neighbours above or below. The building profile records the complex as two storeys, but the marketing also describes third-floor skylights that send light down curved staircases into the main dining areas, which tells you the upper units run over several levels. Ask for the floor plan of the specific unit; the experience of an upper unit and a lower unit is quite different.

Recorded sizes are tightly grouped at about 1,290 to 1,365 square feet. One recent listing described a two-bedroom, three-bathroom layout in which each bedroom had its own ensuite, with a balcony off the living room and a terrace off the primary bedroom. That is the shape to expect: two good bedrooms, a lot of bathrooms, and modest outdoor space.

If you are coming from a house, check the stairs. Multi-level living is the trade-off for the townhouse feel, and it matters for anyone planning to age in place.

Parking, lockers and what is underground

The complex has an underground garage, and parking is included in the maintenance fee. A recent listing described two side-by-side owned spaces and an owned locker, but do not assume every unit has two spaces. Confirm the number of spaces and lockers attached to the unit in the status certificate.

Visitor parking is listed, barbecues are permitted and pets are listed as allowed. There is no concierge or amenity package, which keeps fees down and is normal for a low-rise townhouse complex.

Underground parking under a townhouse complex is also one of its biggest long-term costs. Garage membranes and waterproofing wear out on a schedule, and in a small corporation the bill is split among very few owners. Ask when the garage was last inspected and what the reserve fund study says about it.

Living on Pleasant Boulevard

Pleasant Boulevard is a quiet street, but it is only a few minutes on foot from the Yonge and St. Clair intersection, with its grocery stores, restaurants, banks and the subway. That combination of a residential street and a major midtown hub is hard to find, and it is most of the appeal.

The street has a second townhouse complex, listed as 51-118 Pleasant Boulevard Townhomes, on the even-numbered addresses from 84 to 118, so buyers often compare the two. Look at size, the number of levels, parking and fee inclusions side by side rather than assuming they are alike.

Around this complex, Yonge and St. Clair is a busy intensification area, with towers already in place and more proposed. That brings more shops and services over time, and it also means construction and taller neighbours along Yonge. The ravine side of the complex is the side that will change least. The data panel on this page covers transit, schools, Walk Score and nearby food and parks.

Pricing when there is almost nothing on the market

There were no units for sale or for rent here at the time of writing, which is typical. With 32 homes and owners who tend to stay, turnover is low, and I would not rely on a single asking price as a guide when one does appear.

Because the sizes are so consistent, the cleanest comparison is price per square foot against other midtown townhouse complexes and against larger condo suites near Yonge and St. Clair. Condition and the number of parking spaces will move value more than anything else.

If you are serious about this complex, the practical move is to tell your agent now and set up an alert, so you see a unit the day it lists. In a building this small, the buyer who has already read the status certificate of a comparable unit and knows the fee history is the one who can move quickly and still buy with confidence.

Fees cover common elements, parking and water. Heat and hydro are not in the fee, so budget for them separately. If you want to see what has actually sold here, my building sold report is the place to start.

Building specifications

Amenities at Pleasant Boulevard Towns

There is no amenity package to speak of, and that is the point: your amenities are the ravine trails, David A. Balfour Park and Yonge Street. You pay for a home, not for a gym you might not use.

Jatin’s honest take on Pleasant Boulevard Towns

Pleasant Boulevard Towns — 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.