Powell House, 212 St George St: An Edwardian Home With All-In Fees

Powell House at 212 St George is one of the few Annex condos where the first thing you see is a century-old brick house rather than a podium. It is a small, 41-suite building two blocks north of Bloor, and its fees look alarming until you see what they cover. I will tell you when that trade makes sense and when it does not. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

An Edwardian house at the front of the building

The building takes its identity from the 1907 Edwardian house on St George, a brick home that was converted into a condominium residence when the corporation was registered in 1980. Listings for the building still lead with the house, and that is the reason most buyers come to see it.

Be clear about what you are buying, though. With 41 suites across five floors, the building is much larger than the original house, so most suites are not inside the historic part. If the period character matters to you, ask which suites sit within the original house and which are in the later construction, and look at both before you decide.

The corporation number tells the same story. YCC-529 is an early-generation registration, from before the MTCC and TSCC numbering most Toronto buyers know, so this building has been run as a condominium for more than four decades. That is a long track record you can examine in the board minutes and reserve fund studies.

Small suites, and a few with real room

Suite sizes run from roughly 275 to 1,000 sq ft. The bottom of that range is a true studio, the size you buy for a student or a pied-à-terre near the university, not a home. The top of the range is a proper two-bedroom.

The two suites listed for sale when I checked were both two-bedroom plans. One recent listing described a second-floor two-bedroom with a separate dining area and a large balcony, which is not something you can assume in every suite here. Ask for the floor plan and confirm the outdoor space suite by suite.

One practical point for older conversions is mechanical. A recent listing describes electric heating through a fan-coil unit, plus central air. That matters because the heat and the hydro are both in your fee, so the building’s energy costs are shared by all owners rather than metered to you.

Why the fees look high

This is the conversation every buyer has at 212 St George. Monthly fees on the two active listings were about $1,628 to $1,780. On a suite of 800 to 899 sq ft, that is roughly $1.80 to $2.00 per square foot, which is well above most Annex buildings.

The reason is what the fee covers. Condos.ca lists common elements, heat, hydro and water, and one recent listing calls the fees all-inclusive and mentions Rogers Ignite among the extras. In most condos, hydro alone can be a meaningful monthly bill, and in an electrically heated building it is the biggest utility you have. Here it is inside the fee.

So compare total monthly cost, not the fee line. Add your expected hydro, heat and internet back onto a newer building’s fee before you decide this one is expensive. It will often still be higher, because a 41-suite building spreads its costs over very few owners, but the gap is smaller than it first looks.

Two blocks north of Bloor, on a university street

St George at this point is a wide, tree-lined street of large older brick buildings, with the University of Toronto campus just to the south. You are close enough to walk to Bloor for groceries, shops and the subway, and the data panel on this page shows the transit details.

The neighbours are mostly students, faculty and long-time Annex residents, which makes the building a steady rental. Parking is in an underground garage reached by a heated driveway, according to a recent listing, and at least some suites include a space, but condos.ca does not list parking in the fee, so confirm the arrangement for the suite you are considering.

A small building on a street like this also changes how you live day to day. There is no big lobby or crowd at the elevator, and you will get to know your neighbours by name. The flip side is that a single unhappy owner or a single big repair carries more weight in a 41-suite corporation than in a 400-suite tower, so read a year of board minutes to see how decisions get made.

What Powell House costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $609 per square foot. That is low for the Annex, and it is low for a reason: buyers price in the high monthly fee, and older conversions without new-build finishes or a full amenity package trade at a discount to newer buildings nearby.

When I checked, two suites were for sale and one for lease. The two two-bedroom listings were asking from $519,999 to $649,000. Because both are similar suite types, that range tells you more about condition and layout than about the building as a whole.

If you are an investor, the fee is the number that decides your return, so run the cash flow with the full fee before you look at the price. If you are an end user, the all-in fee can make your budget easier to predict. Either way, I can pull the sold history for this building through my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Powell House

The amenities are modest but useful: a gym, a sauna, a rooftop lounge and a shared laundry room, according to condos.ca and a recent listing. If the suite you are looking at has no in-suite laundry, that shared laundry room becomes part of your weekly routine, so check it.

Jatin’s honest take on Powell House

Powell House — 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.