Prego Townhomes I, 995 & 1021 College St: 21 Family-Sized Brick Townhomes

Prego Townhomes I is one of the few ways to buy a family-sized townhouse on College Street west of Ossington without buying a 100-year-old house. Prego Builders finished 21 red-brick, Victorian-styled homes here in 2003, and every one of them is around 1,400 square feet or more. With so few homes, the real challenge is that one rarely comes up for sale. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

New brick townhomes designed to fit an old street

College Street west of Ossington is lined with older two- and three-storey brick buildings, with Portuguese businesses at street level. Prego Townhomes I was designed to fit that context: red-brick fronts with Victorian detailing, rather than the glass and panel of most 2000s condo projects.

The corporation, TSCC-1488, was registered on 8 January 2003. It covers two addresses, 995 and 1021 College Street, with 21 homes in total. A separate complex, Prego Townhomes II on Rusholme Park Crescent nearby, carries the same builder’s name.

I could not find an architect credited, or much about Prego Builders beyond these projects. At this age, the builder matters less than how the corporation has been run since.

That design choice has aged well. A red-brick front with traditional proportions does not date the way a 2003 glass-and-stucco facade does, and from the sidewalk the homes read as part of the street rather than as a condo project dropped into it.

Family-sized homes, not stacked suites

Condos.ca lists homes from about 1,437 to 1,697 square feet. That is the size of a small semi-detached house, and well above the stacked townhouse suites that make up most condo townhouse supply downtown. These are homes you can raise a family in.

Condos.ca records the complex as two storeys. In practice, townhomes of this size on a narrow lot often add a finished lower level or a third floor, so look at the floor plan of the specific home and count the levels and stairs before you fall in love with it.

There is a parking garage, and condos.ca lists a security system, barbecues permitted and pets allowed. With only 21 homes, owners tend to know each other well, and the small board can move quickly, for better or worse.

Size also changes who you are competing with. Buyers looking at 1,400 to 1,700 square feet on College Street are usually also looking at semi-detached houses nearby, many of which need major work. A 2003 townhome with a newer structure, a garage and shared exterior upkeep is a different proposition from a century-old semi with original wiring and plumbing, and that is the comparison I would make with a buyer here.

A lean fee, because you look after more yourself

According to condos.ca, the fee covers common elements, building insurance and water. Heat, hydro and parking are not listed. That is a lean package, closer to a freehold house than a condo apartment, and it usually means a lower monthly fee.

The flip side is that owners in small townhouse corporations often carry more of the responsibility themselves, such as furnaces, air conditioners, windows or decks, depending on what the declaration says. Read the declaration to see exactly which parts of your home are common elements and which are yours to maintain and insure.

Parking is not listed in the fee even though there is a garage. Confirm whether the home you are buying has a space, where it is, and whether there is any separate charge.

A lean fee is only an advantage if the reserve fund is keeping pace. In a 21-home corporation, a low fee can sometimes mean the board has held contributions down, and the bill arrives later. The reserve fund study will tell you which it is.

College Street near Dufferin, and what is changing

This stretch of College is quieter than Little Italy to the east. It is a residential, neighbourhood-scale part of the street, with Portuguese shops and cafés, and Little Portugal’s houses running south toward Dundas.

It is starting to see small infill projects. A recent application for 1043 to 1047 College Street, just east of Gladstone and a short walk west of these homes, proposes two five-storey buildings of townhouses with 11 homes, each with an integrated garage and outdoor terrace. That is the kind of gentle density this part of College is getting, rather than towers.

For an owner here, that is mostly good news: more new homes in the same format support values, and the street keeps its scale. Check the City’s application records for any project on your block before you buy.

What Prego Townhomes I costs

Condos.ca does not publish a reliable per-square-foot average for this complex, and there were no homes listed for sale when the data was gathered. With 21 homes, sales are rare.

That makes pricing harder than for a condo tower. The right comparison set is other large condominium townhouses and semi-detached houses in Little Portugal and around Dufferin Grove, adjusted for parking, outdoor space and the lower maintenance load of a condo.

When a home does come up, I would look at the last few years of sales here and in Prego Townhomes II together, then adjust for size, parking and condition. With a sample this small, one renovated home can move the apparent average a long way, so I do not rely on a single comparable.

To see what homes here have sold for over time, request my building sold report, which uses aggregate figures only, and I can set up an alert so you hear about a new listing the day it comes out.

Building specifications

Amenities at Prego Townhomes I

There are no shared amenities beyond a parking garage and a security system. That is normal for a small townhouse community, and it keeps the fee down, since the corporation is not running a gym or party room.

Jatin’s honest take on Prego Townhomes I

Prego Townhomes I — frequently asked questions

Looking at Queen West, Trinity-Bellwoods, Kensington and Little Italy more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.