Residences of Avondale, 1 Avondale Ave: Baghai’s Soft-Loft Mid-Rise

Residences of Avondale is the building I show buyers who want a low-rise address at Yonge and Sheppard instead of another 40-storey glass tower. It is a 12-storey, 201-suite Shane Baghai building from 2006, partly marketed as One Avondale Lofts, sitting on a side street just off Yonge south of the Sheppard intersection. The fees are high for the corridor, and I want to explain that before anything else. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A mid-rise in a district of towers

Almost everything built around Yonge and Sheppard in the past twenty years went up, not out. Residences of Avondale is the exception: 12 storeys and 201 suites spread across several addresses on Avondale Avenue and one on Yonge, all under a single corporation, TSCC-1809.

That scale changes daily life in ways buyers notice quickly. There are fewer neighbours sharing each elevator, a smaller lobby, and a building where the concierge actually learns your face. The trade-off is that fewer owners share every repair bill, which is part of the fee story below.

Do not confuse this building with the Residence of Avondale on Harrison Garden Boulevard. That is a separate, much larger Shane Baghai tower complex from 2004 with its own corporation, amenities and fee history. The names are close enough that listings, and even some buyers, mix them up.

Soft lofts, not hard lofts

Condos.ca carries this building as 1 Avondale Ave Lofts, and forum discussion from the sales period describes the suites as loft-style with high ceilings. They are not hard lofts. This is new construction from 2006, not a converted warehouse, so think of it as a concrete condo with a loft feel rather than exposed brick and timber.

I could not verify a ceiling height from a published source, so measure it yourself or ask the listing agent for the floor plan and the builder’s specification. Ceiling height is the main thing you are paying for if the word loft is in the listing, and it varies from floor to floor in many mid-rises.

Current listings run from studios under 500 sq ft to one-bedroom-plus-den suites of 800 to 899 sq ft. That is a compact mix, which suits singles and couples more than families. If you need two real bedrooms, check what has actually traded here before you fall for the building.

What the fee covers, and why it runs high

Condos.ca lists common elements, building insurance, water and parking as the fee inclusions. Heat and hydro are not listed, so ask the listing agent how heating is billed and what the current owner pays in a typical winter month before you compare this building with one that includes heat.

Across the current listings, the fee works out to roughly $1.18 per square foot. That is high for this part of North York, where many larger towers sit well under $1.00. Some of the gap is structural: a 201-suite building spreads its staff, insurance and equipment over far fewer owners than a 500-suite tower does.

Some of it is age. At twenty years old, the building is in the window where original mechanical systems, roofing and the garage membrane come due. A high fee can mean a responsible board funding the reserve properly, or it can mean costs are rising faster than planned, and only the reserve fund study tells you which.

When you request the status certificate, look at three things in order: the reserve fund balance against the study’s recommended balance, any planned increase in contributions, and whether the board has already approved major projects. Those tell you more about your next five years of fees than the current monthly number does.

Living just off Yonge

The side-street address is the real advantage here. You get the shops, restaurants and services of the Yonge and Sheppard intersection within a short walk, without a suite facing the traffic on Yonge itself. Transit details are in the panel on this page.

Avondale Avenue itself is mostly residential and short, which keeps through traffic low. The flip side is that the street sees steady drop-off and delivery traffic for the building, so ask which side of the building your suite faces and where the garage ramp and loading area sit.

Highway 401 runs just south of the site. That is excellent if you drive, but it also means steady background noise on the south-facing side. Visit at rush hour and listen with the balcony door open before you commit to a south exposure.

Yonge and Sheppard is still changing, with new tower applications appearing along both streets. Before you buy, check the City of Toronto development applications map for anything planned nearby, because a new tower on a neighbouring lot can take your view and your afternoon light.

What Residences of Avondale costs

When I checked, three suites were for sale and one was for lease. Asking prices ran from $349,000 to $539,000. Using the middle of each size band, the larger suites are asking roughly $590 to $640 per square foot, while the studio asks noticeably more per foot, as small suites always do.

Those asking figures look modest for Yonge and Sheppard, and that is partly the fee at work. A buyer comparing monthly costs will add roughly $1.18 per square foot in fees to the mortgage, and the market prices that in. If you are comparing this with a newer tower, put the full monthly cost side by side, including the parking that is already in this fee.

Supply is thin, too. With 201 suites and only a handful listed at once, you will not always find your preferred layout, so decide in advance which sizes and exposures you would accept and be ready to act when one appears.

Asking prices are not sale prices. For what has actually traded here, see the market data on this page, or ask me for the building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Residences of Avondale

This is a modest package: a gym, a party room and a rooftop deck where barbecues are permitted, with a concierge at the desk. There is no pool, which keeps operating costs down, and the rooftop deck is the feature most owners actually use in summer.

Jatin’s honest take on Residences of Avondale

Residences of Avondale — frequently asked questions

Looking at Willowdale, Yonge & Sheppard, Bayview Village and North York Centre more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.