Skymark I, 3303 Don Mills Rd: Big Two-Bedrooms, All-In Fees, 1977 Build

Skymark I is the building I show people who are moving out of a house and refuse to shrink into a 600-square-foot box. Every one of its 274 suites is a two-bedroom, starting around 1,000 square feet and running past 2,200, and the monthly fee covers your hydro as well as heat and water. The trade-off is a 1977 building with 1977 bones, and I will walk you through what that means. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A building made only of large two-bedrooms

Most towers mix studios, one-bedrooms and a few larger units. Skymark I went the other way: according to the CCI Toronto profile, all 274 suites are two-bedroom plans, from roughly 1,004 square feet to just over 2,200. Current listings also describe some plans as two-plus-one, so expect a den or extra room in some layouts.

That single decision shapes everything about the building. The owner base skews toward downsizers, families and long-term residents rather than investors chasing small rentable units, and the hallways feel quieter for it. It also means the floor plans were drawn for people who own dining tables and full-size furniture.

If you are coming from a detached home in Don Mills, Bayview Village or Willowdale, this is one of the few places where your existing furniture will actually fit.

Skymark I and Skymark II: one campus, two corporations

Skymark I does not stand alone. It shares its recreational facilities and landscaped grounds with its neighbour, Skymark II, and the two buildings run a shared facilities committee and a joint social committee. The listed amenity package includes both an indoor and an outdoor pool, a gym, a party room, a meeting room and a recreation room.

The grounds are a real point of pride here. The CCI profile notes landscaping awards in 1993, 1997, 2001 and 2006, and describes a waterfall as the centrepiece of the property. There is a gatehouse and contracted security, which suits buyers who want a controlled entrance.

The community side is unusually active for a North York high-rise. Bridge, canasta, mah-jong, a book club and organised outings were all running as of 2016, and the building newsletter won CCI’s newsletter of the year award in 2014. If you want neighbours who know your name, that matters.

One practical point: shared facilities mean shared costs. Ask how the cost-sharing agreement with Skymark II works and how the shared portion shows up in your fee and in the reserve fund.

What 50 years of upkeep looks like

An older building is only as good as the money that has gone back into it, and Skymark I has a documented record of spending. By 2016 the corporation had refurbished its four elevators, repaired the underground garage waterproofing membrane, replaced fan coils and motors, and installed a new emergency generator outside the building after the original basement unit proved hard to remove.

The largest item was an exterior elastomeric coating of roughly $2.5 million to bridge cracks in the masonry, along with new window caulking. Lighting was converted from sodium lamps to LEDs, with estimated savings of about $14,000 a year.

That is the right kind of list to see: big, unglamorous envelope and mechanical work done before it became an emergency. But that profile is close to ten years old now. What I want to know is what the current reserve fund study says about windows, balcony repairs, risers and the pools over the next decade.

Daily life at Don Mills and Finch

The building sits on the southeast corner of Don Mills Road and Finch Avenue East, in the Don Valley Village neighbourhood. This is a car-friendly part of North York with quick access to Highway 404 and the 401, which is why it works so well for people who still drive to work, to family or to the cottage.

Daily errands are handled at the plazas along Don Mills and Finch, and Fairview Mall is a short drive south. The transit, school and walkability details for this exact address are in the data panel on this page.

Do not buy here expecting a downtown-style walking lifestyle. Buy here if you want a large, quiet suite, a staffed building and an easy drive in every direction.

What Skymark I costs to own

The headline number buyers react to is the fee. Current listings show maintenance in the range of about $1,325 to $1,375 a month. On a suite of 1,000 to 1,300 square feet, that is high per square foot. Before you dismiss it, look at what it covers: heat, hydro, water, air conditioning, insurance and common elements.

Hydro inclusion is the part people underrate. In a newer building you would be paying your own electricity on top of a lower fee, and in a suite this size that bill is not small. Net out what you would otherwise pay for hydro, heating and cooling, and the gap to a newer North York building narrows.

Active asking prices across the three current listings range from $715,000 to $859,000. For space, that is the attraction: you are buying a very large two-bedroom for roughly what a much smaller new-build unit costs further south on Yonge or near Sheppard. For actual recent sale figures, see the 12-month data above, or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Skymark I

Two pools, a gym and full social rooms, shared with Skymark II, mean you rarely need a membership elsewhere. The award-winning grounds and gatehouse give the property a campus feel that newer North York towers on tight lots cannot copy.

Jatin’s honest take on Skymark I

Skymark I — frequently asked questions

Looking at Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.