Southside Condos, 9 Tippett Rd: Rooftop Pool, Low $/sq ft, High Fees

Southside is the building I look at when a buyer wants something recent near Wilson station and is watching the price per square foot. It is the cheapest of the newer Wilson buildings on condos.ca’s numbers, and it has a rooftop pool. The catch is the fee, which runs well above what I would expect for a building this young. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Two towers on a U-shaped podium, from the Gramercy Park developer

Malibu Investments built Gramercy Park at 525 Wilson Avenue in the early 2010s, and Southside was marketed as its neighbour, with a similar mix of contemporary and traditional design. UrbanToronto lists the towers at about 57 and 55 metres, linked by a mid-rise podium that wraps a private courtyard.

The architect credit is not consistent. UrbanToronto’s write-up names Page + Steele Architects, while its project details list Arcadis. The rest of the team is clearer: NAK Design Group did the landscape, Figure3 the interiors and Quest Window Systems the building envelope.

For a buyer, the U shape matters. Suites facing into the courtyard look over landscaped space and each other, while suites on the outer faces look over Tippett Road, the low-rise blocks around it, or north toward Wilson. Ask which way the suite faces and what is planned on the lots it overlooks.

Small suites, and a lot of them

Condos.ca records suites from about 388 to 1,048 square feet. That range tells you this is mostly a building of compact one-bedrooms and two-bedrooms, with relatively few large suites. The current listings include several two-bedroom-plus-den layouts packed into 700 to 900 square feet.

Those layouts can work well, but measure them against your furniture. A den in a suite under 800 square feet is often an open alcove rather than a room, and a second bedroom may be sized for a child or an office. Floor plans from the status certificate package or the listing are the only reliable way to compare.

With 500 suites, there is also a steady flow of listings and leases. Condos.ca showed 5 for sale and 11 for rent when I checked. That gives buyers choice and real comparables, and it also means you are competing with investor-owned suites when you resell or lease.

If you are buying to live in, that competition is something to plan for. Choose a suite with a feature the others lack, such as a courtyard or corner exposure, a larger balcony, or a parking space, because those are the suites that stand out when ten similar units are on the market at the same time.

The rooftop pool, and the fee question

UrbanToronto describes a rooftop pool and a sky garden, and condos.ca lists an outdoor pool, concierge, gym, party room and visitor parking. A rooftop pool is the feature people remember, and in a summer heat wave it is a real reason to live here rather than next door.

It also costs money. Across the five current listings, fees work out to about $1.13 per square foot, and condos.ca lists only common elements, building insurance and water as included. Hydro and heating are not in that list. For a building completed in 2021, that is high, and it is the number I would want explained before buying.

There can be good reasons: a concierge contract, the pool and roof, a heavily shared podium, or a budget that was set realistically from the start. There can also be reasons you would want to know about. Read the budget, the reserve fund study and recent board minutes, and compare the per-foot fee with Gramercy Park and The Station, its neighbours on Wilson.

Tippett Road and the Wilson cluster

Tippett Road has turned into one of the more concentrated condo pockets in North York. Gramercy Park, The Station and The Rocket all sit within a few blocks around Wilson Avenue and the Allen Road, and UrbanToronto tracks another Malibu project, Express Condominiums on the Subway, on the same streets. UrbanToronto also points to quick access to the Allen Road and Highway 401, and nearby parks including Downsview Park and Earl Bales Park.

Day to day, that means construction nearby for some time, and a neighbourhood that is still filling in its shops and services. The panel beside this review shows transit, schools and food. Wilson station, Yorkdale and the 401 are the practical reasons people buy here, and they are why the area keeps attracting new buildings.

Pricing: lowest per foot in the Wilson cluster

Condos.ca puts Southside’s average at about $669 per square foot. That is below Gramercy Park at around $739, The Station at around $682 and the newer Rocket on Wilson at around $848. For a building completed in 2021, it is a low number, and the higher fee is part of why.

Five suites were listed for sale when I checked, asking from about $385,000 to $560,000, with monthly fees of roughly $530 to $980. If you capitalise the extra fee over a few years, the discount against Gramercy Park narrows. That does not make Southside a bad buy, but it means you should compare total monthly cost, not just price.

For actual trades, use the 12-month data in the panel beside this review, and ask me for a building sold report that sets Southside against Gramercy Park, The Station and The Rocket. Those four buildings give you a clean comparison for this corner of North York.

Building specifications

Amenities at Southside Condos

The rooftop pool and sky garden are what separate Southside from the plainer buildings around Wilson, and the courtyard gives the inner suites a calmer outlook. The gym, party room and concierge cover the basics for a 500-suite building.

Jatin’s honest take on Southside Condos

Southside Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at York Mills, Don Mills, Lawrence Park, Bathurst Manor and midtown-north Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.