Summerhill Gardens, 1246 Yonge St: Two-Storey Suites Above Yonge Shops

Summerhill Gardens is one of the smallest condominiums I know of on Yonge Street, and that is the whole point of it. A handful of two-storey suites with terraces sit above the shops, so it lives more like a townhouse than a condo. Small buildings like this are wonderful when they are run well and expensive when they are not, so this review is as much about what to check as about what you get. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Townhouse living, one floor above Yonge Street

The format is what makes this building different. Shops occupy the ground floor, and the homes above are two-storey suites, so you get stairs inside your own unit, separate living and sleeping levels and, according to a published listing, a terrace on each level. That is closer to a stacked townhouse than to a typical condo apartment.

The same listing called it a New York-style boutique building, which is a fair description. It is a small, street-facing building that fills its lot on Yonge Street and leaves the views to the upper floors. From the top level, suites can look across to the Annex, Casa Loma and the downtown skyline.

The unit count is not fully clear. The building profile records 10 units, while the listing description refers to six two-storey residences. The most likely explanation is that the larger number includes the commercial units at grade, but I could not confirm that. Ask for the declaration and confirm how many residential and commercial units share the corporation, because it changes how costs are divided.

Sizes and layouts

Recorded sizes run from about 655 to 1,067 square feet. Spread over two levels, even the larger suites are compact on each floor, so look carefully at how the stairs, kitchen and storage use the space. Two-storey layouts can feel generous, or they can lose a lot of floor area to a staircase.

The terraces are the real luxury. Two outdoor spaces in a suite of this size is uncommon on Yonge Street, and in a building with no common amenities they are your garden, your balcony and your summer living room. Check how private each terrace is and what you look at from it, because Yonge Street is busy and noise carries.

The building has an elevator, which matters more than people think in a three-storey building. It makes the suites workable for downsizers who want to stay in the area but would rather not carry groceries up a flight of stairs from the street.

When you view a suite, ask which way the terraces face and which one looks over the street. A terrace facing away from Yonge is usually the quieter and more private of the two, and buyers tend to pay for that difference when the suite is sold again.

Fees and the small-corporation question

The recorded fee inclusions are air conditioning, parking and water. Heat is not on the list, so ask whether heating is on your own meter and what the suite costs to run through a Toronto winter. Hydro is yours as well.

Parking is listed as included in the fee and there is an underground garage. Confirm in the status certificate that your suite actually has a space and a locker, because in small buildings they are not always attached to every unit.

With so few owners, every shared cost is split among a very small group. A new roof, a garage repair or an elevator modernisation in a building like this can mean a significant special assessment. Owners also tend to sit on the board themselves, so the building is only as well run as the handful of people who live in it. Read the reserve fund study, the status certificate and the last two years of minutes before you firm up.

Living between Summerhill and St. Clair

This stretch of Yonge Street sits between two of the city’s most established neighbourhoods. Summerhill and Rosedale lie to the east and Deer Park and the Yonge-St. Clair office and shopping hub to the north. Day to day, it is a walking neighbourhood of independent shops, restaurants and grocers, with Summerhill station on Line 1 a short walk away.

Living above retail has trade-offs. You get life on the street and services at your door, but also deliveries, garbage pick-ups and late-evening foot traffic. Visit at different times of day before you commit. The data panel on this page covers transit, schools and what is nearby.

Pricing a building that rarely trades

There were no active listings when I checked, and there is no reliable building average per square foot on record. That is normal for a building this small. Sales come up only every so often, and each suite’s terraces, level and condition vary enough that a single past sale tells you little.

In practice, I price suites here against two groups: the two-storey townhouse-style condos in Summerhill and Rosedale, and small boutique buildings along Yonge between Summerhill and St. Clair, such as The Ports, a seven-storey building of about 106 suites a few blocks south. The terraces and the townhouse format justify a premium over an ordinary apartment of the same size; the lack of amenities and the exposure to Yonge Street pull the other way.

If you are serious about a suite here, ask me for the building sold report so we work from actual recorded sales for the address rather than guesswork.

Building specifications

Amenities at Summerhill Gardens

There is no gym, concierge or party room, so your terraces and the neighbourhood are the amenities. The upside is a small shared budget; the downside is that every repair is split among very few owners.

Jatin’s honest take on Summerhill Gardens

Summerhill Gardens — 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.