SweetLife Condos, 1 Falaise Rd: A Newer Mid-Rise in West Hill

SweetLife Condos is one of the newer buildings on the eastern stretch of Kingston Road, and it is a good example of where this corridor is heading: a six-storey mid-rise joining a road still lined with older motels and plazas. You get a 2021 building, a fitness and yoga room and a party room, at a price per square foot that is low for new construction in Toronto. The question is what the neighbourhood around it becomes. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A 2021 mid-rise on the Kingston Road corridor

SweetLife registered in September 2021 as TSCC-2875, which makes it one of the youngest condominiums in West Hill. At six storeys and 161 suites, it is the mid-rise scale Toronto has been encouraging along its avenues: tall enough to add housing, low enough to sit next to the houses on the side streets.

The building takes two addresses, 4470 Kingston Road and 1 to 11 Falaise Road, and listings use both. They are the same corporation. When you look for comparables, search all of them, along with the SweetLife name.

Your Home Developments is listed as developer and builder. I would treat the building on its own record rather than the developer’s marketing: look at how the corporation has handled warranty claims in its first years, and at what the first reserve fund study found.

Layouts from compact one-bedrooms to family suites

Condos.ca puts suites here between about 468 and 1,055 square feet. That is a wider range than many new buildings offer. The small end is a compact one-bedroom, while the top end is large enough for a three-bedroom plan, and three-bedroom suites were among the current listings.

A three-bedroom suite in a new building is rare in Scarborough, and it is the part of this building I would pay most attention to if you have a family. Check the floor plan carefully: in new mid-rises, the third bedroom can be small or have a borrowed window, so measure it against how you will use it. Ask whether the suite has a balcony or terrace, and which way it faces.

For the compact one-bedrooms, think about storage. Ask whether the suite comes with a locker, and confirm whether parking comes with it at all. Parking is not on the fee inclusion list, so it may be owned or rented separately.

Living in a building this new

A building registered in 2021 is past its first year and into the period where the corporation learns what its real costs are. In Ontario, a new corporation must commission its first reserve fund study within the first year after registration. Ask for it, and for any update since, because it tells you whether the fee set by the developer was realistic.

Ask, too, about the Tarion warranty. The two-year coverage for items such as water penetration and building envelope has passed, but the seven-year coverage for major structural defects still runs. Board minutes will show whether the corporation filed common-element claims and how they were resolved.

Heat and hydro are not on the fee list, so each suite pays its own. Ask how suites are metered, who the provider is and what a typical monthly bill looks like. In newer buildings, these costs can be a meaningful addition to the fee.

West Hill, and what is changing on Kingston Road

West Hill grew up around Kingston Road, and its commercial heart has long been the triangle where Kingston Road, Lawrence Avenue and Morningside Avenue meet. The old Morningside Mall closed and was replaced by Morningside Crossing, an open-air plaza, which is where much of the daily shopping is now.

Kingston Road was once lined with motels serving the highway traffic, and as the 401 took that traffic away, many motel sites have been redeveloped. SweetLife belongs to the newer wave of mid-rise housing on the corridor. Further west, a pair of 8- and 12-storey buildings with 307 condominium suites was proposed in 2020 on a motel and car-lot site near Galloway Road.

For a buyer, that means a corridor that should keep gaining residents, shops and services, and more competition from new suites. If you are weighing SweetLife against older stock, The Villas of Morningside on nearby Ling Road is the obvious contrast: a 1975 two-storey complex with an outdoor pool. There you trade a new building and an elevator for stairs, a family-sized layout and a 50-year-old capital plan to read. The data panel on this page shows the transit, schools and Walk Score figures for this address.

Price per square foot and fees

Condos.ca puts the building’s average at about $526 per square foot. That is low for a 2021 building in Toronto, and it reflects both the location on the eastern edge of the city and a resale market with many new suites competing for buyers.

At the time of writing, three suites were for sale, asking from about $399,900 to $699,000, with fees across those listings from about $381 to $775 a month. The spread is wide because suite sizes are wide, so compare on price and fee per square foot rather than the headline numbers.

Three suites were also for rent, which tells you investors own part of the building. That is normal for a new condo, but it matters for how the building feels day to day. The sold-data panel on this page shows what has actually traded.

Building specifications

Amenities at SweetLife Condos

The amenity package is modest and practical: a gym, a yoga room, a party room and an outdoor patio. There is no pool or concierge, which helps keep fees in check in a 161-suite building.

Jatin’s honest take on SweetLife Condos

SweetLife Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at Scarborough Bluffs, West Hill, Guildwood, Woburn, Malvern and Rouge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.