Sylvan Collection Townhomes: 21 Homes on a 1910 Apartment Site

The Sylvan Collection is a small group of condominium townhouses on a quiet corner near Dufferin Grove Park, and it has more history than most new builds in the city. What you get today is a freehold feel with an underground garage. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Built where the Sylvan Apartments stood

The corner of Sylvan Avenue and Havelock Street was home to the Sylvan, an apartment building from 1910 designed by James A. Harvey for the Hutson family. It ran west along Sylvan from Havelock, and a second wing was added down Havelock in 1927, making an L-shaped block. Taddle Creek magazine’s history of the building says the family owned it for close to a century.

After the building was sold in the mid-2000s, the new owner applied to demolish it and replace it with a 45-unit condominium townhouse project with underground parking. The city refused and designated the Sylvan a heritage property in 2006.

The finished complex has 21 condominium units, far fewer than the 45 first proposed. I could not confirm from a published source exactly how much of the 1910 facade survives in the finished project, so walk the Sylvan Avenue frontage yourself and ask the listing agent which units sit behind it. If you are buying a heritage-facade unit, check whether any heritage easement or designation affects what you can change on the exterior.

Why spend time on this history? Because a long planning fight leaves a paper trail, and some of it can still bind owners. Ask your lawyer to look at the title for any heritage, site plan or development agreements registered against the property, and read the declaration for rules on windows, doors, paint colours and signage. Most of these are routine; you just want to know before you plan a renovation, not after.

Townhouses, not stacked suites

Condos.ca lists the complex as one floor, which is how it records townhouse complexes, but these are multi-level homes with their own front doors on Sylvan Avenue and Havelock Street. The one home listed for sale when I wrote this was a three-bedroom, which is the format most buyers come here for.

Expect a narrow, vertical house with stairs between every room and modest outdoor space, rather than a backyard. That is the trade for a newer home on a street of century houses. Stand in the main room and check whether the width works for your furniture, and climb the stairs as if you were carrying groceries.

I could not confirm ceiling heights, unit sizes or a full layout range from a reliable source, so ask for the floor plan and the declaration’s unit measurements. Units fronting Sylvan Avenue and units on Havelock Street may differ in layout and in how much light they get.

An underground garage, which changes everything

Condos.ca lists a parking garage and visitor parking. On streets like Havelock and Sylvan, where most of the older houses rely on street permits or laneway pads, a space in an underground garage is a real advantage and a big part of why buyers pay townhouse prices here.

Confirm whether the space is owned or exclusive-use, how many come with the unit, and whether there is storage. In a garage shared by 21 owners, the membrane, the ramp and the garage door are among the largest costs the corporation will face over time, so read the reserve fund study for each.

The fee includes common elements, building insurance and water, according to condos.ca. Heat and hydro are your own. Because each home is a full house, your utility bills will look more like a semi’s than a condo suite’s, so budget accordingly.

Dufferin Grove, day to day

This is a residential pocket of older houses between College and Dundas, a short walk from Dufferin Grove Park. The park is the neighbourhood’s living room, and it is one of the main reasons families look at this part of the west end.

You are also within reach of College Street’s restaurants to the north and Dundas West to the south, without being on either. The streets are quiet at night, and that is a large part of the appeal compared with buildings on the main strips.

The data panel on this page covers transit, schools, parks and nearby food in detail.

Pricing a small townhouse complex

Condos.ca does not publish an average price per square foot for this complex, and with only 21 homes there are rarely enough sales in a year to make one meaningful. Each sale is effectively its own comparison, and the right benchmark is often a renovated semi nearby rather than another condo.

Only one home was listed for sale when I wrote this, so I am not quoting its asking price or fee; a single listing tells you about that unit, not the complex. For an accurate read, ask me for a building sold report covering recent sales here and nearby townhouses.

When you compare, put the monthly fee next to the cost of owning a freehold: roof, exterior, insurance and snow are partly covered by the corporation here. Then add the value of the underground parking space, which few freehold houses on these streets can offer.

Building specifications

Amenities at Sylvan Collection Urban Townhomes

There are no shared amenities in the condo-tower sense. What you get is an underground garage, visitor parking and permission to barbecue on your own outdoor space, and the park a short walk away does the rest.

Jatin’s honest take on Sylvan Collection Urban Townhomes

Sylvan Collection Urban Townhomes — frequently asked questions

Looking at Queen West, Trinity-Bellwoods, Kensington and Little Italy more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.