The Ambassadors II, 330 Alton Towers Cir: Bigger Suites, Lower $/Sq Ft

The Ambassadors II at 330 Alton Towers Circle has slightly larger suites than its older twin next door and, on condos.ca’s numbers, a noticeably lower price per square foot. For a buyer who wants space in Milliken and is willing to do the homework on a 1990 building, that gap is the opportunity. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The middle tower of the Ambassadors trio

The Ambassadors II sits between The Ambassadors I at 300 Alton Towers Circle and The Ambassadors III at 350. It was finished in 1990, a year after the first tower, and matches it closely: 20 storeys and 252 suites in each.

Condos.ca credits Menkes with The Ambassadors I, but lists no developer for this tower. The shared name and timing suggest a common origin, but I could not confirm it, so I will not state it as fact. If the builder matters to you, the declaration in the status certificate will name the declarant.

Despite the family resemblance, this is a separate corporation, MTCC-886, run by a different manager. Condos.ca lists FirstService Residential here and Duka Property Management at 300. A different manager means different service contracts, budgeting habits and response times, and the board minutes and owners will tell you how well it works here better than any listing can.

For a buyer, three similar towers side by side is an advantage. You can compare fees, reserve fund positions and recent sale prices across buildings of the same age and plan type, which makes it much easier to tell whether a particular suite is priced fairly.

Suites from about 1,045 square feet

Suites here run from roughly 1,045 to 1,476 square feet, a touch larger at both ends than at The Ambassadors I. Even the smallest plan is bigger than most two-bedroom suites in new Scarborough towers, and the larger plans approach the size of a townhouse.

That size makes this a building for people who actually need the room: families with school-age children, households with a parent living in, and anyone who works from home and wants a door they can close. It is less suited to an investor looking for a small, easy-to-rent suite.

After 35 years, suite condition varies widely. Ask what the seller has replaced, including windows, the heating and cooling unit, electrical and plumbing, and price any renovation into your offer rather than discovering it after closing.

Larger suites also carry a larger share of the building’s costs. In Ontario, each suite’s portion of the budget and of any special assessment comes from its proportionate share in the declaration. Look up that share in the status certificate before you compare two suites on fee alone.

What the fee covers

Condos.ca lists hydro, heat, air conditioning, water, cable TV, building insurance, parking and common elements as included. That leaves internet, phone and property tax as your main separate housing costs.

The fee will look high next to a newer building, but newer buildings usually bill hydro and often heating and cooling separately, and sometimes charge for parking. For a suite of over 1,000 square feet, those separate bills would add up. Compare total monthly cost, not the fee line alone.

When the corporation pays the utilities, energy prices land in its budget and then in your fee. Look at how fees have moved over the last few years, and ask whether the board has looked at energy retrofits or suite metering.

It is also worth comparing this tower’s fees directly with The Ambassadors I. The two buildings are close in size and age, so a large gap in fees for similar suites would point to differences in budgeting, contracts or reserve fund contributions, and that is worth understanding before you choose between them.

Alton Towers Circle and Milliken

Milliken is the northwest corner of Scarborough, running up to Steeles Avenue and the Markham boundary. Its farmland gave way to housing through the 1970s and 1980s, and the Ambassadors towers were built as that growth was wrapping up, which is why the area around them is mostly detached houses.

Alton Towers Circle has kept growing since. Newer neighbours on the loop include Platinum East at 80, The Gatsby at 88, and Optima on the Park I and II at 150 and 160. They are useful comparisons: newer finishes and smaller suites on one side, older buildings with more space on the other.

The neighbourhood is served by Milliken GO Station for commuter rail and by TTC and York Region Transit buses. The transit, school and walkability data for this address are in the panel on this page.

What The Ambassadors II costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $374 per square foot, compared with about $421 at The Ambassadors I next door. Suite sizes are similar, so part of that gap probably comes from which suites have sold recently and their condition. Still, a buyer comparing the two towers should ask why, and the answer may be value.

When I checked, one suite was listed for sale and none for lease. With a single listing, I will not quote its asking price or fee. For context, the three listings at The Ambassadors I were all asking just under $500,000, which gives you a sense of where this pocket trades.

Thin listing activity is normal in a building of large, owner-occupied suites. It means you will rely more on past sales than on competing listings when you set your price, and it can mean waiting for the right suite rather than choosing from several at once.

If you want to see what comparable suites here have actually sold for, I can pull them through my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Ambassadors II

An outdoor pool, a sauna, a gym and a meeting room, plus a security guard, make up the package. It covers the basics for families and fitness without the cost of running an indoor pool year round.

Jatin’s honest take on The Ambassadors II

The Ambassadors II — frequently asked questions

Looking at Agincourt, L’Amoreaux, Milliken, Dorset Park and Wexford in Scarborough more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.