The Greens at Tam O’Shanter II, 138 Bonis Ave: Two Pools, Hydro Included

The Greens at Tam O’Shanter II is the building I point to when a buyer tells me they want one predictable monthly number. Its fee is listed as covering heat, hydro, air conditioning, water and parking, which almost nothing built in the last twenty years offers. It is a 16-storey, 1998 building on Bonis Avenue with big suites and two pools, and it shares part of its life with the tower next door. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Phase four of a five-phase plan

This building has an unusually clear paper trail. A January 1998 report to Scarborough Community Council describes the application by The Greens at Tam O’Shanter Inc. for a 178-unit, 16-storey apartment building and seven multiple-family dwellings on the north side of Bonis Avenue, west of Kennedy Road, then nearing completion. It calls the project the fourth phase of a five-phase residential development.

Condos.ca lists 184 suites rather than 178. The difference is probably the way the seven low-rise dwellings are counted together with the tower, but the two sources do not agree, so check the declaration if the exact count matters to you.

The first phase is The Greens at Tam O’Shanter at 168 Bonis Avenue, a 25-storey Tridel tower from 1992 designed by Kelton and Lacka Architects, according to CondoInvestments.ca. The family resemblance in name is deliberate, and so is the shared infrastructure described below.

Shared parking and recreation with 168 Bonis

The 1998 report sets out how the two buildings work together. The tower was planned with 312 parking spaces, including 16 for visitors, and a further 85 surface and underground visitor spaces in the Phase I lot at 168 Bonis are available to it. The Phase I declaration contains provisions for shared visitor parking, recreation facilities and easements in favour of this building.

That matters when you buy. Part of what you are paying for lives under another corporation’s roof, and the two boards have to cooperate on costs and repairs. Ask the manager how shared facilities are billed between the corporations, and read the reciprocal or shared-facilities agreement in the status certificate.

Condos.ca lists both an indoor pool and an outdoor pool, a sauna, a car wash, a security guard and a security system. I could not confirm from public sources which of those are in this building and which are reached through the shared arrangement, so ask on your tour.

The upside of sharing is scale. Two corporations together can support pools and a car wash that a 16-storey building on its own would struggle to pay for, so the arrangement is a benefit as long as it is governed well.

Hydro, heat and cooling in the fee

The fee inclusion list is the strongest argument for this building. Condos.ca lists common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, water, parking and building insurance. In a suite of 1,200 square feet or more, that removes two of the biggest variable bills a condo owner faces.

The flip side is that per-square-foot fees in all-inclusive older buildings look high next to newer towers that meter everything. Before you compare, add a realistic hydro and gas bill to the newer building. And understand that when energy costs rise, everyone’s fee absorbs it together, so ask how the corporation has handled recent utility increases.

Suites range from roughly 866 to 2,820 square feet, per condos.ca. The top end is penthouse territory, and even the smaller plans are generous by current standards.

All-inclusive fees also shape who buys here. Retirees on a fixed income and families who want to budget precisely are drawn to buildings like this, which tends to keep turnover low and the building stable.

The street and what is coming

Bonis Avenue is a quiet residential street between Kennedy Road and the Agincourt Library, and a 2012 City report describes Agincourt Mall directly to the south with a No Frills, a Walmart, an LCBO and a medical office building. The City’s 18-hole Tam O’Shanter Golf Course, which gives the whole development its name, is part of the same green pocket.

The mall’s owner has zoning approved in 2022 for a phased redevelopment of roughly ten towers and over 4,300 homes, according to blogTO, and the south side of Bonis was approved in 2012 for two towers of 20 and 22 storeys and 51 stacked townhouses. Expect construction for years, and pick your exposure with that in mind.

The upside is that, once built, that redevelopment is planned to bring new parks, shops and a relocated grocery store within walking distance. For a long-term owner, the disruption comes first and the benefit comes later.

What The Greens at Tam O’Shanter II costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $443 per square foot, level with Tam O’Shanter Highlands at about $444 and a little above Tam O’Shanter Casitas at about $423. Given that this building’s fee covers heat and hydro and the others do not, that is a meaningful difference in the total cost of ownership.

There were no suites for sale or for lease when I checked, which tells you turnover is low. The data panel on this page shows what has traded over the last twelve months in aggregate. When a suite does come up, compare its monthly carrying cost, fee plus tax, against a newer building’s fee plus utilities, not fee against fee.

Low turnover also means you may need patience. If you want a specific layout or a high floor here, it can pay to tell an agent now and wait for the right suite rather than settle for the first one.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Greens at Tam O’Shanter II

Two pools and a car wash are a suburban-resort package you rarely see now. Some facilities are shared with 168 Bonis under the original agreements, so the real question is how well the two corporations run them together.

Jatin’s honest take on The Greens at Tam O’Shanter II

The Greens at Tam O’Shanter 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.