The High Park Condos, 1990 Bloor St W: Boutique Living Facing the Park

Most condos that call themselves “High Park” are a few blocks from the park. The High Park at 1990 Bloor Street West is not: it sits on the north side of Bloor at Parkview Gardens, and the only thing between the south-facing suites and the park’s trees is the street. It is a small, quiet building with a light amenity list and fees that need a careful read. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A boutique building that faces the park, not near it

The site used to hold a three-storey, 24-unit rental apartment building and a house at 26 Parkview Gardens. Both were demolished in the winter of 2014–15. Because rental housing was lost, the project went through the City’s rental demolition and replacement process. UrbanToronto’s 2015 report counted 103 units in the new building, 24 of them rentals.

That history explains why sources don’t agree on the suite count. Condos.ca and blogTO’s launch coverage say 108, UrbanToronto’s project database says 104, and strata.ca shows 77. Strata.ca also lists 10 storeys where everyone else says 11. My reading is that some sources count the whole building and others count only the condo suites, but I could not confirm that. If the rental component matters to you, ask the property manager or read it in the status certificate.

North Drive was a small developer. This was its third condo, and the 8-storey Picnic at 2114 Bloor West, to the west, was planned as a sister building. Daniels’ HighPark Condominiums is the larger neighbour to the east. Of the three, The High Park has the most direct frontage on the park.

Limestone, step-backs and terraces at the top

Quadrangle gave the building a limestone base and a warm-toned panel system above, with wood-textured elements meant to echo the park. Cecconi Simone did the interiors and Janet Rosenberg & Studio the landscape. That is a serious design team for a building this size, and it shows in how calmly the building sits on Bloor.

The massing steps back from the seventh floor up. That keeps the street wall low and gives the upper floors large terraces facing the city, the park and, from high enough, Lake Ontario. If you want the outdoor space this building does best, shop floors seven and above.

The ground floor has about 359 square metres of retail, so you are not living above a blank wall. Ask the property manager which units are currently leased and to whom, because the retail mix affects noise and foot traffic at the door.

Layouts: generous ceilings, some inboard rooms

At launch, North Drive marketed studios through three-bedroom-plus-den suites, plus two-level penthouses, with ceilings of 9 to 10 feet. BlogTO also reported two elevators, one of which opens directly into a suite. Current size ranges vary by source: condos.ca shows about 429 to 1,883 sq ft and strata.ca about 348 to 1,798 sq ft.

Strata.ca’s breakdown shows a mix weighted heavily to one-bedroom-plus-den suites, roughly four in ten. Only a small share are two-bedrooms or larger. That makes the bigger suites scarce here, and they rarely come up.

The weakness blogTO flagged at launch is worth repeating. Some bedrooms, dens and bathrooms in these plans have no window. Before you book a showing, look at the floor plan. Check whether the “bedroom” in a one-plus-den or two-bedroom is actually an inboard room with a sliding door.

Daily life at Bloor and Parkview Gardens

The appeal is simple. You walk out, cross Bloor, and you are in 400 acres of trails, ponds and lawns. Bloor West Village’s shops are a short walk west and Roncesvalles is reachable to the south-east. The subway runs under this stretch of Bloor, and the panel on this page shows exact walking times.

The trade-off is Bloor itself, which is a busy arterial with steady traffic and the noise that comes with it, day and evening. South-facing suites get the park view and the street noise together. Suites facing north or onto Parkview Gardens are quieter but lose the view that justifies the price. Visit at rush hour before you decide which side you can live with.

Pricing and fees: what the numbers say

Condos.ca puts the building’s average at about $939 per square foot. Strata.ca’s 12-month figure is higher, at about $1,115, but it rests on only five sales, so I treat it as a loose upper bound rather than a market price. Strata.ca also reports sales closing slightly under asking with a median of about six weeks on market. Buyers here have time to negotiate.

Fees in recent listings have worked out to roughly $1 per square foot, consistent with strata.ca’s average of $1.05. That is well above the roughly $0.53 quoted at launch, and above most comparable Toronto buildings.

Whether that fee is fair depends on what it covers, and here the sources conflict. Condos.ca lists common elements, building insurance and water. Strata.ca says all utilities are included. A listing describes forced-air heating, which usually points to suite-level equipment. Get the status certificate and the budget before you compare this fee with any other building. At $1 per square foot in a 100-suite building, you want to know exactly what you are paying for.

Building specifications

Amenities at The High Park Condos

This is a short list: concierge, a fitness room, and a party room and lounge with a kitchen. There is no pool and no guest suite listed. In practice your amenity is the park across the street, and if that is what you are buying for, a short list means fewer things for the corporation to maintain.

Jatin’s honest take on The High Park Condos

The High Park Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at High Park North more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.