The Kensington, 10 Old Mill Trail: The First of Old Mill’s Twin Buildings

The Kensington is the older of the two Kensington condominiums on Old Mill Trail, a six-storey building of 57 suites above the Humber valley, near Old Mill station. It is quiet and staffed, and its fee covers heat and air conditioning. It also has the thinnest public record of any building I cover in this pocket, so you will need the status certificate to fill in the blanks. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Phase one of a pair

The Kensington, MTCC-1277, was registered in November 1999. A year later, Kensington at Old Mill II, MTCC-1349, was registered next door. Each is its own corporation, with its own budget, reserve fund and board, and condos.ca lists a different manager for each: Shelter Canadian Properties here, General Property Management at phase II.

The addresses can confuse buyers. Condos.ca gives phase II an address range of 2-12 Old Mill Trail, which takes in number 10, while listing this building separately at 10 Old Mill Trail. Always check the corporation number on the listing and in the status certificate.

Being the first of two phases has a practical side. Two corporations sharing a lane may also share things such as a driveway, landscaping or services under a shared-facilities agreement. I could not confirm whether one exists here, so ask the manager, and check how any shared costs are split.

Condos.ca’s overview text says Monarch Group built The Kensington, but its developer field is blank, and it credits Humber Manor with phase II. I could not confirm the relationship between the two from a published source.

What I know about the suites, and what I don’t

Condos.ca does not publish a suite size range or an average price per square foot for The Kensington. With 57 suites over six storeys, the average suite is likely on the large side, and its sister building next door runs from about 971 to 2,211 square feet. I would not assume the same here without seeing the plans.

Ask for the floor plan and the registered square footage of any suite you are looking at, and compare it with the listing. In older buildings, marketed sizes and registered sizes do not always match, and that matters when you compare price per square foot.

I also could not confirm ceiling heights, the architect or the outdoor space from a published source. Visit in daylight, since the outlook toward the valley or toward the street makes a real difference in a six-storey building.

In a building with this little published data, the status certificate does most of the work. Ask for it early, along with the budget, the latest reserve fund study and a year of board minutes. If a seller cannot produce them promptly, take that as a signal about how the building is run.

The fee, and the parking question

Condos.ca lists cable TV, air conditioning, common elements, heat, building insurance and water in the fee. Hydro is not listed. Parking is not on the list either, which sets it apart from Kensington at Old Mill II, where condos.ca does include parking.

That may simply be a gap in the data, or the spaces may be owned and charged separately. Either way, ask whether the suite comes with a deeded or exclusive-use space, whether there is a separate parking fee, and whether a locker is included.

Amenities include a concierge, a party room, a meeting room, a parking garage, visitor parking and a car wash bay, which is a handy extra in a building where many owners drive. Condos.ca also lists a pet restriction.

Old Mill Trail day to day

Old Mill Trail is a short lane above the Humber, close to the Old Mill Inn, which takes its name from the ruins of a grist mill on the river’s west bank. Mills worked this part of the Humber from around 1800 until 1881.

Old Mill station, opened in 1968, is close by at 2672 Bloor Street West. Kingsway Village and Bloor West Village are a short trip for shops and restaurants, and the Humber trails are at the bottom of the hill.

Newer buildings have arrived around the Old Mill, including Lanterra’s Riverhouse and Tridel’s One and Two Old Mill. They offer modern finishes and amenities, but at launch they priced in metered utilities, so the Kensington’s inclusive fee is worth comparing carefully. Transit, schools and Walk Score are in the data panel.

Pricing without a published average

Condos.ca does not publish an average price per square foot for The Kensington. Its neighbours give a guide: Kensington at Old Mill II averages about $921 per square foot, and the Terraces of Old Mill on Bloor about $958.

I would expect The Kensington to trade in the same general range, adjusted for suite condition and the parking question. A suite without parking, or with parking charged separately, should not be priced like one where it is included.

One suite was for sale and none for rent when I checked, so I will not quote a single listing’s price or fee. For the recorded sales, use the data panel on this page or ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Kensington

The package is about service and convenience: a concierge in the lobby, rooms for meetings and parties, and a car wash in the garage. There is no pool or large gym listed, which keeps the shared costs down in a 57-suite building. In practice, the concierge is the amenity owners use every day, for parcels, visitors and peace of mind when they travel.

Jatin’s honest take on The Kensington

The Kensington — frequently asked questions

Looking at Humber Bay Shores, Mimico, the Queensway and central Etobicoke more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.