The Manors of Earl Street, 7–37 Earl St: 15 Aykler Townhomes

The Manors of Earl Street is the closest thing to a new-ish house you can buy within a few minutes’ walk of Wellesley and Jarvis. It is a row of 15 three-storey condo townhomes the Aykler family built in 2002, with four-bedroom layouts, underground parking and a quiet residential street out front. They rarely come up for sale, and when they do, the paperwork deserves as much attention as the finishes. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A row of townhomes from the Wellesley redevelopment years

The Manors went up in 2002, in the same burst of building that followed the closure of Wellesley Central Hospital and the sale of its lands. The Aykler family, a Toronto real estate name since the late 1940s, built here and then went on to Earl Lofts at 21 Earl and the Steam Plant Lofts conversion on Wellesley Place around the corner.

A Globe and Mail piece quoted on UrbanToronto describes Aykler building a row of handsome townhouses on Earl Street next to the old steam plant. It calls them Earl Lofts, which is the name of a separate apartment-style building on the same street, so it is not certain which project the writer meant. Either way, the Manors are part of that same Aykler stretch of Earl Street.

That shared history is why this pocket feels so different from the towers a block or two east. Earl Street is lined with low-rise homes and small buildings of a similar age, and the street reads as residential rather than as a cut-through.

Three floors and four bedrooms

These are proper family homes. Listing data for the complex shows three-storey townhouses with four bedrooms and three bathrooms, forced-air heating and an underground parking space. That is a rare configuration this close to Yonge and Bloor.

The size figures depend on the source. condos.ca lists suites from about 2,075 to 2,501 square feet, while one listing site gives a range of roughly 167 to 186 square metres, which is about 1,800 to 2,000 square feet. The gap is probably whether a lower level or garage space is counted. Measure the home or ask for the registered plan before you compare price per square foot.

One more record quirk: condos.ca lists the complex as one floor, which plainly does not describe a three-storey townhouse. It is a database artifact rather than a red flag, but it shows why you should rely on the condominium plan rather than a listing summary.

Four bedrooms over three floors also gives you flexibility a condo apartment cannot. A top-floor bedroom can become a quiet office, a ground-level room can be a guest suite or a teenager’s space, and nobody hears the television two floors away. That flexibility is what the next buyer will pay for too.

Underground parking instead of driveways

The complex has a shared underground garage rather than individual driveways, and parking is included in the maintenance fee. Listing data for the complex shows one underground space with the home, but confirm the allocation for any unit you buy. That keeps cars off the street frontage and is a big part of why the row looks tidy from the sidewalk.

The trade-off is that the garage is shared infrastructure. Underground garages need membrane repairs, drainage work and eventually resurfacing, and in a 15-home corporation those costs are split very few ways. Ask when the garage was last inspected and what the reserve fund study says about it.

The complex also lists a security system and an enterphone, which are useful touches for a townhouse row and not something every small complex has.

Earl Street day to day

Earl Street runs between Jarvis and Sherbourne, a short walk north of Wellesley Street East. You are a few minutes from the Church-Wellesley Village and Yonge to the west, and from St. James Town and Cabbagetown to the east, yet the street itself is quiet. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability.

Your immediate neighbours include Earl Lofts, Steam Plant Lofts, The Verve’s tower and loft block on Homewood, and other townhouse condominiums along Earl. Groceries and restaurants are a short walk away on Wellesley, Church and Bloor rather than on the block itself.

For a family, the appeal is a front door on a residential street with downtown at your back. For a downsizer coming out of a detached house, it is the same square footage with far less outdoor maintenance, as long as you are comfortable with stairs.

What the Manors cost, and what the fee covers

There was no building average per square foot published for this complex and no active listings at the time of writing, which tells you how rarely these homes trade. With 15 homes, a year without a sale is entirely possible, so recent comparables may be thin or several years old.

When you price one, compare it against other downtown condo townhouses of similar size rather than against tower suites, and adjust for the size discrepancy above. A home measured at 2,000 square feet and one measured at 2,500 can be the same physical house counted two ways.

Maintenance fees include common elements, building insurance, parking and water. Heat and hydro are not on the inclusion list, so budget for them as you would in a house. For aggregate recent sales on the street, see my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Manors of Earl Street

There is no gym, pool or concierge here. The amenities are the practical ones that matter in a townhouse row: a secure underground garage, an entry system and permission to barbecue, with the rest of your space inside your own front door.

Jatin’s honest take on The Manors of Earl Street

The Manors of Earl Street — frequently asked questions

Looking at Church–Wellesley, Corktown, Moss Park and Cabbagetown more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.