The Southampton, 1 Ripley Ave: Big Suites, All-In Fees, Swansea Quiet

The Southampton is the building I show downsizers who are leaving a house in Swansea, the Kingsway or Bloor West and refuse to move into a shoebox. It is a 1992 Tridel mid-rise on a short side street off South Kingsway, with suites that mostly start where a downtown two-bedroom ends, a club-style amenity floor and a maintenance fee that covers almost every utility. The fee is the first number people react to, and it is the one that needs the most explaining. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A 1990s Tridel built for people who owned houses

The Southampton belongs to a specific era of Toronto condo building. In the early 1990s, buildings like this were aimed squarely at empty nesters selling a detached house nearby, and the design shows it: a pale red brick exterior, a circular drive at the front door, a marble lobby and formal common rooms rather than a glass tower with a co-working lounge.

Tridel is one of the longest-running condo builders in the city, and its name still carries weight with buyers in this price range. That reputation does not replace a status certificate review, but it does mean the original construction is a known quantity rather than a first-time developer’s experiment.

The setting matters as much as the brick. Ripley Avenue is a short, low-traffic street, so the building feels tucked away even though South Kingsway, The Queensway and the Gardiner ramps are all right there. You get the quiet of a residential street with the driving access of a much busier address.

Suites sized like houses, not like condos

This is the reason the building exists. Condos.ca lists suites from about 790 to 2,134 sq ft, and strata.ca’s unit mix shows roughly three-quarters of the building is two-bedroom or two-bedroom-plus-den. True one-bedrooms are rare here; strata.ca’s own figures suggest you can wait a very long time for one to come up.

Layouts follow the older pattern that many downsizers actually prefer: a foyer, a separate or semi-separate kitchen, a defined dining room, and in larger plans a den closed off with glass French doors. Several suites have gas fireplaces, and at least one current listing describes nine-foot ceilings, though I would not assume that applies to every floor.

The trade-off is age. Many suites still carry original or 2000s-era kitchens and bathrooms, and a full renovation of a 1,500 sq ft suite is a serious budget line. Price the renovation before you fall for the floor plan.

The amenity floor is a private club

Few buildings of 131 suites carry this much. Listings and building profiles describe a 15-metre indoor saltwater pool with a jacuzzi, saunas, a squash court, a gym and weight room, a library with a working fireplace, a billiards room, a party room and dining room that open to a terrace, a garden with barbecues, and guest suites.

One listing refers to two fitness centres; others describe a single exercise centre with a separate weight room. Either way, the squash court is the unusual piece. You almost never see one in a mid-rise built after the 1990s, because developers stopped giving up that much floor area to a single sport.

Amenities like these are why the fee is what it is, and why the building feels more like a members’ club than a condo. Ask how often the pool and squash court are actually used, because the board is maintaining them whether you play or not.

The fee covers hydro, and that changes the comparison

Maintenance here includes common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, water, building insurance and parking. Almost no newer building in Toronto includes hydro, and very few include heat or air conditioning. When you compare this fee with a newer building, you need to add the newer building’s hydro bill, its separately billed parking spot and its own heating and cooling costs back in.

Even after that adjustment, this is not a cheap building to own. Both current listings carry fees above $1,200 a month, and on a per-square-foot basis the building sits well above the $0.60 to $0.80 range buyers see quoted for new towers. What you are buying is predictability: one cheque each month and very little in winter or summer surprises.

Listings I reviewed mention underground parking, with some larger suites coming with two spaces, an exclusive storage locker, and in one case an EV charging upgrade on the parking spot. None of that is uniform across the building, so confirm what is deeded with the specific suite.

Pricing: low per square foot, high per month

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $659 per square foot. Strata.ca’s figures are a little higher, roughly $705 per square foot for a one-bedroom-plus-den and about $731 for a two-bedroom-plus-den. Either way, that is low for a Tridel building in this part of the west end, and it reflects two things: the age of the suites and the size of the monthly fee.

At the time of writing there are only two active listings, asking between roughly $589,000 and $849,900, and nothing for rent. That thin supply is typical. With 131 suites and a lot of long-term owners, months can pass without a listing in the size you want, so if this building is on your short list, set an alert rather than waiting to see it come up.

The way I frame it for clients: a lower purchase price per square foot, offset by a fee that already covers your utilities. Run the full monthly carrying cost, including taxes and an honest estimate of what you would pay for hydro, heat and parking elsewhere, before you decide the fee is too high.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Southampton Residences

This is a full club package in a building of only 131 suites: pool, squash, library and a garden with barbecues. For a downsizer it replaces the gym membership and the backyard at once, but every owner pays to maintain it.

Jatin’s honest take on The Southampton Residences

The Southampton Residences — frequently asked questions

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