Townhouse of Warden House, 686-716 Warden Ave: 52 Ballantry Towns

The Townhouse of Warden House is a small complex I like for families who have outgrown a condo apartment but are not ready for a freehold house. It is 52 three-storey Ballantry townhouses from 2001 on Warden Avenue, with house-sized floor plans and a short list of shared costs. The trade-off is that a small corporation has fewer owners to share every repair. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A small Ballantry complex

Ballantry Homes built this complex through a company named Ballantry Homes (Warden Woods) Inc., which ties the project to the Warden Woods area of Scarborough that also gives a nearby ravine park its name. The corporation registered in October 2001, so these homes are now about 25 years old.

There are only 52 units, according to condos.ca. That is small enough that you will know your neighbours, and small enough that the board is made up of people you will see at the mailbox. It also means every capital repair is divided by 52, not by 300.

The name suggests a link to a building called Warden House, but I could not find a public record that ties this corporation to another building. Treat the complex as its own corporation and read its own documents.

Small corporations can be very well run, because owners pay attention and decisions are quick. They can also be fragile: one large roofing or paving job can strain a small reserve fund faster than it would in a tower. That is why the documents matter even more here than in a big building.

Three storeys and house-sized floor plans

Condos.ca records three storeys and units of roughly 1,290 to 1,975 square feet. That is the size of a modest semi-detached house, and a big step up from a two-bedroom condo apartment.

Three-storey towns usually put the kitchen and living space on one level and bedrooms above, with the top floor for the main bedroom. Stairs are part of daily life, which suits young families and does not suit anyone with mobility concerns. Walk the unit with that in mind.

Ask exactly where your parking is and whether it is a garage, a driveway or a space in a shared area. Parking is listed in the fee, and condos.ca lists visitor parking, but the arrangement varies from unit to unit in complexes like this.

The larger end of the range, close to 2,000 square feet, usually means a finished lower level or a fourth bedroom. If you are working from home, that lower level is often the best office in the house, because it is separate from the bedrooms and the kitchen.

A short fee list, and what it leaves out

Condos.ca lists common elements, building insurance and parking in the fee. Heat, hydro and water are not listed, which is normal for townhouses where each home has its own systems. Budget those separately and ask the seller for a year of bills.

The other side of that is your own equipment. In a townhouse condo, the furnace, air conditioner and water heater in your unit are often your responsibility rather than the corporation’s, depending on the declaration. Find out which items are yours, how old they are, and whether the water heater is owned or rented.

Condos.ca lists the complex as pet-friendly and BBQ-permitted. Confirm both in the rules, since the details, such as limits on size or number of pets, are what matter.

When you compare this fee with a condo apartment’s, you are not comparing like with like. An apartment fee pays for elevators, corridors, a lobby and often heat. Here the fee mostly pays for the roofs, exterior, grounds, snow clearing and insurance, and you run your own house inside.

The Warden Avenue corridor

This stretch of Warden has been filling in with townhouses for years. St. Clair Pointe sits next door at 684 Warden, and City records show a 2018 application to create 145 freehold townhouse lots across the road at 743 Warden Avenue. The result is a corridor that feels more like a neighbourhood of family homes than a commercial strip.

The data panel on this page shows the subway and bus options, nearby parks and schools in detail. For most owners here the appeal is simple: a house-sized home inside the city at a price well below a detached house on the same streets.

The townhouse build-out along Warden also helps resale. When a whole corridor fills with family homes, buyers start to search the area as a neighbourhood rather than as a single address, and that broadens the pool of people looking at your unit when you sell.

What The Townhouse of Warden House costs

There were no units for sale or lease when I checked, and condos.ca does not publish a building average per square foot, which is normal for a complex this small. The data panel on this page shows what has traded in aggregate over the last twelve months.

With so few sales, the best comparison is often a neighbouring townhouse complex on Warden or a nearby freehold town of similar size. Compare price per square foot and the monthly fee together, and remember that utilities here are on you.

Thin trading cuts both ways. A seller cannot point to many comparables, and neither can you, so a careful look at recent sales in nearby complexes is worth doing before you set a price.

If you are selling here, low turnover is an advantage you should use: a well-kept, house-sized unit with parking in a quiet complex has little direct competition. Price it against the best nearby comparables, not the average, and present it well.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Townhouse of Warden House

There is no gym or party room here, and that is part of the appeal: you are not paying for facilities you would not use. The private outdoor space and the ability to barbecue are what make it feel like a house.

Jatin’s honest take on The Townhouse of Warden House

The Townhouse of Warden House — 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.