Town Villas at Massey Common: 54 Large Brick Townhomes Off King West

Town Villas at Massey Common is where I send buyers who want a house-sized home on a tree-lined street off King West, but are happy to let a condominium look after the roof and the snow. It is 54 brick townhomes from 1999, most between 1,400 and 1,800 square feet, a short walk from where Massey-Harris once built farm machinery. Large suites and very few listings are the story here. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Built on the old Massey-Harris lands

The street name is not a coincidence. Massey Manufacturing moved to Toronto in 1879 and built a large factory complex on King Street West near Strachan Avenue. After merging with A. Harris, Son and Company in 1891, Massey-Harris became one of the largest makers of farm implements in the British Empire.

The plant closed completely in 1982. The lands were then rezoned, with a technology and employment zone south of King and housing to the north. The former head office at 915 King Street West survives as the Massey Harris Lofts, converted to residences in 2003. Town Villas at Massey Common, on the north side of King, came earlier and carries the company’s name.

The corporation, MTCC-1233, was registered on 24 February 1999. Condos.ca lists the developer as Argon (Strachan) Development, a project company name, and I could not find an architect credited.

House-sized townhomes, not stacked suites

This is the feature that sets the complex apart. Condos.ca lists homes from about 1,418 to 1,809 square feet over two storeys, in red-brick rows covering the full block between Massey Street and Strachan Avenue. That is far larger than the stacked townhouse suites found elsewhere in King West, and closer to a small semi-detached house.

With only 54 homes, the community is small enough that owners know their neighbours, and the tree-lined block feels more like a residential street than a condo complex. The trade-off is that each owner carries a larger share of any big repair.

Ask for the floor plan of the specific home, since end units and interior units in rows like these can differ in light, windows and layout.

The two-storey format also matters for buyers coming from a house. There is no shared hallway, no elevator and no one above or below you, so day-to-day life is much closer to a freehold row house than to a condo apartment, with the condominium handling the shared exterior and grounds.

What the fee covers

According to condos.ca, the fee includes common elements, building insurance, parking and water. Heat and hydro are not listed, so expect to pay for your own heating and electricity, as you would in a house.

Parking in the fee is a real advantage this close to King West. Confirm in the status certificate where the space for your home is, whether it is surface or underground, and whether it is owned or exclusive use. I could not confirm the parking format.

There were no active listings when the data was gathered, so I cannot give a current fee range. Ask for the current budget and the fee for the specific home, and check how fees have moved over the last five years.

Because heat and hydro are separate, the fee here should be compared with what a freehold owner spends on exterior maintenance, insurance and snow removal, not with a condo tower’s fee. Ask the seller for a year of utility bills to get the full monthly cost.

King and Strachan, and what is planned at the corner

The block sits just north of King West at Strachan. Liberty Village and the King West restaurant strip are both a short walk away. It is a central location on a quiet street.

The corner is about to change. In 2022 Intentional Capital applied to replace the gas station at 952 King Street West, on the northwest corner of King and Strachan, with a 16-storey rental building of 213 units designed by Sweeny&Co Architects, including townhouse units facing Strachan and a frontage on Massey Street. The heritage Palace Arms across Strachan is also the subject of a planning application.

I have not confirmed the current status of either project. If built, the rental tower would be a large new neighbour at the south end of this block, with years of construction first. Check the City’s application records before you buy, especially if you are looking at a home near King.

What Massey Common costs per square foot

Condos.ca puts the average here at about $719 per square foot. Applied to homes of 1,400 to 1,800 square feet, that puts most of them at or above $1 million, but below what a freehold house of the same size would cost this close to King West.

There were no homes listed for sale when the data was gathered. With 54 homes, listings come up rarely, and when they do the comparison set is other large townhouses and semi-detached houses in Niagara and Trinity-Bellwoods, not condo apartments.

Per-square-foot numbers are a rough guide in a complex this small. A single renovated home or an end unit can move the average, so look at the range of past sales and the condition of the home, not one figure.

To see what homes here have actually sold for, request my building sold report, which uses aggregate figures only.

Building specifications

Amenities at Town Villas at Massey Common

There are no shared amenities beyond parking and a security system, which is what you would expect in a townhouse community. The fee is paying for the grounds, the exterior and insurance rather than facilities, and that helps keep it in check. If you want a gym or a party room, you will be using the neighbourhood’s, not the building’s.

Jatin’s honest take on Town Villas at Massey Common

Town Villas at Massey Common — frequently asked questions

Looking at Queen West, Trinity-Bellwoods, Kensington and Little Italy more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.