Townhomes of St. Clair II, Brickworks Lane: Condo Towns in the Stockyards

Townhomes of St. Clair II is the smaller sibling in a pair of townhouse condos built on the old Stockyards lands where St. Clair meets Weston Road. It is 55 homes from 2007, with parking and water in the fee, and it gives buyers a townhouse at a price point that is hard to find closer to the Junction. You do have to like the neighbourhood for what it is. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Townhouses on the old Stockyards

For most of the last century this corner of the city was about livestock. In the mid-20th century the Ontario Stockyards here was the largest livestock market in Canada, and meat packers clustered around it. The market moved to Cookstown in 1993, and most of the packing plants closed or left.

What replaced them came in pieces. Big box stores arrived first, including the Home Depot on the south side of St. Clair, and much of the residential land became townhouses. Townhomes of St. Clair II is part of that wave, built a few years before Trinity Development Group won approval for the Stockyards retail centre on the north side of St. Clair.

That history explains the feel of the area. It is newer and more car-oriented than the Junction to the south, with large-format shopping close by and a few remaining industrial uses. Visit at different times of day before you buy, so you know what the neighbourhood is like on a weekday morning as well as a Saturday.

Phase II versus Phase I

There are two corporations here, and buyers mix them up. Townhomes of St. Clair I is the larger community, spreading across Birdstone Crescent, Brickworks Lane, Weston Road, Maria Street and part of St. Clair. Phase II is the 55-home section at the 8 to 47 Brickworks Lane end and 1952 St. Clair.

The distinction matters because each corporation has its own budget, reserve fund, rules and board. A home in Phase I and a near-identical home in Phase II can carry different fees and face different repair schedules. Make sure the status certificate you receive is for TSCC-1825 if the address is in Phase II.

Homes run from about 879 to 1,476 sq ft, so the range covers two-bedroom layouts and larger family homes. Condos.ca records the complex as one-storey scale, which is a data quirk for townhouses; these are multi-level homes, so check the floor plan for how many stairs you are signing up for.

The St. Clair West corridor is changing

The St. Clair frontage near Weston Road was mostly low-rise for years, but that is starting to shift. UrbanToronto reported in 2021 that Stockyards District Residences, a 10-storey, 236-suite condominium by Marlin Spring and Greybrook Capital at 2306 St. Clair West, had topped out, part of a move to higher density on the former Stockyards lands.

For an owner here, more density along St. Clair usually brings more retail and services within walking distance and supports transit improvements, at the cost of some construction disruption. A townhouse complex next to a changing main street tends to hold its appeal, because ground-oriented homes with parking stay scarce as the towers go up.

The data panel on this page shows the nearest transit stops, schools and parks, so I will not repeat them here. The day-to-day trade is simple: big-box shopping is minutes away, while the cafes and restaurants of the Junction are a longer walk or a short drive south.

Buying a townhouse condo of this age

Condo townhouses sit halfway between a house and an apartment, and the declaration decides where the line falls. In some complexes the corporation replaces roofs, windows and front doors; in others the owner does. Read that schedule before you compare fees, because a lower fee can simply mean more of the repair bill lands on you.

Have the home inspected the way you would a freehold. Look at the furnace and air conditioner ages, the water heater and whether it is rented, the condition of decks and balconies, and any finished basement or lower level. After almost two decades, many owners have renovated, and alterations to common elements may need board approval under the declaration. Ask for copies of any approvals.

Finally, leave enough time on conditions. A status certificate can take up to ten days to arrive, and with a small corporation it is worth reading the last two years of board minutes alongside it.

What a townhouse here costs to own

There were no homes for sale when I checked, and Condos.ca did not publish an average price per square foot for the complex. With 55 homes, listings come up only a few times a year, so pricing depends on recent closed sales in TSCC-1825 and the neighbouring Phase I.

When I value a home here, I start with sales in both phases, adjust for size and end-unit or interior position, and then compare with freehold townhouses in the Stockyards and Junction area as an upper bound. My building sold report gives the closed-sale aggregates.

The fee includes common elements, building insurance, parking and water. Heat and hydro are not listed as included, which is normal for townhouses. Compare the fee per square foot with Phase I, and read the reserve fund study alongside it, because a low fee that is not funding the next roof and paving cycle is not a saving.

Building specifications

Amenities at Townhomes of St. Clair II

This is a townhouse community, not an amenity building. You get visitor parking, a security system, permission to barbecue and a pet-friendly listing on Condos.ca, which is what most townhouse buyers actually use. Confirm the pet and barbecue rules in the declaration, as they can differ from what a listing site shows.

Jatin’s honest take on Townhomes of St. Clair II

Townhomes of St. Clair II — frequently asked questions

Looking at the Junction, Corso Italia, Hillcrest Village and west-central Toronto more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.