Ultima at Broadway North, 4978 Yonge St: 36 Storeys of Menkes on Yonge

Ultima at Broadway’s north tower is the Menkes building I send people to when they want to live on Yonge Street itself, not a block off it. It is 36 storeys and 384 suites, built in the mid-2000s, and its suites run from compact one-bedrooms to plans close to 2,000 square feet. The fee looks moderate, but heat is not in it, and that changes the comparison with its neighbours. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The north tower of a two-tower Menkes complex

Ultima at Broadway is a pair of Menkes towers on the west side of Yonge Street in North York Centre, at 4968 and 4978 Yonge. This review covers the north building at 4978, which has its own corporation, TSCC-1722. The name ties it to Menkes’ earlier Broadway towers just behind it on Beecroft Road, including Broadway II at 155 Beecroft.

Sources differ slightly on the date. Condos.ca gives 2005 and a registration of 17 November 2005, while the leasing manager Dash Property Management describes it as developed by Menkes in 2006. Either way, this is a building approaching 20 years old, which matters for the reserve fund questions below.

At 36 storeys, the tower gives you a real choice of height and exposure. Which way a suite faces, and what stands or is planned next to it, will shape its light and view more than the floor plan does, so look at the suite in daylight and check the City’s development applications for the nearby lots.

Two towers on one site also raise a governance question. Each building has its own corporation, but towers built as a pair often share a garage, a recreation centre or mechanical systems under a shared facilities agreement. Ask whether that applies here and how costs are split, because it affects both your fee and how decisions get made.

A wide range of suites, up to almost 2,000 sq ft

Condos.ca puts suites at roughly 500 to 2,002 square feet; Dash quotes about 505 to 1,928. Either way, the top of that range is unusual. Few North York towers of this era offer plans approaching 2,000 square feet, and those are the suites that suit downsizers coming out of a house.

The current listings show the spread: a one-bedroom in the 500 to 599 square foot band, a one-plus-den and a two-bedroom in the 700s, and a three-bedroom at the top. That mix is useful if you are comparing suite types within one building, and it is one reason this tower attracts both investors and end users.

I could not confirm the architect or ceiling heights from any source I checked. Listing material mentions floor-to-ceiling windows and private balconies; ask for the plan of the specific suite, and check balcony depth and exposure in person.

Heat is on you, and that changes the maths

Condos.ca lists common elements, building insurance, parking and water as included. Heat and air conditioning are not on that list, and Dash’s tenant package includes setup forms for Enercare and Enbridge Gas, which points to suite-level equipment and utility accounts. Confirm exactly what you will be billed for in the status certificate.

Across the four current listings, fees run from about $535 to $1,055 a month, or about 97 cents per square foot by condos.ca’s calculation. That is a moderate number, but it is not directly comparable with the Daniels buildings at Bayview and Sheppard, where heat and cooling sit inside the fee. Add your own gas, hydro and any equipment rental before comparing.

Parking is included in the fee. Check whether the suite you are looking at actually comes with a space and a locker, because in an older tower not every suite has both.

Daily life on Yonge in North York Centre

The location is the reason most people buy here. Dash lists North York Central Library, Mel Lastman Square, Empress Walk and a Loblaws within walking distance, and that is the real appeal: groceries, the library, the civic square and a cinema without needing a car.

Menkes’ Broadway buildings were marketed around an underground route to the subway, shops and cinemas. Listing material for Ultima describes an enclosed connection to North York Centre station as well. I would walk the route from the lobby yourself before you count on it every winter morning.

This is also Yonge Street, with the noise, traffic and construction that go with it. Suites facing Yonge hear more of it than those facing west. The panel on this page shows transit, schools, parks and restaurants nearby.

Pricing: Yonge Street address, mid-2000s price

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $736 per square foot. For a tower on Yonge Street in North York Centre with a pool and a large suite range, that is the same average condos.ca shows for Menkes’ Broadway II on Beecroft Road, which has smaller suites and sits off Yonge.

The four active listings ask from about $369,000 up to about $769,000, with a one-plus-den and a two-bedroom in between. Fees on those listings run from about $535 to $1,055 a month. The fee scales with size, so on the larger plans the monthly cost, plus heat you pay separately, becomes a bigger part of the decision than the asking price.

Because heat is billed separately, a fair comparison with an all-inclusive building is total monthly cost, not price per square foot alone. For recent sold prices and days on market, see the automatic panel on this page.

Building specifications

Amenities at Ultima at Broadway (North Building)

Dash lists a pool, sauna, gym, concierge, security guard and guest suites, which is a full package for a tower of this age. In a 384-suite building, check the booking rules for the party room and guest suites, since demand can be high.

Jatin’s honest take on Ultima at Broadway (North Building)

Ultima at Broadway (North Building) — frequently asked questions

Looking at Willowdale, Yonge & Sheppard, Bayview Village and North York Centre more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.