Upper Beach Club, 1400 Kingston Rd: 42 Suites Facing the Hunt Club

Upper Beach Club is the kind of building people find by driving past it: a seven-storey, round-cornered block at Kingston Road and Cornell Avenue with the Toronto Hunt across the street. With only 42 suites, it feels more like a private address than a condo tower, and that is both its appeal and its main cost problem. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A flatiron on a diamond-shaped lot

The site is an awkward parallelogram where Cornell Avenue meets Kingston Road, and the design leans into it. Onespace Unlimited drew a polygonal building that follows the lot lines, with a rounded corner over Cornell that gives it a small flatiron look from the street.

The facade mixes limestone with window wall. The main body rises four storeys along both streets, then the fifth, sixth and seventh floors step back to create terraces. That stepping is the reason the upper suites here are the ones people ask about first.

The early planning material described 41 suites: one bachelor, ten one-bedrooms and thirty two-bedrooms, with eight suites entered directly from grade and the rest carrying balconies or terraces. The finished building is registered with 42 suites, so treat the 2016 mix as a guide, not a count.

The view across Kingston Road is the point

The Toronto Hunt sits directly south across Kingston Road. Because that land is a private club rather than a development site, south-facing suites here look over open green toward the lake, and that outlook is far more likely to last than a view over a parking lot.

North-facing suites look back over the low-rise houses of Birch Cliff instead. Both are pleasant, but they are not the same product, so price the view separately when you compare two listings in this building.

Kingston Road itself is a bus corridor with traffic all day. Suites on the lower floors facing the road will hear it. The terraced upper floors sit back from the street wall, which helps.

Day to day, this is a Birch Cliff address rather than a Beach one, whatever the name suggests. Kingston Road here is a mix of older storefronts, small restaurants and new mid-rises, and the streets either side are quiet residential blocks. For the boardwalk and Queen Street East you will usually take a bus or drive; the data panel on this page shows the transit details.

Who built it, and why the names differ

Condos.ca lists Laurier Homes as developer and builder. The partner named alongside Laurier has changed over the years: the 2016 site plan coverage paired Laurier with Mutual Development Corporation, and the 2021 completion coverage paired it with Cope Group. I am reporting both because both appear in the record.

Construction started in 2018 and the building was finishing interiors through 2021, with the corporation registered in July 2022. That makes it one of a handful of new boutique mid-rises on this stretch of Kingston Road, alongside Residences at the Hunt Club at 1350, Hunt Club Terrace at 1340 and Terrasse at the Hunt Club at 1316.

For a buyer, a newer, small corporation means two things. Warranty coverage under Tarion still matters for the earliest owners, and the first reserve fund study and its later updates will set the fee path for years. Ask for both documents.

Parking, suite sizes and the small-building trade-off

The planning submission showed a two-level underground garage with 45 car spaces and 28 bicycle spaces, which is more than one space per suite. Whether a given suite owns a space is a separate question, so check the listing and the status certificate.

Condos.ca puts suites between about 538 and 1,846 square feet. The large end of that range is unusual for Kingston Road and is where the terrace suites sit. Current resale supply is thin, with only a couple of suites for sale at any time.

The trade-off of 42 suites is simple arithmetic. The elevator, roof, garage, insurance and management contract are shared by very few owners, so each owner carries more of the bill. That shows up in the fee.

There is an upside too. A small corporation can make decisions quickly, and in a building this size the board is usually made up of people who live there. Ask how many owners occupy their suites, and read recent board minutes to see how the building is run.

What Upper Beach Club costs, and why the fee looks high

Condos.ca shows an average of about $768 per square foot here. That is a premium to older Scarborough condos, which reflects the age of the building, the size of some suites and the protected south outlook.

At the time of writing two suites were listed for sale, asking between $549,900 and $596,000. Their monthly fees ran from $1,005 to $1,074, which works out to about $1.30 per square foot on average.

That is a high fee for a building of this age, and it buys only common elements, building insurance and water. Heat, hydro and anything else are on top. The likely reason is the small number of owners sharing fixed costs, but you should confirm it by reading the budget and reserve fund study rather than assuming it. If the fee has risen quickly since registration, ask why.

When you compare Upper Beach Club with a larger, newer building nearby, compare the full monthly cost of ownership: fee, property tax, hydro and any parking charge. A building with a lower fee per square foot but separate parking and higher hydro can end up close to this one.

Building specifications

Amenities at Upper Beach Club

The amenity package is small and suits the building: a fitness room, a party room and a rooftop deck, which the planning material described as an outdoor yoga terrace with lake views. Do not buy here for amenities; buy for the suite and the outlook.

Jatin’s honest take on Upper Beach Club

Upper Beach Club — frequently asked questions

Looking at Scarborough Bluffs, West Hill, Guildwood, Woburn, Malvern and Rouge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.