Wellington Square, 18 Stafford St: King West Value Without the Park

Wellington Square is the value play on Stafford Street. It is the oldest of the condo buildings on the block, finished in 2004, with 172 suites, compact plans and a fee that covers heat, cooling and parking. You give up the park frontage of the building across the road, and you pay noticeably less for it. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The first condo on Stafford Street

Wellington Square came first. It was registered in 2004, three years before Wellington on the Park went up across the street, and before Parc Lofts arrived at the north end of the block in 2011. When the City reviewed that later building, its report used 18 Stafford as one of the two benchmarks for height and density on the street.

That report put 18 Stafford at about 38 metres including the mechanical penthouse, with a density of about 6.4 times the lot area. It is the tallest and densest of the three condos on the street, which is why it has more suites on a smaller footprint than its neighbours.

Condos.ca describes the building as traditionally styled, and that is fair: it reads as a conventional mid-rise rather than a glass tower. That style has aged better than many glass buildings of the same era, but a 2004 building is now well into the stage where windows, roof and garage start to show up in the reserve fund study.

Being first has one practical advantage for a buyer today. Two decades of board decisions, fee changes and repairs are on the record, so you can judge how the building has been run instead of guessing. Ask for the last few years of board minutes along with the status certificate, and read them for how the board handles major work: planned in advance and funded from the reserve, or patched and deferred.

Compact suites, mostly one-bedrooms

Condos.ca records suites from about 560 to 918 square feet, a much narrower range than most buildings. There are no huge penthouses here. What you get is mostly one-bedrooms, one-plus-dens and a smaller number of two-bedroom plans at the top of the range.

Both current listings sit in the 600 to 799 square foot band: a one-bedroom and a one-plus-den. That is the core of this building, and it suits singles, couples and investors more than families.

The narrow size range also makes the building easy to compare. With so many similar suites, sold figures in the data panel are a more reliable guide here than in buildings with a wide mix of plans. If you find a suite that is noticeably cheaper than the rest, ask what is different about it.

Ask for the floor plan and check the den. In buildings of this age, dens are often open alcoves without a window, fine for a desk but not a second bedroom.

Compact also means efficient to own. Smaller suites mean smaller fees and property tax bills, and in a building where heat and cooling are bundled, your monthly costs will barely change between January and July.

Fees that are fair for what they cover

Condos.ca lists the fee as covering common elements, heat, air conditioning, building insurance, parking and water. On the two current listings, the fee works out to about $0.84 per square foot, which is reasonable given that heat, cooling and parking are included.

Most newer buildings in King West charge for parking separately and meter heating and cooling to each suite. Add those back and the monthly gap between Wellington Square and a new building often disappears, or turns in this building’s favour.

Parking being included in the fee does not mean every suite has a space. Confirm the parking unit and locker in the status certificate before you firm up an offer, and do not rely on the listing alone.

Life on the west side of Stafford

Stafford is a quiet side street a few steps south of King, with King West’s restaurants at one end. Liberty Village’s grocery stores and services are a short walk south and west, and the King streetcar is at the top of the street.

The building’s neighbours shape the view. Across Stafford is Wellington on the Park, a terraced condo of about 29 metres, and next door is an eight-storey office building, according to the City’s planning report. Because 18 Stafford is the taller building, east-facing upper suites may see over the building opposite toward Stanley Park and the skyline; lower suites look at their neighbours.

Stanley Park is across the street rather than at the door, but still close enough to use every day. The transit and walkability details are in the data panel on this page.

What Wellington Square costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $833 per square foot. That is about 14 percent below Wellington on the Park across the street, and that discount is what you get for being on the non-park side of Stafford in a building that is three years older.

Two suites were listed for sale at the time of writing, asking from $650,000 to $655,000. Monthly fees on those listings ran from $575 to $604.

With only two listings, the sold aggregates in the data panel are the better benchmark. Compare total monthly cost with newer buildings nearby, including heat, cooling and a parking space, before you decide the older building is the more expensive one to own.

Building specifications

Amenities at Wellington Square

The amenities are modest: a rooftop deck, a party room and a meeting room. The rooftop is the one that matters for daily life, because it gives every owner outdoor space with a view over the neighbourhood, whatever their own suite offers.

Jatin’s honest take on Wellington Square

Wellington Square — 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.