Townhouses For Sale in Church-Yonge Corridor, Old Toronto

Molly Wood's Bush to the Village

Much of this land was once the estate of merchant Alexander Wood, mocked in the early 1800s as "Molly Wood's Bush." The streets that followed included Victorian houses and apartments from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, some of which survive on the short side streets east of Church.

From the 1980s, Church Street between Wellesley and Alexander became the centre of the city's gay village, with the 519 Church Street community centre as a hub. Barbara Hall Park, with the AIDS Memorial and Trans Memorial, sits just off Church.

Condo development since then has filled many sites with towers, and rising rents have changed the mix of businesses along the strip.

Podium townhouses beside Line 1

Most townhouses for sale here are two-storey units built into the base of condo towers, opening onto a side street or courtyard. They give you a ground-floor entry and more room than a typical one-bedroom upstairs, but you're part of the tower's corporation.

Wellesley station on Line 1 sits in the middle of the area, with College and Bloor-Yonge stations at its ends and Sherbourne and Castle Frank a walk east on Line 2. Few townhouses anywhere are closer to the subway.

Before buying, compare the fee structure and the reserve fund plan, and look closely at how townhouse units get their mail, deliveries and garbage. In some buildings they use the main lobby; in others they're handled separately.

Side-street houses and the Pride Week factor

Victorian houses and rows on the residential streets east of Church come up occasionally. Many have been split into apartments, and some have been restored as single homes. Rear lanes are uncommon, so parking is limited.

Life near Church Street means late nights, festivals and heavy foot traffic, especially during Pride Month in June. Most owners see that as part of the appeal. If you want quiet, a side street toward Jarvis is calmer than one off Church itself.

Who buys a townhouse this close to Yonge

Buyers here often work downtown, at the hospitals or at the university, and want a ground-floor entry without leaving the core. Some are downsizers who don't want a car and like having the subway and grocery stores a few minutes away. Others are first-time buyers who want more room than a one-bedroom tower suite.

Investors are drawn to the area's rental demand, but they should read the declaration carefully. Some buildings limit short-term rentals, and some charge move-in fees or require elevator bookings that also apply to tenants.

Resale tends to depend on the building as much as the unit. A well-run corporation with a healthy reserve fund makes a podium townhouse easier to sell later.

Checks specific to a downtown podium unit

• Does your unit share a wall with the garage ramp, loading dock or garbage room?
• Are there exterior stairs or a private patio, and who maintains them?
• Which elevator serves the garage level nearest your unit?
• Are rental or short-term rental limits in the declaration?

Also ask whether the building has a separate townhouse entrance code or key system, and how snow clearing is handled for exterior stairs.