Condos for Sale in Yorkville, Toronto, ON

Yorkville may be the gateway to downtown Toronto — it sits right above Bloor Street — but it’s also much more than that. Once a hotbed for hippies, today Yorkville is home to some of the most luxurious shops, restaurants, and hotels in the city. Naturally, the condos for sale in Yorkville also happen to be some of the priciest — and the most lavish — in the city.

Moreover, no shopping district in the city can compete with Yorkville’s ‘Mink Mile.’ This strip of Bloor Street West is home to the most important fashion houses such as Gucci, Chanel, Burberry, Tiffany & Co., and Louis Vuitton, as well as a massive Holt Renfrew. Comparable to Los Angeles’ Rodeo Drive or New York City’s Fifth Avenue, the most expensive retail spaces in the country are located on Toronto’s Mink Mile.

Yet Yorkville wasn’t always so upscale: back in the 1960s the atmosphere was a whole lot more bohemian. Musicians like Joni Mitchell and Neil Young spent their days in this very neighbourhood, along with writers and artists who hung out in the Yorkville’s many clubs and coffee houses.

Having a limitless budget isn’t a prerequisite for modern-day Yorkville residents, either. Besides window-shopping, days off can also be spent browsing books at the Toronto Reference Library. Toronto is already said to have the busiest urban library systems in the world, and the reference library is its largest branch.

Not only is the reference library ideal for students and researchers, but its unique interiors has also resulted in the library being used as an unconventional — yet beautiful — wedding venue. The library also contains a gallery, where visitors can explore an ever-changing roster of exhibitions. As for those who require some real peace and quiet when they read, the much smaller Yorkville branch of the Toronto Public Library is around the corner, on Yorkville Avenue.

When it comes to art, Yorkville doesn’t disappoint. Not only is the neighbourhood home to an abundance of commercial galleries, the Gardiner Museum is also located in the southwest corner of Yorkville, on Queens Park. The Gardiner focuses on ceramic arts, and on top of typical exhibitions, visitors can also partake in pottery classes here. While the Royal Ontario Museum technically lies just outside the neighbourhood’s boundaries, it’s close enough — and impressive enough — to mention. The ROM is the largest museum in Canada, and showcases everything from art to natural history and world cultures.

Best of all, Yorkville is an ideal place to grab a coffee and people watch. Celebrity sightings are quite common here, as this neighbourhood is where some of the city’s premier hotels can be found. Basically, tourists without a concern for money tend to stay in this neighbourhood, in hotels like the Park Hyatt, the Hazelton Hotel, the Four Seasons, and the Windsor Arms.

Surprisingly, plenty of Toronto condos for sale are packed into this tiny neighbourhood. Yorkville is bound on its north end by Davenport and to the south by Charles Street West (a block south of Bloor), while Avenue Road and Yonge Street make up the neighbourhood’s east-west borders.

Yorkville’s tree-lined side streets are brimming with longstanding single-family homes. However it’s the neighbourhood’s high-rise condos (of which there are well over 50) that contribute to Yorkville’s density. For example the Residences of Yorkville Plaza consists of 508 suites spread out over 32 floors, while the Exhibit Residences covers the same number of storeys, and is divided up into 204 homes.

As previously mentioned, Yorkville hasn’t always been Toronto’s destination for extravagant homes. In fact, the neighbourhood only became pricey after the construction of the Bloor-Danforth subway line. Once the subway line was complete, high-end commercial businesses began to occupy formerly residential spaces in Yorkville, and small buildings were sold off and replaced by luxury condos.

Some of the most opulent condos in the neighbourhood are affiliated with hotels, such as the Four Seasons Private Residences and the Residences at Windsor Arms. Although they may seem expensive at first, prospective buyers interested in Yorkville condos for sale should note that this is a great neighbourhood in which to invest. Prices in Yorkville have been rising steadily for a long time: they’re higher now than in the past, but properties will be worth even more a few years from now.

The fact that many condos for sale in Yorkville constantly appear on the market doesn’t reflect the neighbourhood’s turnover rate. Rather, it indicates just how many new towers are being created on a regular basis. With new towers popping up all the time in Yorkville, prospective buyers are able to get the best possible deal by purchasing a pre-construction condo.

Another way to avoid breaking the bank is to seek out older buildings, which are also abundant in the neighbourhood. The Renaissance Plaza was built in 1983 while 15 McMurrich was constructed in 1981, and their present-day popularity is proof that both buildings have stood the test of time. On the opposite end of the spectrum are the condos for sale in Yorkville that are situated in new, glass-clad, luxury buildings. Some examples include the Perry at 128 Pears Avenue and the Yorkville Private Estates at 200 Cumberland, the latter of which contains suites that span up to 8,100 square feet.

Yorkville residents can get around the city hassle free, both with and without a car. That said, those who rely on the TTC are especially well positioned, as not one but three subway stations service the neighbourhood. Museum Station, which runs along the University-Spadina line, can be found in the southwest corner of Yorkville; Bay station offers access to the Bloor-Danforth line; and Bloor-Yonge Station, on the east side of the neighbourhood, allows passengers to hop onto trains heading north or south on the Yonge line, or east or west along the Bloor-Danforth line.

As for drivers, major arterial roads like Bloor, Avenue Road, and Bay Street allow Yorkville residents to visit surrounding neighbourhoods. Those heading out on longer trips, however, might want to make us of the Don Valley Parkway, which can be accessed via a short ride east along Bloor. From there, the 401 is just a short trip to the north, while driving south will land one at the Gardiner Expressway.

The Locals: Generally speaking, Torontonians who can afford to live in Yorkville.

Code of Conduct: Window shopping along Mink Mile is just as common — if not more — than actually making a purchase from one of its stores.

What You’ll Find: High-class everything: from hotels, to boutiques, restaurants, and even humans.

What You Won’t Find: Dive bars and thrift shops.

The Homes: Brand new luxury condos, luxury residences atop hotels, and longstanding luxury condos.

Sealing the Deal: The exponentially increased opportunity for celebrity sightings.