Just south of Toronto's prestigious Upper Canada College, the State Building Group and Madison Homes' 609 Avenue Road is set to join an established community that has long been considered one of the city's—and perhaps the country's—most desirable residential areas. Located on Avenue Road north of St. Clair, the 19-storey Richmond Architects-designed development seeks to provide a relatively affordable housing option in an area known for high real estate prices.

The on-site sales centre at 609 Avenue Road, image by Stefan Novakovic

Giving us a preview of the project's yet-to-be opened sales centre, State's Tamar Zagdanski underlines the value of the area, which is located "near some of the city's best schools, while both the St. Clair streetcar and the Yonge Subway line are within walking distance." Zagdanski also notes that the area appeals to both "downsizers and young families. People downsizing to condos often want to stay in the same neighbourhood where they've been living, while many couples and young families look to find a reasonable priced entry point in the best residential neighbourhoods."

Catering to a variety of potential buyers, Zagdanski explains that while the project features a range of suite sizes and configurations—with even the smallest units over 500 ft² in size—each floor will have at least one family-friendly three-bedroom suite, and the upper two floors will be given over entirely to three-bedroom units. With one of these spacious units serving as the model suite, our tour offered a glimpse of one of 609's most spacious interiors.

The living/dining area, image by Stefan Novakovic

Stepping through the foyer—which houses a discrete yet fully equipped laundry space—into the living and dining area, the open space looks out over a large wrap-around balcony, which promises panoramic views from the higher floors. "Since the Avenue Road corridor in our immediate vicinity—characterized by mid-century apartment buildings—is unlikely to see redevelopment in the coming years, those views are set to remain protected," Zagdanski adds.

A view of the balcony just outside the dining area, image by Stefan Novakovic

Adjoining the living room, the model suite displays features a den in lieu of a third bedroom, though either option is available to buyers. Zagdanski explains that "for some, the extra living space shown here may be preferable, but the den can also easily be configured as a third bedroom."

The den features its own window, and the space can be configured into a bedroom, image by Stefan Novakovic

A range of colour palettes and finishes are available for each suite, with the standard finishes featuring engineered laminate floors and a choice of earth tone colours. In the model suite's kitchen, in-built appliances contribute to a sense of aesthetic continuity, while the kitchen island—standard in larger suites—provides an additional work space. 

The model suite kitchen, image by Stefan Novakovic

The bedrooms all feature ample storage space with deep closets throughout. Some master bedrooms also feature a walk-in closet, which Zagdanski notes "is particularly good for downsizers who are used to having lots of storage space." 

The master bedroom, image by Stefan Novakovic

Concluding our tour, Zagdanski explains that "our Tomas Pearce-designed interiors are based on responding to people's real needs and lifestyles. A lot of people told us that they don't like smaller suites where guests have to use the ensuite bathroom in the bedroom, so we made sure to include two bathrooms in even our smallest suites. We also know that a problem many people have in condos is a lack of storage space, which is why we opted for wide closets, as well as walk-in storage spaces in select units."

Part of the second bedroom's extensive closet space, image by Stefan Novakovic

We will make sure to keep you updated as the project continues to develop, and we will return in the coming weeks with more coverage of our tour, including a look at the scale model. In the meantime,  our previous stories feature more about the amenity offerings, while additional information can be found on our dataBase thread. Want to share your thoughts about how the project is taking shape so far? Feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this page, or in our associated Forum thread, linked below.