What’s in a name?

319 Merton Street is a beautiful building, but what’s with the name: Domain?

Is this in reference to “domain”—a synonym for dwelling, abode, domicile, residence, house?

Well, we all know that one-word names are all the rage for condos these days. And five years from now, nobody will care what the building is called.

Hey, it’s been five minutes since I first looked at this listing and I already don’t care!

Domain is the newest and potentially the last new condominium project on Merton Street.

With the exception of the vacant plot of land at the corner of Yonge/Merton that was formerly the home of the Milnes Oil head office, there isn’t anywhere else on Merton where a condominium can be built, unless somebody gets very creative.

Merton Street is home to about a dozen condominium buildings, and the current demographic seems to be young urban professionals. I wouldn’t quite use the term “yuppie,” as I see yuppies as the group that heads to “the club” every weekend, any club really, perhaps the Granite Club, The Boulevard Club, or the Toronto Yacht Club, to eat caviar, play tennis while wearing a sweater loosely draped over yet another sweater while regaling eachother with stories about accidentally ordering the 1982 Chateau de la Roeshambeau Cabernet while meaning to order the 1981, the trend on Merton Street is for single professionals in their mid-20’s to mid-30’s to own a property uptown, and close to the public transit. (yes, I love using run-on-sentences…)

While a large portion of the young working community may find their offices located downtown, a growing trend is seeing offices located uptown, perhaps in North York at Yonge/Finch where CIBC and Ontario Teacher’s Pension Plan, for example, have their rather large offices. This means that the need to live downtown is being overtaken by the need to live close to the Yonge Street TTC line.

Merton Street is popular for many reasons, but the proximity to the Yonge Street TTC line is first and foremost.

Driving your car to work each and every day is very costly in Toronto. While majority of the 25-35 year-olds in this city may own a car, only a small portion of them actually drive to work. More to my point, proximity to TTC is becoming a huge selling feature for properties throughout the GTA. And Merton Street prices have appreciated at an above-average rate over the past five years.

319 Merton Street, Unit #1110, is a 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom unit of 1325 square feet, priced at $612,000.

My first, and probably only problem with this is the PRICE. Why $612,000? Why not $599,000? For the sake of $13,000, why not gain access to those people that are shopping for properties at $600,000, and below? Think of the people that are pre-approved for a maximum of $600,000, and therefore use a search criteria of $600,000. This listing on Merton Street is unnecessarily missing those buyers!

In any event, a price per square foot of $461 is very affordable for a 2-bedroom unit in Toronto, and this being a brand new building on a hot street, I think the price is more than reasonable when compared to many of the newer buildings throughout the downtown core.

At Domain, the question of what is the BEST feature of the building is often asked, but this question underscores the fact that there are several outstanding features of this first class building! The features and finishes within the building itself are top-notch, especially when you are looking at a 2-bedroom unit on the 11th floor.

There are six stainless-steel appliances in the kitchen, with upgraded cabinetry, granite counterops, ceramic backsplash, under-cabinet lighting, and ceramic tile floor. The master and second bedroom have upgraded “Sisal” weave broadloom with extra underpadding—perfect for tip-toe’ing into bed next to your significant other at 5:30AM after staying out all night drinking with your friends…

The combined living and dining rooms, which measure well over 400 square feet, feature a dark mahogany engineered-hardwood floor and are quite spacious thanks to the 9-foot ceilings. Then comes the view. Oh, the view! From the 11th floor looking south, you can see clear over the beltline trail—the perfect jogging & rollerblading route, as well as the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, and the view stretches all the way to downtown.

The building itself has a fully-equipped fitness centre; not an “exercise room,” a full “fitness centre” with brand new equipment in abundance. There is an indoor pool, whirlpool, and sauna, a billiard and games room, and two guest-suites that are perfect for your in-laws who randomly show up one weekend and expect to stay in your den or 2nd bedroom, with full intent of keeping an eye on you…

Maintenance fees are a respectable $530.25 per month including everything but Hydro, and one parking space is included which happens to be on the 2nd of four underground parking levels.

So what is the greatest selling feature for this unit?

Is it the space? The finishes? The incredible view?

Or is it the building itself with the amenities? The location?

Any way you slice it, 319 Merton is a beautiful, classic-looking building from the outside, with exceptional features and amenities inside. It’s conveniently located within a block of the Davisville TTC stop, and is affordably priced.

I still disagree with the pricing strategy at $612,000, and whoever took the photos of this unit must have been spun around in a chair until he said “stop!”

But surely whoever buys Unit #1110 will be “master of his domain“….

(Seinfeld, anyone?)

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