400 Walmer

by far the greatest and best place i have ever lived. i don't live there currently but the memories were good

Extremely poor management, peeling wallpaper, paint chipping throughout the building. False Fire alarm goes off at 3am multiple times this year Example: currently sitting in a 29 degree apartment because for the 3rd year in a row management wait until they receive complaints before turning the a/c on. Also front of east tower is patchy grass, garbage and weeds

I think there must have been some upper management change in the past couple years because there's definitely been a lot of corners being cut on all fronts. They used to have a fountain out front but now it's a filled with rocks. They used to throw tenant appreciation parties and Christmas parties and now they put out some grocery store muffins on a table once a year between 7am and 8am as their tenant appreciation. This last one is the worst though. They just fired all of their long-term concierge staff (one of them has been working here for 28 years), giving them only four days notice, and instead contracting out the work to a security guard company of part-time minimum wage exploited workers. That is horribly cruel given the loyalty and superb work that the concierge staff have brought to this building. There was a time when I would have recommended that people move here, but given that average rent prices here have actually gone up (not by a small amount either) while this has all been happening, I don't think I'd tell anyone to move here now. Updates: During Covid-19 they've actually increased our rent by the legal maximum. Their "24-hour security services" is more like 10 hours, and their "highly trained guards" work a couple shifts a month at a given site and therefore don't know anything about the buildings. We went days during a heat wave before the AC got turned on.

Constant issues with heating system and water being cut-off. They need to get this building up to par for the rent they are charging us. Feels like they are cutting corners left right and centre.

We rented this apt virtually sight unseen..by video only, because of covid. It did not disappoint. It is very bright, grounds are lovely ( not many buildings have have so much property surrounding the building), amenities were not considered but turned out to be great. The apt itself has a great layout, spacious rooms. On moving in, microwave did not work; next day we received a new one. Minor repairs dealt with very quickly. Location is one of the best in the city: central, close to parks, subway, retail. True that exterior needs some attention, but nothing is perfect.

Good size units and very close to subway and street car. The grounds are very well kept. There are no bugs or anything like that. The only issue is when GWL took over from Vertica they don't care as much about the tenants. i.e when they fired all of he door staff that had been here for years that al the tenants knew and loved. The Bad: If you are planning to work from home your internet will be a nightmare! I had also referred a number of people who ended up living here and was never paid my referral reward. The rent is now higher then it was before Covid, they tried to raise the rent higher then they were supposed to when their property tax went down and lost the case with the LLTB. Non of the amenities are open but the rent is still incredibly high and they will tell you the rent is still high due to the extra sanitization but there is no way it cost that much. Their rent should be slightly lower then it is now. I find it hard to believe people will be rushing to rent here at close to $2000 for 1 bedroom and $2600 for 2 bedrooms. You are better of spending that money at a newer building.

Once a prestigious apartment run by Cadillac Faiview. Now run by Great West Life for their shareholders. GWLRA is their property management division, formerly Vertica. While the grounds and vintage lighting remain underfunded for proper maintenance status, and the elevators have finally all been upgraded. All the balconies (which are large) were completely refurbished just 5-7, years ago.) I had happily revised my previous critical review to 4 stars from one. I had learned to love 400 Walmer experience and love living here. Our new property manager and a new persistence to get things done has made a large difference. However, GWLR ABRUPTLY LAID OFF the entire career concierge staff January 3, 2020. These kind professionals had become our advisors, friends; security and a help in need, our daily continuity, their welcome desk was a place to meet others. Their replacement with GARDA rotating young anonymous folks with much abbreviated responsibilities has truly had a negative impact on the living fabric of 400 Walmer. But most of all, the residents themselves at both Towers of 400 Walmer are an amazing bunch of convivial , socially conscious and generally happy well-educated folks. People are polite and engaging across all ages and circumstances. Other advantages: GARDA service for many purposes from mail management to access control. Our own library; clean, spacious laundry rooms with windows, exercise rooms and sauna. Nice pool with aquafitness etc programming. Grounds to stroll. Periodic older infrastructure issues affect water and heating occasionally. Fortunately yhe maintenance staff are amazing. They are reliable, responsive and timely. Location close to Loblaws and St. Clair West subway. Short walk to the small village of Forest Hills; Casa Loma and several ravine trails. Apartments are vintage design (with upgrades) but relatively large. If you face East in the East Tower or south in either Tower, the views are wonderful and generally unobstructed from the 6th floor up. Dog friendly and lots of friendly owners. 2 bedroom with 2 parking spaces is about $36,000/year (2018).