Menkes Developments Ltd - North York, Ontario

Iman D.

Sugar Wharf Condos (138 Downes Street) by Menkes Development - The Absolute Worst Place to Live in Toronto

If you’re considering moving into 138 Downes Street (Sugar Wharf Condos), do yourself a massive favour and RUN. This building is a masterclass in mismanagement, incompetence, and sheer disregard for residents.

Let’s start with the fire alarm fiasco. Alarms go off at random, unannounced, and multiple times a day — sometimes five or more times before you’ve even finished breakfast. There’s no proper alert, no confirmation that it’s a test — just loud, panic-inducing sirens blasting through your unit at any hour. Is it a real fire? Is it a drill? Nobody knows. You just sit there guessing whether your building is burning or your management is just brain-dead.

Now let’s talk about moving in or out — aka the Hunger Games of condo life. There’s no direct elevator access to your unit. You have to manually drag furniture across levels and elevators like a warehouse worker, while the so-called concierge — whose only talent is being unhelpful — wastes nearly half your allotted move-in time doing pointless inspections and then circles back 10 minutes before your slot ends to start harassing you to hurry up. It’s like they’re actively trying to make you lose your mind.

Think that’s the worst of it? Think again. The concierge service here is an absolute joke. If you so much as receive a medium-sized package, expect a phone call ordering you to drop everything — lunch, shower, life — and come collect it immediately from the courier. They won’t hold it for even five damn minutes. So if you miss the doorbell by seconds? Tough luck. You’ll either lose your package or be forced into a tug-of-war between a pissed-off courier and a concierge who flat-out refuses to do their job. And don’t even try returning something via Amazon from home — neither side will cooperate, and you’ll end up completely screwed.

In short: this place is a dumpster fire wrapped in glass and concrete. It may look pretty from the outside, but inside it’s pure dysfunction. Between the endless fire alarms, logistical hell, and concierge staff who seem to despise the people they’re paid to help, Sugar Wharf Condos is a daily exercise in rage. Avoid it like the plague — unless, of course, you enjoy stress, noise, and being treated like a burden in your own home.

Joe W.

I’ve had an excellent experience with Menkes Developments Ltd (SugarWharf Condo) and their outstanding Customer Care team. The professionalism and dedication of their staff, especially Araceli H, have truly exceeded my expectations.

Araceli went above and beyond to ensure all my concerns were addressed promptly and thoroughly. Her communication was clear and consistent, keeping me informed every step of the way. From coordinating repairs to personally following up to ensure my satisfaction, Araceli demonstrated exceptional professionalism, helpfulness, and attention to detail. Her efforts made the entire process smooth and stress-free.

Menkes Developments Ltd should be proud to have such dedicated individuals on their team. I highly recommend them for their commitment to excellence and their genuine care for customers.

Thank you, Araceli, and the Menkes team for the fantastic service!

Eugene B.

Menkes Development it the worst company to deal with one one the grass cutting companies they contact out hit my jeep and damaged while cutting the grass and I sent a bunch of pictures to menkes to ask them do do something about it there's a bunch of cameras on the building they manage and they refuse to look at them in turn refuse to fix my jeep this is a 4.4 billion dollar company now I'm out of pocket for parking on a street and going to my job to make a living they were ignorant to deal with and just left me to pay to fix it

Ming Y.

As new homeowners in a subdivision developed by Menkes and a few other builders, we’ve been impressed with the quality of our experience. Menkes, in particular, has maintained clear and consistent communication throughout the process, especially regarding construction updates and the timeline for our design studio appointments.

During our PDI, we identified some minor issues, but Menkes promptly escalated these to their contractors and ensured swift resolution. Overall, we’re very satisfied with our home—the craftsmanship and attention to detail stand out, and the materials used are notably higher quality than the industry standard we’ve observed with other builders.

Jalal F.

Worst builder. Do not buy from them. I am an industry professional and I will never recommend them to any of my clients. I’m not sure what’s worse, the so called finishes or customer care. My unit had everything from uneven stairs, humps in the floor to missed match handles on the cabinets. Took them 6 times to do the flooring. Every time they “repair” something, they ruin something else. Almost a year in and almost nothing is fixed. They take short cuts at every turn and try to blame the owner for their poor work. An absolute joke of a company.

char

There is no option to give zero stars so I had to give it one. This company needs to take ownership of their wrongdoings.

Joanne P.

Bought a condo that was built in 1997, built AMAZING.

I had to call to request a floor plan, dealt with Taryn, she was wonderful, so patient and so helpful.

Thanks Taryn for all your help.

Joanne

Ivan S.

Way too many fake positive reviews from individuals with only 1 review.

Here is an honest review:

We purchased a townhome from them several years ago and the initial experience dealing with someone not from sales was atrocious. It was the first time we ever had to pick materials for the finishes and upgrades for our new home and instead of helping, the “interior” designer at Menkes head office mocked us and was dismissive with our requests for help. It was only until I brought in my interior designer friend that we could get some headway.

The PDI experience was a headache as they seemed to want us to rush through things so they didn’t have to fix much. Even as we listed many items that needed to be addressed or repaired, some major deficiencies that were listed could not be fixed properly or at all ex: crooked bathtub wall; unaligned closet doors; scratched cabinets/countertops; missing corner protectors….

Menkes also installed their own property management on site and the quality of service was poor. The woman in charge would only answer through email and not address any issues that were happening at the complex. Too many contracts were arranged without consideration for the budget and many times landscaping and snow removal was either done poorly or not done at all. Due to poor fiscal management, we even had to pay special assessments within the first couple of years.

Menkes homes are definitely built on the cheap and give a whole new meaning for “McHomes” or “McMansions”. Menkes is only getting by through past reputation and their namesake and the fact that the real estate market is hot.