Yorkville Movers

Moving Co. moves condos, Victorian townhouses and high value households across Yorkville, the old village between Bloor Street, Davenport Road, Yonge Street and Avenue Road. Local moves are billed at $50/hr per mover, we sort out the Certificate of Insurance your building asks for, and the line at 905-752-7787 is answered around the clock.

Yorkville is a small place to move in and a demanding one. Most of it is either a condominium tower with strict rules about how you use its elevators, or a nineteenth century house on a street that was never laid out for a truck. Below is what our crews deal with here, what it means for your move, and how to plan it so the day runs on time.

Yorkville in numbers, and why they matter on moving day

Yorkville covers about a third of a square kilometre. At the 2021 census it was home to 5,349 people, up from 3,896 in 2016. That is a 37.3 per cent jump in five years, and nearly all of it arrived in new condominium towers. The population was 2,911 as recently as 2006, so it has close to doubled in fifteen years.

Density is the practical number. At roughly 16,000 people per square kilometre, Yorkville packs more households into each block than almost anywhere else in the city, and they all share the same handful of curbs, loading docks and service elevators. When two moves land on the same building on the same Saturday, the elevator booking decides who goes first, not the crew.

• 5,349 residents at the 2021 census
• 37.3 per cent population growth from 2016 to 2021
• 0.33 square kilometres of land
• 1883, the year Yorkville became the first village annexed by the City of Toronto
• 2002, the year Hazelton Avenue and its neighbours became a Heritage Conservation District

A village that was never built for trucks

Yorkville began in 1830, when the brewer Joseph Bloor and Sheriff William Botsford Jarvis bought land north of the town of York and cut it into small lots on new side streets for people who wanted cleaner air outside the city. By 1853 it had a thousand residents, enough to incorporate as the Village of Yorkville. Thirty years later the village could no longer afford its own services, and on February 1, 1883 it became the first village annexed by the City of Toronto, renamed St. Paul’s Ward.

The street pattern from that era is still there. Yorkville Avenue, Scollard Street, Hazelton Avenue and Berryman Street were laid out for houses and horses, and the lots are narrow. A moving truck in Yorkville is a guest on streets that were finished long before anyone imagined one. That is the root of most of the planning below.

Moving into or out of a Yorkville condominium

Most moves we do in Yorkville run on a building’s service elevator. The towers around Bloor, Bay and Avenue Road are well managed, and well managed buildings have rules. The details change from one building to the next, so always read your own building’s move policy, but the pattern is consistent:

• A booked service elevator. You reserve a window with management or the concierge, often weeks ahead for a weekend. Outside that window the elevator is not yours.
• A loading dock slot. The truck needs somewhere to stand, and in a tower that usually means a booked spot at the dock rather than the street.
• A Certificate of Insurance. Most buildings want the condominium corporation and the property manager named on a certificate before the crew is allowed in. We produce it and send it ahead.
• Protection for the common areas. Pads in the elevator cab, runners on the lobby and corridor floors, and corner guards where furniture turns. A scuffed hallway can cost you a damage deposit.
• Sign in at the desk. Concierge buildings often want every crew member registered.

Two things save more time than anything else. Book the elevator before you book the movers, and tell us the exact window when you call. We plan the crew size around finishing inside it, because running over a booked window in a busy tower can mean stopping half loaded and coming back another day.

If you are moving between two towers, there are two sets of rules and two bookings. Get both windows confirmed in writing before moving day. Our condo and apartment movers page goes into more detail on how a tower move runs.

Moving into a brand new Yorkville tower

With the population up by more than a third in five years, a lot of Yorkville moves are into buildings that have only just opened. New towers come with their own pattern. Many units in a new building get keys in the same few weeks, and the builder or the new management usually runs a move-in schedule that hands out elevator time in fixed blocks.

That means your window may be shorter and less flexible than in an established building, and it may be set for you rather than chosen. A few things help:

• Ask for the move-in schedule as soon as you have an occupancy date, and take the first slot that works.
• Confirm whether the service elevator is ready, or whether moves are still running on a temporary arrangement.
• Expect the dock to be busy with other move-ins and contractors in the first months.
• Get the Certificate of Insurance requirements in writing, because new management sometimes asks for more than an established board would.

We plan these moves tightly around the slot you are given. If the window is short, the answer is usually a slightly larger crew so everything is upstairs before the time runs out.

Questions to ask your building before you book

Most problems on a Yorkville moving day come from a detail nobody asked about. Five minutes with your property manager or concierge saves a lot of time on the day. These are the questions worth asking, and why each one matters:

• How long is the elevator booking, and can it be extended? It sets the size of the crew.
• What are the inside dimensions of the service elevator and its door? A long sofa or a tall wardrobe may need to come apart, and it is better to know that before the crew arrives.
• How much height clearance does the loading dock have? Some underground docks cannot take a full size truck.
• Who needs to be named on the Certificate of Insurance, and at what limit? Send us the answer word for word.
• Is there a damage deposit, and how is the inspection done? Ask for the elevator and hallway to be checked before and after.
• Are moves allowed on the day you want? Weekends, Sundays and holidays are often restricted.

Forward the answers to us when you book and we will plan the day around them.

Hazelton Avenue and the Victorian streets

North of Yorkville Avenue the towers give way to the oldest housing in the district. The City designated the Yorkville-Hazelton Heritage Conservation District in 2002, and most of the houses inside it date from the nineteenth century. Many were built as tightly packed brick and stucco row houses and semis for working families, and their interiors show it.

What that means for a move:

• Narrow staircases with tight turns. A sofa that went in decades ago may have gone in through a window, or before a renovation. We measure the route before we lift.
• Original details worth protecting. Plaster walls, old trim, banisters and hardwood that cannot be patched invisibly. We pad corners and lay floor protection before anything moves.
• No driveway. Most of these houses open straight onto the sidewalk, so the truck is on the street, and that brings in permits and parking.
• Short frontage. Neighbours are close. A tidy, quick load matters on a street like this.

Heritage designation governs changes to a building’s exterior. It does not stop you moving, but it is a good reason to be careful with doorways, railings and front steps that are part of what the district protects.

Bloor Street, the Mink Mile and the retail streets

The south edge of Yorkville is Bloor Street, and the stretch known as the Mink Mile is one of the best known shopping streets in the country. Yorkville Avenue and Cumberland Street, a block north, are full of galleries, boutiques and restaurants on the ground floors of older buildings.

These are hard streets to stop a truck on. Foot traffic is heavy all day, deliveries compete for the same curb, and stopping rules are enforced. For any address on or just off these streets, we plan where the truck will stand before the day rather than looking for a gap when we arrive.

Art, antiques and high value contents

Yorkville has been Toronto’s gallery district for decades, and the households here hold more original art, antiques and designer furniture than most. Handling them well is mostly a matter of care and time:

• Framed art and mirrors are wrapped with padded blankets and corner protection, and carried upright.
• Antique furniture is wrapped before it is moved, with extra padding on legs, carved edges and anything with an old finish.
• Stone and glass tabletops are moved separately from their bases.
• Fragile pieces travel strapped and padded in the truck, not wedged between boxes.

Some pieces need more than a moving crew. A very large canvas, a sculpture or a piece of museum value may need a custom crate or a specialist fine art shipper. If we think a piece falls into that category, we will tell you plainly rather than improvise.

Your move is covered with full replacement-value coverage. If anything going on the truck is unusually valuable, tell us when you book so the right coverage is in place before moving day. Our packing services crews bring the materials and wrap everything on site.

Pianos in Yorkville

Between the Victorian houses and the larger condo suites, we move a fair number of pianos in this part of the city. Pianos are the one item we quote as a flat rate rather than by the hour, because the risk sits in a short, careful stretch of the job. Crews bring piano boards, piano dollies and stair climbers as standard. The details and rates are on our piano movers page.

Do you need a parking permit to move in Yorkville?

It depends on the building. Yorkville is part of the old City of Toronto, so Toronto’s street occupancy rules apply. If the truck has to stand on the roadway or in a signed parking space, a temporary street occupancy permit is the proper route, and it can be bought online up to two weeks ahead.

Most condominium moves need no permit at all, because the truck uses the building’s loading dock. The permit question comes up for the houses on Hazelton, Scollard, Berryman and the other residential streets, where the only place for a truck is the street itself.

What hours can movers work in Yorkville?

Toronto’s noise bylaw prohibits loading and unloading noise between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. Monday to Friday, and between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. on weekends and statutory holidays, with a $500 fine. That leaves a working window of roughly 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. on weekends.

In practice your building’s rules will be tighter than the city’s. Many Yorkville condominiums only allow moves on weekdays or within set hours, and some do not allow them on Sundays or holidays at all. The building rule is the one that decides your date.

Getting in and out of Yorkville

Bay station on Line 2 sits in the middle of Yorkville, Bloor-Yonge is at its east edge and Museum station is at its southwest corner, so you will never be short of transit on moving day. A truck is a different matter. Bloor Street, Avenue Road and Davenport Road carry heavy traffic for much of the day, and the side streets are narrow.

We usually aim to be loading early, before the retail streets fill up, and we plan the route out of the neighbourhood before we arrive. On an hourly move, timing the drive outside the rush hours makes a real difference to the bill.

What does a move in Yorkville cost?

Local Yorkville moves are billed at $50/hr per mover, so the total comes down to the size of the crew and how long the job runs. We do not quote a flat number based on bedroom count, because two homes with the same number of bedrooms can be completely different jobs here.

What makes a Yorkville move take longer:

• Waiting on a shared elevator, or a long walk from the loading dock to the unit.
• Narrow Victorian staircases that need furniture taken apart or carried slowly.
• Art and antiques that need careful wrapping before they go anywhere.
• Unpacked rooms on the day. Boxes that are packed and closed move far faster than loose items.
• Two buildings with two sets of rules, if you are moving tower to tower.

A quick video walkthrough gets you a real estimate. Our pricing page sets out how rates work, and you can request a quote any time.

How many movers a Yorkville move needs

Crew size follows the job more than the address. A one bedroom condo with a booked elevator usually needs two movers. A larger suite, or a townhouse with stairs on every floor, usually needs three. A full Victorian house with a basement, a lot of art or heavy antiques may need four or more.

The size of the crew is the main lever on an hourly move. One extra person who keeps the elevator moving is usually cheaper than a smaller crew that runs past the booking.

Short moves around Midtown

A lot of the moves we do here never leave the area, or only just. Yorkville sits inside the larger Annex neighbourhood, with Rosedale just across Yonge Street, and moves between them are short on the road and long on the logistics, because both ends usually have either a building with rules or a house with stairs.

A short distance does not make a short job. Moving from one Yorkville tower to another, the drive is the easy part and the two elevator bookings set the whole day. If you are moving within the area, book both windows before anything else, try to get them on the same day, and leave enough time between them for the truck to load, cross over and unload.

Downsizing in or out of Yorkville

We see a lot of moves in both directions here. People leave large houses elsewhere in the city for a Yorkville condo, and people leave Yorkville for more space. Either way, the contents rarely fit the new home exactly.

Sorting before the move is the single biggest saving. What is staying can be packed, what is going to family can be labelled for a separate drop, what is not needed for a while can go into storage, and what is finished can go out through junk removal. Paying to move something you are going to get rid of anyway is the most common avoidable cost we see.

Our moving services in Yorkville

Everything we do across Toronto is available in Yorkville: condo and apartment moves, house moves, small moves, single item moves, packing, furniture assembly, storage and junk removal. Our crews are employed by us, not subcontracted.

For galleries, boutiques and offices in the district, our office and commercial movers work after hours so the business keeps trading.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much do movers cost in Yorkville?

Local Yorkville moves are billed at $50/hr per mover, so the total depends on the crew size and how long the job takes. We do not quote flat prices by bedroom count. A quick video walkthrough gets you a real estimate.

Do Yorkville condos require a Certificate of Insurance?

Almost always. Most buildings want the condominium corporation and the property manager named on the certificate before the crew is allowed in. Send us your building’s requirements when you book and we will send the certificate ahead.

Do I need a parking permit to move in Yorkville?

Usually not for a condominium, because the truck uses the building’s loading dock. For houses on Hazelton, Scollard, Berryman and the other residential streets, the truck stands on the street, and a City of Toronto street occupancy permit is the proper route. It can be bought online up to two weeks ahead.

What hours can movers work in Yorkville?

Toronto’s noise bylaw prohibits loading and unloading noise between 11 p.m. and 7 a.m. on weekdays and between 11 p.m. and 9 a.m. on weekends and statutory holidays, with a $500 fine. Many Yorkville buildings set tighter hours than that, so check your building’s move policy.

Can you move art and antiques?

Yes. Framed art, mirrors and antique furniture are wrapped with padding and corner protection and moved carefully. For a piece that needs a custom crate or a specialist fine art shipper, we will tell you so rather than improvise.

Is my move insured?

Yes, your move is covered with full replacement-value coverage. If anything is unusually valuable, tell us when you book so the right coverage is in place before moving day.

Can you move a piano in a Yorkville townhouse?

Yes. Pianos are quoted as a flat rate, and crews bring piano boards, piano dollies and stair climbers as standard. Narrow Victorian staircases are part of the job here, so tell us about the stairs when you call.

How far ahead should I book a Yorkville move?

Book the building’s elevator first, as soon as you have a date, because weekend slots in busy towers fill up weeks ahead. Then book the movers for that window. Short notice moves are sometimes possible, and calling is the quickest way to find out.

Do you move offices and galleries in Yorkville?

Yes. Commercial moves in the district usually happen after hours or on weekends so the business can keep trading. Our office movers handle workstations, IT equipment and display pieces.

Plan Your Yorkville Move

Tell us the address, the building, the floor and your booked elevator window, and we will tell you the crew size and how we will run the day. If your building needs a Certificate of Insurance, mention it on the call and we will have it sent ahead.

Call 905-752-7787, answered around the clock, or request a quote online.