We hear regularly about the high cost of real estate in Toronto. It appears that we will be taking this news to our grave.
The cost of a cemetery plot can be staggering. At Mount Pleasant Cemetery, operated by Mount Pleasant Group, and one of the few cemeteries that posts their prices online, the price of a grave ranges from $24,974 to $48,118, depending on location (location, location), and whether you want to install a flat marker memorial or an upright memorial. The cost of the marker is extra, as is the cost of other services, such an interment ($1,160 to $1,320), use of a tent, mats, late afternoon burials (an extra $165 if between 3:30 pm and 4 pm, or $205 if between 4 pm and 4:30 pm), reopening a grave to bury second remains ($5,080), and other administration fees.
Knob Hill Farms grocery store owner and businessman Steve Stavro is famously buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery. Stavro, who died in 2006, is rumoured to have a grave marker that cost $800,000.
An indoor mausoleum space ranges from $18,970 to $32,455 at Prospect Cemetery, near St. Clair and Caledonia, which is also run by Mount Pleasant Group.
Like other real estate, the price is often lower outside of Toronto. Prices for a plot in Thornton Cemetery in Oshawa range from $2,389 to $3,540.
Of course, if price is an issue, other options exist. We have posted several blogs on green burials and other alternatives to a traditional burial, and the growing prevalence of cremation.
Stay safe.