NXT Condos, 103 The Queensway: Two Pools, Bundled Fees, Cresford Questions

NXT is the slim glass tower at the bottom of Windermere Avenue, where Swansea runs down to the Humber and the lake. It is one of very few buildings in this pocket with both an indoor and an outdoor pool, and its fee covers heat, air conditioning and parking, which changes how the per-foot number should be read. It was built by Cresford, and since Cresford’s collapse in 2020 that is the first thing buyers ask me about, so I deal with it directly below. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

An architectsAlliance tower on a private street

NXT and its sister tower, NXT2 at 105 The Queensway, were designed by Peter Clewes of architectsAlliance, the firm behind a long list of downtown glass towers. UrbanToronto’s 2010 review of the nearly finished building singled out the details that still give it more character than the typical Queensway box: balconies notched into the glass to create a rhythm up the face, staggered window mullions, and a crimped east facade.

At street level the tower sits on a black brick base that ties it to the brick townhomes wrapped around the site. The street in front is part of the private complex, which is why the building can overhang it, and the lobby and amenity space sit in a separate single-storey pavilion rather than a tall podium. A grid of birch trees marks the entrance.

When the suites were first marketed, the lobby was furnished by Fendi, a detail blogTO found a little over the top at the time. Whether those original pieces are still in place after fifteen years, I cannot confirm, and it does not change the value of a suite either way.

Cresford: what the developer’s collapse does and does not mean

In March 2020 a court put three Cresford projects into receivership: The Clover, Halo Residences and 33 Yorkville. All three were downtown projects that had not been built, and the lenders cited loan defaults, liens and projected cost overruns. Buyers of those projects went through real hardship, so I understand why the name makes people nervous.

NXT is a different situation. It was finished and registered in 2011, and from that point the building has been owned and run by its own condominium corporation, TSCC-2143, with its own board, reserve fund and manager. Cresford’s later finances do not reach into that reserve fund, and there is no developer debt sitting on the title of a resale suite.

What it does mean is that there is no developer left to call about original construction, and Tarion’s longest warranty coverage for a building this age has long since expired. That puts all the weight on the corporation’s own records: the reserve fund study, the engineering reports and the board minutes. That is true of any 2011 building, but here nobody else is going to step in.

Suite counts, sizes and the one-plus-den reality

Condos.ca and strata.ca both list 464 suites. A 2013 blogTO feature on the project gave 383 suites, with sizes from 687 to 1,521 sq ft, which looks like it described a different phase or the original marketing plan. I would rely on the corporation’s own documents for the count, but the resale data is consistent with the larger figure.

Strata.ca’s breakdown shows a building weighted toward smaller suites: roughly 36% one-bedrooms, 29% one-plus-dens, 26% two-bedrooms and about 11% two-plus-dens, with three-bedrooms close to non-existent. Most resale supply is in the 600 to 800 sq ft range. Ceilings are 9 feet according to blogTO, floor-to-ceiling glass is standard, and several plans use sliding doors to close off the bedroom.

If you are buying a one-plus-den as a two-bedroom substitute, look at the den on the floor plan before you look at the view. A den without a door or a window is a work nook, not a bedroom, and both a tenant and a future buyer will price it that way.

Living at the bottom of Windermere

This is the quiet end of Swansea. Sunnyside Park and the Martin Goodman Trail are a short walk south, the Humber mouth is just west, and High Park’s southern edge is within reach. Cheese Boutique, one of the city’s best-known specialty food shops, is nearby, and there is a Sobeys on The Queensway for everyday groceries. Transit details are in the data panel on this page.

The trade-off is the highway. The Gardiner and Lake Shore run between the building and the water, and the same open southern outlook that gives you the lake view also gives you traffic noise, especially on lower floors. Visit a south-facing suite on a weekday afternoon with the balcony door open before you commit.

The immediate neighbours are worth knowing. Cresford’s earlier, rounded tower, Windermere by the Lake, is across Windermere. The gated low-rise buildings of South Kingsway Village sit on Southport Street, and further up Southport, State Building Group has a proposal for two towers of 26 and 29 storeys on a former plaza site at 34 Southport. That project was still listed as pre-construction when I checked, but if it proceeds it will bring years of construction to the street and could change the outlook from some north-facing suites.

Pricing and what the fee actually buys

Condos.ca puts the building’s average at about $722 per square foot. At the time of writing there were four suites for sale and two for lease, which is thin supply for a building with more than 460 suites. All four listings were one-plus-dens in the 700 to 799 sq ft band, asking between $499,900 and $549,900.

The same four listings showed monthly fees between $695 and $744, which averages roughly $0.96 per square foot. That looks expensive next to a new Queensway building advertising $0.65, but NXT’s fee covers heat, air conditioning, parking and water. On most newer buildings parking is a separate monthly charge and heating and cooling are metered to the suite, so once you add those back the gap shrinks a great deal. Hydro is not on the inclusion list, so budget for it.

Because almost all current supply is one size and type, comparables are easy to find for a one-plus-den and much harder for a two-plus-den. If you are pricing a larger suite, ask me for the closed sales; you will not get an accurate picture from active listings alone.

Building specifications

Amenities at NXT Condos

Two pools, a sauna and a tennis court are a heavier amenity package than most buildings of this size carry, and they are part of why the fee is what it is. An on-site daycare has been reported since launch; if you are counting on it, confirm it is still operating and whether it has space.

Jatin’s honest take on NXT Condos

NXT Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at High Park-Swansea more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.