N1 N2 CityPlace, 15 Fort York Blvd: Low Fees, Parking In, Real Range

N1 N2 is the CityPlace building I point people to when they say CityPlace fees are too high. Parking, heat, water and air conditioning are in the fee, current listings work out to under $0.80 a square foot, and the suite range runs from compact one-bedrooms to some of the largest plans in the neighbourhood. It is not the newest tower on Fort York Boulevard, and it does not try to be. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Part of CityPlace’s first wave, and it shows in a good way

N1 N2 belongs to Block 4 of Concord Adex’s CityPlace master plan, the cluster that also includes West One at 11 Brunel Court and The Gallery. Block 4 was finished by late 2007, which puts this building among the first generation of towers on the former railway lands between Spadina, Bathurst and the Gardiner.

The numbers do not line up perfectly between sources, so I will tell you what each says. Listing data shows 42 storeys, 568 suites and a 2008 build year, which matches the corporation’s July 2008 registration. The CityPlace tower table on Wikipedia lists the “N” tower at 41 storeys, completed in August 2007. A floor’s difference is usually about how mechanical levels or skipped floor numbers are counted, and it does not change much for a buyer.

What does matter is that this is a first-wave tower. Early CityPlace buildings were sold before the neighbourhood existed, and they tended to include a wider spread of suite sizes than the investor-driven towers that came later. That is why you can find both a 479 sq ft one-bedroom and a 2,400 sq ft-plus suite in the same corporation.

Two addresses, one corporation

The corporation covers two addresses: the tower entrance at 15 Fort York Boulevard and 15 Brunel Court on the north side. Listings for the Brunel Court side describe it as a quieter, more boutique-feeling part of the property, while still using the same shared facilities.

This is worth understanding before you compare listings. Two suites of similar size can feel very different depending on which side of the property they face, how high they are and whether they look toward the lake, the Gardiner or the inner courtyard of Block 4. Ask which entrance and elevator bank a suite uses, and walk both.

Listings also describe amenities that are shared with neighbouring buildings, including a pool, hot tub, gyms, party room and guest suites. Shared facilities are common in CityPlace, and they come with a cost-sharing agreement between corporations. That agreement is one of the first documents I would read in the status certificate.

The suite mix is the real advantage

Most of the listing activity here sits at the small end: one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens in the 500 to 600 sq ft range, which rent easily to people working downtown. That end of the building behaves like most of CityPlace.

The other end is what separates N1 N2 from many of its neighbours. Suites approach 2,500 sq ft at the top of the range, and two-plus-den plans appear on the market regularly. Wikipedia’s summary of criticism of CityPlace notes concern that a lack of large units would keep families out of the neighbourhood. This building is one of the partial answers to that problem.

If you are a family or a downsizer who needs real space downtown, the large suites here are worth seeing before you look at a new tower where the biggest plan is a tight three-bedroom. Expect them to come up for sale less often, and expect to move quickly when one does.

Daily life on Fort York Boulevard

CityPlace is a neighbourhood people either like a great deal or find too uniform. The towers are close together, the streets are new and the retail at grade is mostly practical: groceries, coffee and services rather than destination shopping. Canoe Landing Park, the roughly eight-acre park in the middle of CityPlace, is the green space most residents use.

The Gardiner and the rail corridor are the two edges you notice. Depending on the suite, one of them is part of your view and part of your soundtrack. If noise matters to you, visit at rush hour and open the balcony door. Transit, walkability and nearby amenities are covered in the data panel on this page.

Fees, price per square foot and what is asking now

The building average is around $898 per square foot, slightly below West One next door at about $945. Both sit in a normal range for first-wave CityPlace towers, which trade below the newer Concord buildings closer to Spadina.

The more interesting number is the fee. Current listings average about $0.79 per square foot, and that figure includes parking, heat, water and air conditioning. Plenty of newer downtown buildings charge a similar or higher rate with parking billed separately and heating and cooling on a metered system. Hydro is the main utility you pay yourself here.

Three suites are listed for sale as I write this, asking between $425,000 and $950,000, from a one-bedroom in the 500s to a two-plus-den. That spread is useful because it lets you compare the price per square foot of small and large suites in the same building, which is not always the same number. Check whether the suite you are buying has a parking space and locker, since the fee rate does not always change much when it does not.

Building specifications

Amenities at N1 N2 CityPlace

On paper the building’s own list is modest, but listings describe a pool, hot tub and gyms shared with neighbouring Block 4 buildings, which is how most first-wave CityPlace towers work. In daily life that means a full set of facilities without a single building paying for all of them, as long as the sharing agreement is healthy.

Jatin’s honest take on N1 N2 CityPlace

N1 N2 CityPlace — frequently asked questions

Looking at King West, Liberty Village and CityPlace more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.