Neptune at Waterpark City, 209 Fort York Blvd: Club Odyssey and 861 Suites

Neptune is the busiest market in Waterpark City. With 861 suites in one corporation and more than a dozen listed for sale at any time, it is where many first-time buyers on Fort York Boulevard end up. That is a strength if you know how to read it, and a trap if you price your suite off the building average. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Two buildings, one lobby, one corporation

Waterpark City is Lanterra’s four-building community on Fort York Boulevard, on land beside the former Molson brewery: Aquarius, Atlantis, Neptune and Neptune 2, with close to 1,930 suites between them. Neptune was the final phase. Page + Steele was the architect, with IBI Group also credited, and munge//leung designed the interiors.

Despite the name, Neptune and Neptune 2 are not two identical towers. A description on UrbanToronto’s project forum breaks the package into a tall point tower, a roughly 15-storey slab and a two-storey podium, which share a lobby and some corridors but have separate elevator banks. Listing data gives 38 storeys for the tower, while the same forum post calls it 36. Mechanical floors and skipped floor numbers usually explain that kind of gap.

What matters more is that both buildings sit in one corporation, TSCC-2181, with 861 suites. That makes it one of the larger corporations in the area. A large corporation spreads big repair costs across many owners, which helps, but it also means board decisions affect a lot of people with different goals, from investors to long-term residents.

A practical point for buyers: because the tower and the slab have separate elevator banks, the suite’s building affects your daily wait and your move-in bookings. Ask the seller or the concierge which bank serves the suite, and whether there are separate rules for each building.

Club Odyssey and the rooftop garden

Waterpark City was built with two amenity clubs, Club Oasis and Club Odyssey. Neptune is the Odyssey side. Launch coverage quoted on UrbanToronto’s forum describes Odyssey on the third floor with an indoor pool, a whirlpool, saunas and a gym with an aerobics area, shared with a neighbouring building. There is also a two-storey lobby with a 24-hour concierge, a party room with a kitchen and an eighth-floor rooftop garden with a hot tub and barbecues.

A pool and sauna in your building is a real advantage for small-suite owners who would otherwise pay for a gym. But a shared club means a shared-facilities agreement. Ask for it with the status certificate, along with the cost-sharing formula, so you know what Neptune pays for and what happens when the pool is closed for repairs.

Listing data also shows guest suites, a meeting room, a parking garage and Beanfield and FibreStream internet options. It notes a pet restriction too. I could not find the specific rule, so read it in the declaration before you buy with a dog.

The suite mix: lots of small units

Suites range from about 318 sq ft to 1,576 sq ft. The large end is the penthouse level; the Globe and Mail’s launch coverage described suites from about 465 sq ft one-bedrooms to 1,500 sq ft two-bedroom-plus-den penthouses. The current market sits firmly at the small end. All eight listings I reviewed are studios, one-bedrooms or one-plus-dens under 700 sq ft.

Original finishes were granite counters, stainless appliances, engineered hardwood in the main rooms, marble in the ensuites and broadloom in the bedrooms. In suites that have not been updated, the bedroom carpet is usually the first thing a buyer wants gone, so budget for it.

In a building with this many similar suites, the details decide value: the floor, which way the suite faces, whether it is in the tower or the slab, and whether it has parking or a locker. Two 550 sq ft one-bedrooms can be worth noticeably different amounts.

Fort York Boulevard today

When Neptune went up, this was the western edge of downtown. Today it is surrounded by finished towers, with Fort York National Historic Site and the Bentway to the north and west, Coronation Park and the lake to the south, and Liberty Village a short trip north-west.

The Gardiner and Lake Shore Boulevard are close. That is convenient if you drive out of the city, and noisy for low suites facing south. Visit at rush hour if the suite faces the expressway. The data panel on this page covers transit, schools and parks.

Prices and fees at 209 and 215 Fort York Boulevard

The building averages around $833 per square foot, which is below many newer towers nearby. With small suites dominating the market, compare like with like: a one-bedroom here against one-bedrooms at Atlantis, Aquarius or the CityPlace towers.

Fourteen suites are listed for sale. The eight I reviewed ask between $359,900 for a studio and $565,000 for a one-plus-den in the 600s, with most one-bedrooms in the high $300,000s to mid $400,000s. That much supply gives a buyer real negotiating room, and it means a seller needs to price carefully.

Fees on current listings average about $0.99 per square foot, and those fees include heat and air conditioning as well as water and insurance. At launch, fees were quoted at about 40 to 41 cents per square foot, so they have more than doubled. Hydro is separate, and parking is not listed as a fee inclusion.

If the suite has a parking space, ask how it is held, since UrbanToronto’s forum reported spaces sold for about $25,000 at launch. A suite with parking will attract a wider pool of buyers and tenants than one without.

Building specifications

Amenities at Neptune and Neptune 2 at Waterpark City

Club Odyssey gives a studio or one-bedroom owner a pool, saunas and a full gym without a membership. Because it is shared, ask how its costs are split before you count it as free. For investors, the pool is also a rental selling point that many newer towers nearby cannot match.

Jatin’s honest take on Neptune and Neptune 2 at Waterpark City

Neptune and Neptune 2 at Waterpark City — 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.