Queens Quay Terminal, 211 Queens Quay W: Living on Top of a 1927 Warehouse

Queens Quay Terminal at 211 Queens Quay West is the most unusual condo address on the Toronto waterfront. The homes sit on four floors that Eberhard Zeidler added to the roof of a 1927 harbour warehouse, above shops, offices and a dance theatre, with the lake on three sides. It is a rare, award-winning building with a small number of very large suites, and it is not for everyone. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A 1927 warehouse with homes on the roof

The building started life as the Terminal Warehouse, designed by the New York firm Moores & Dunford and opened in 1927. It was a working port building, with docks on the water side and rail tracks running through the interior.

In 1983 Eberhard Zeidler, working for Olympia & York, turned it into a mixed-use landmark. He added four floors to the original eight, cut an atrium through the middle, and put shops, restaurants and offices on the lower levels. The conversion won a Governor General’s Medal for Architecture in 1986 and an OAA Architectural Excellence Award in 1989.

The condominium suites are those four added floors, levels 9 to 12. Below you are retail on the ground floor, offices on the second, and the Fleck Dance Theatre on the third. Very few condos anywhere in Toronto sit on top of a building with this much public life inside it.

Large suites with greenhouse windows

Suites here are big: roughly 1,341 to 1,968 square feet, with larger combined units above that. The Globe and Mail reported in 2015 that the original 72 suites had become about 61 as owners joined neighbouring units together, so the building has fewer, larger homes than its registration suggests.

The signature detail is the greenhouse-style glazing on the harbour side, which brings in a lot of light and frames the water. Some suites also have interior windows that look into the landscaped atrium gardens. Because you are on the upper floors above a busy base, street noise is muted.

Views are not all permanent. The Globe noted that newer towers have blocked some older city sightlines, so the harbour-facing suites hold their value best. Ask which way a suite faces before you compare prices.

Combined suites are worth a closer look. Because owners have merged units over the years, some homes here are larger and more unusual than anything on the original plans, and they rarely come to market. If you find one, ask for the approvals that were given when the units were joined, and check that the status certificate and the unit’s legal description match what you are buying.

An all-inclusive fee and a rooftop pool

Queens Quay Terminal has an indoor pool and sauna, a rooftop garden, and a 24-hour concierge. The Globe described remodelled hallways and common areas and replanted gardens, including a green roof along the building’s edge.

The fee inclusions are among the broadest you will find: common elements, heat, air conditioning, building insurance, parking and water. Hydro and internet are the main costs left to the owner. That makes the fee look high in absolute terms but predictable year round.

Condos.ca flags pet restrictions here. Read the declaration and rules before you assume a pet is allowed, and confirm the rules on renovations too, since combining or reworking suites in a building like this needs approval.

Living above a public building

Daily life here is different from a standard tower. The base is a public destination with shops, restaurants and a theatre, and the waterfront outside fills with visitors in summer. Brookfield, the landlord of the commercial space, refreshed the retail floors in 2017, bringing in new tenants to fill vacancies.

The most useful part of that base for residents is the grocery store on the ground floor, which blogTO identified as a Sobeys at the time of the 2017 refresh. Being able to shop for groceries without going outside is a real advantage on a February evening by the lake. Tenants change, so check what is open now.

Queens Quay has been rebuilt with new bike lanes and pedestrian walkways, and the financial district is within walking distance north. The data panel on this page covers transit, groceries and walkability in detail. The trade-off for living in a landmark is that you share its doorstep with the public.

Pricing and fees at Queens Quay Terminal

The building averages about $897 per square foot, which is high for a building of this age and reflects how rare it is. Large suites usually trade at a lower price per square foot than small ones, so that figure says a lot about what buyers will pay for this address.

Because heat, air conditioning and parking are all in the fee, compare total carrying cost rather than the fee alone. A newer tower with a lower fee will often bill heating and cooling separately and charge for parking on top.

There were no suites for sale when I wrote this, which is typical for a building with only about 60 to 72 homes. Listings come up rarely, so if you want to buy here, it pays to be ready before one appears. For what suites have actually sold for, ask me for a building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Queens Quay Terminal

An indoor pool and sauna with a rooftop garden is a strong package for a building of about 60 to 72 homes. Add the shops, restaurants and theatre downstairs and the building supplies much of what you need without leaving it.

Jatin’s honest take on Queens Quay Terminal

Queens Quay Terminal — 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.