Canary Park, 120 Bayview Ave: Living in the Former Pan Am Athletes’ Village

Canary Park is one of very few Toronto condos whose first residents were international athletes. The building housed competitors at the 2015 Pan Am and Parapan Am Games before it was refitted as condos, and it sits on the edge of Corktown Common in a neighbourhood that was planned from scratch. That makes it one of the more interesting buys east of downtown, as long as you understand what the refit means for the suite you are looking at. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

From athletes’ village to condominium

Waterfront Toronto had been planning the West Don Lands for years when the province asked, in 2009, whether the Pan Am Athletes’ Village could go there. Dundee Kilmer won the contract, and the first phase, Canary Park and the neighbouring Canary District Condominiums, was used as temporary housing for athletes and officials in the summer of 2015.

The Globe and Mail’s pre-Games tour described Canary Park as two mid-rise buildings with dormitory-style interiors: no kitchens, temporary walls turning two-bedrooms into three-bedrooms, and basic broadloom in the halls. After the Games, the developer had six to eight months to install kitchens, take out the temporary walls, upgrade the corridors and finish the suites. Waterfront Toronto says permanent occupancy began in the spring of 2016.

The Canary name comes from the Canary Restaurant, a diner that served this corner for decades. The district around it was built to Waterfront Toronto’s precinct plan, and every building was designed to LEED Gold.

Two mid-rise buildings, not a tower

Canary Park is two connected mid-rise blocks of up to 15 storeys rather than a single point tower. One listing database records the south building alone at 186 units, which tells you the north side carries the larger share. The suite count is quoted anywhere from 437 to 441, so confirm the exact figure on the status certificate.

Listing data puts suite sizes from about 406 sq ft to about 1,435 sq ft, a wider range than most downtown condos, and current listings run from studios to two-bedrooms. Because the floor plates were finished after the Games, layouts were set before the athletes moved in; the temporary partitions were what came out.

On the architecture, sources differ in emphasis. Waterfront Toronto credits the Canary District to a four-firm design team of architectsAlliance, KPMB, Daoust Lestage and MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller, while new-home listing sites credit Canary Park itself to Page + Steele / IBI Group, with interiors by Studio Munge.

What the Games history means for a buyer today

Ten years on, the athletes’ village story is mostly a talking point, but it still has two practical effects. First, the whole of Canary Park was finished and handed over at roughly the same time, so the finishes, appliances and in-suite equipment across the building are all of the same age and will come due together.

Second, the refit was done on a fixed deadline across hundreds of suites at once. That does not mean anything was done badly, and I have no evidence that it was. It does mean it is worth asking the seller, and the property manager, whether the suite has had any repairs to flooring, kitchens or partition walls since 2016.

The positive side of the same history is quality of planning. The streets, parks, courtyards and community buildings around Canary Park were designed together under Waterfront Toronto’s precinct plan and design review. Very few condo buyers in Toronto get a neighbourhood that was planned this carefully before the first resident moved in.

A planned neighbourhood on Front Street

The Canary District runs from Cherry Street to Bayview Avenue and from Mill Street up to Eastern Avenue. Front Street was rebuilt as a wide, tree-lined promenade and is meant to be the main street, with the ground-floor retail themed around health and wellness. Mid-block courtyards give pedestrians routes through each block.

Canary Park sits at the east end, beside Corktown Common, the 18-acre park that opened in 2013 and has won several design awards. The Cooper Koo Family YMCA, a George Brown College residence and the Don River trails are all part of the same district, and the Distillery District is a short walk west. Transit, schools and parks are listed in the data panel.

The trade-off with a master-planned neighbourhood is that it is still filling in. Newer Canary District blocks, including Canary Block and Canary Commons, have since been completed, and more is planned along the waterfront to the south. Expect construction nearby for years, and check what your suite will face.

What Canary Park costs

There is no reliable building-wide average per square foot in the data I have for Canary Park. Working from the size bands on current listings asking prices land roughly between $730 and $890 per square foot. For context, nearby Canary District buildings average about $864 at Canary District Condominiums, $850 at Canary Commons, $792 at Canary Block and $917 at River City Phase 3.

Four suites are listed for sale right now, from a studio to a two-bedroom, asking between about $365,000 and $669,000. Their fees range from roughly $432 to $893 a month, which works out to about $1.06 per square foot. That is high on its face.

The context is what the fee covers: heat, air conditioning and water, as well as common elements and insurance. Many newer buildings in the district bill heat and cooling to each suite. When you compare, add those utilities back onto the cheaper fee. For sold prices and rents, see the data panel or my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Canary Park

The amenity list is practical rather than showy: a rooftop deck with barbecues, a party room, guest suites and a concierge. There is no pool to fund, and you do not need one, because the YMCA is part of the same district and Corktown Common is next door.

Jatin’s honest take on Canary Park

Canary Park — frequently asked questions

Looking at St. Lawrence, the Financial District and Downtown Yonge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.