Vibe at Liberty Village, 100 Western Battery Rd: Monarch’s Park Tower

Vibe is the last of the three Monarch towers on Western Battery Road, and in my view it has the best seat of the three: it sits right over Liberty Village Park. The suites are compact, the fee includes parking and heat, and prices remain among the more reachable ways into the neighbourhood. The question with Vibe is not whether to buy here, it is which part of the building to buy in. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The third Monarch tower, and the one on the park

Monarch built its Liberty Village project in three phases: Battery Park first, then Zip at 80 Western Battery Road, and finally Vibe at number 100. Vibe and Zip were both designed by Graziani + Corazza Architects, with GENIVAR on structure and MV Shore Associates on mechanical and electrical. A 2009 construction report described Vibe as a 24-storey tower over a six-storey podium, with retail at grade, scheduled to finish in May 2010.

Architecturally, it is a concrete-and-glass tower with red brick on the base. Opinion on UrbanToronto’s forum was mixed while it was going up. One member liked the massing, the brick and the suite designs but not the pale green spandrel panels; another called it the best of the three towers, which was meant as faint praise. I would not buy here for the architecture, and I would not avoid it for that reason either.

What sets Vibe apart from its two siblings is position. It sits directly beside Liberty Village Park, which means more open sky for the suites that face it and a real patch of green as your front yard in one of the densest neighbourhoods in the city.

Podium suites and tower suites are different products

Suites range from about 379 sq ft to 1,111 sq ft, and the building splits into two parts. A forum member who followed construction described the first five floors as podium floors with 20 or more suites each, and the tower floors above with about ten suites each. That account does not quite match the six-storey podium in the construction report, so treat the exact floor count as approximate.

The practical point holds either way. Podium suites sit on long, busy corridors, tend to face neighbouring buildings or the street, and have more neighbours sharing every hallway. Tower suites have shorter corridors, more corner and view options, and on the park side, a far better outlook. They often trade at different prices per square foot for exactly these reasons.

Most suites are one-bedrooms, one-bedroom-plus-dens and compact two-bedrooms, with open-plan kitchens, balconies and large windows. Nothing here is big enough for a family that needs three real bedrooms. This is a building for singles, couples and investors.

Shared facilities and the three-tower arrangement

Vibe’s own list includes a concierge, guest suites, a media room, a meeting room and a party room, plus Beanfield Fibre in the building. Building directories also list a pool, hot tub, sauna, gym, yoga studio and rooftop patio, and one Liberty Village guide notes that residents have access to amenities at neighbouring Battery Park and Zip.

That shared access is a real benefit, since a 314-suite tower rarely has a pool of its own. It also means there is almost certainly a shared-facilities or cost-sharing agreement among the corporations. Those agreements decide who pays for what when a pool or a shared mechanical system needs major work, so read it in the status certificate and confirm how Vibe’s share is calculated.

Living on the park in Liberty Village

Liberty Village is a converted industrial district packed with mid-rise and high-rise condos, offices, cafés and restaurants, and almost everything you need day to day is a short walk. The park beside Vibe is the neighbourhood’s main green space, which makes the building’s location a little calmer than the blocks closer to King Street.

The neighbourhood is also still changing. Liberty Village keeps adding office and residential space, and the streets were not designed for the population they now carry, so weekday traffic on the few roads in and out can be slow. That is a reason many owners here do not drive daily, and a reason a parking space included in the fee is worth more on paper than it is in use. If you rarely drive, ask whether the space could be rented to another resident, subject to the corporation’s rules.

The flip side of living on the park is that the park is busy: dog owners in the morning, weekend crowds in summer. If you want a quiet balcony, ask which side your suite faces. Transit, schools and walkability details are in the data panel on this page.

What Vibe costs, and why the fee rate looks high

The building average is around $863 per square foot, a little above Zip next door at roughly $841. That premium is consistent with the park position and the slightly newer construction.

Three suites were for sale when I prepared this, asking between $475,000 and $659,000. Five more were listed for lease, which is typical of a building with a strong investor base.

Fees on current listings average about $1.09 per square foot. That includes parking, heat, air conditioning and water, plus whatever share of the shared facilities the corporation pays. Against a building where parking is a separate charge and heating and cooling run on your own meter, the real difference is smaller than the headline rate suggests. Ask whether a suite without a parking space pays the same rate.

Building specifications

Amenities at Vibe at Liberty Village

Vibe’s own rooms are the standard set for a 2010 tower. The reason the package punches above its weight is the shared access across the three Monarch buildings, which brings a pool and spa into reach for a mid-priced Liberty Village suite.

Jatin’s honest take on Vibe at Liberty Village

Vibe at Liberty Village — 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.