Elev’n Residences, 1121 Bay St: Parking and Hydro in the Fee Near Yorkville

Elev’n Residences at 1121 Bay Street is a building I bring up when a buyer wants Yorkville’s doorstep without Yorkville’s price per foot. It is a 2003 tower of about 156 suites at the corner of Bay and Charles, with a fee that covers parking, hydro and heat. That fee looks expensive until you take it apart, and the building’s age is the real thing to study. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A white-concrete tower at Bay and Charles

Elev’n is a slim tower of white concrete and glass over a street-level coffee shop, on the corner where Charles Street meets Bay. It is about 69 metres tall, which matches the 21 storeys most descriptions give it. Condos.ca lists only 5 storeys; the original 1998 planning application shows five levels of underground parking, which may be where that figure came from.

That 1998 City of Toronto report is worth knowing about. It covered 1115 and 1121 Bay at the south-east corner of Bay and Charles, proposed 21 storeys plus mechanical, about 154 suites split almost evenly between one- and two-bedrooms with only a handful of bachelors, and roughly 280 square metres of retail at grade. The final building has about 156 suites, so the plan largely held.

The architect was Page + Steele, now part of IBI Group, a firm behind many Toronto towers of this era. The application was filed through numbered Ontario companies, and the developer is not clearly named in the sources I could find, so if the builder’s history matters to you, ask for it in the disclosure documents rather than relying on a listing.

With about 156 suites in a 21-storey tower, the suite count per floor is modest, roughly seven or eight. That gives the building a calmer lobby and shorter elevator queues than the 400-suite towers further south on Bay.

Bigger one-plus-dens and real two-bedrooms

The size range runs from about 475 to 1,460 sq ft. Current listings show one-plus-dens in the 500 to 700 sq ft range and two-bedrooms of around 900 sq ft and up, which is generous next to the newer Bay Street towers where a two-bedroom is often closer to 650.

Layouts from the early 2000s tend to have proper walls around bedrooms and more closet space than today’s suites. The trade-off is older kitchens and bathrooms unless a previous owner renovated, so price the renovation into your offer if the suite is original.

Higher floors look north toward Bloor and Yorkville or east and west across the Bay Street corridor. This stretch has seen a lot of new tall towers, so check what has been built or proposed around the suite you like before you pay for a view.

The fee: parking, hydro and heat bundled in

Condos.ca lists common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, building insurance, parking and water in the fee. Having both parking and hydro included is unusual downtown, and it changes how you should compare this building with its neighbours.

Current listings work out to about $1.54 per sq ft in fees, according to condos.ca, which looks high next to a new tower at $0.75. Add back the cost of renting a parking space near Bloor, a hydro bill and heating, and the gap closes much more than the headline number suggests. Confirm that parking is truly included for the suite you are buying. The 1998 application proposed about 104 spaces for roughly 154 suites, so not every suite is likely to have one.

A fee that bundles utilities also exposes owners to energy price increases, which land in the budget rather than on your own bill. Look at the last few years of fee changes in the status certificate to see how the board has handled that.

Living between Yorkville and Queen’s Park

Day to day, you are a short walk south of Bloor Street and Yorkville’s shops and restaurants, with the University of Toronto and Queen’s Park to the west and the Church-Wellesley village to the east. Charles Street is quieter than Bay, and the coffee shop at grade makes the corner a little more lived-in than most of this office-heavy strip.

This part of Bay is still changing, with tall residential towers going up on several nearby blocks. That adds amenities and retail over time, but it also means construction noise and lost views for some suites. Check the City of Toronto development applications map for anything planned next door.

For commuters, the building sits between the Yonge and University subway branches, and the automatic transit panel on this page shows the nearest stations. If you walk to work and keep a car for weekends, the bundled parking is the part of the fee that pays for itself.

What Elev’n Residences costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $879 per square foot. That is a premium over many older downtown buildings, and I think it reflects two things: the Bloor-Yorkville location and the fact that a parking space is often part of the deal here.

When I checked, four suites were for sale and two were for lease. Asking prices across those four listings ran from about $595,000 to $929,000, with fees from about $930 to $1,454 a month.

Those fees are large in dollar terms, so run the full carrying cost, including taxes and the parking you are not paying separately, before you compare with a newer building. For the real recent trades, ask me for the building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Elev’n Residences

A sauna and a rooftop deck are the standouts in an otherwise practical package of concierge, gym, party room and meeting room. The roof deck matters more here than usual, because outdoor space is scarce this close to Bloor. There is no pool listed, so if swimming matters, the nearby university and city facilities are your options, and you should budget for that separately.

Jatin’s honest take on Elev’n Residences

Elev’n Residences — 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.