WaterClub III, 218 Queens Quay W: The Shorter Tower, the Bigger Suites

WaterClub III is the WaterClub tower for people who have outgrown a one-bedroom. It is the last and shortest of Kolter’s three towers at York Street and Queens Quay, 27 storeys and 296 suites, and it skips the small studios that fill the other two. Most of what comes up for sale is a two-bedroom-plus-den facing the lake, with parking in the fee. That makes it a different purchase from its taller sisters, and it deserves to be judged on its own. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The final phase, and why shorter can be better

WaterClub is three glass towers between York Street and Queens Quay West. Phase one at 8 York Street and phase two at 208 Queens Quay rise 37 storeys each; this third phase stops at 27. SkyscraperPage records a roof height of 302 feet from the zoning by-law amendment, with 215 parking spaces in the building.

Kirkor Architects designed the complex on a podium of retail and garden-level suites and, by its own account, oriented more than 90% of the condominiums toward the lake. The site is tight, squeezed between the Gardiner and Queens Quay beside an older eight-storey parking structure, and the design turns the suites away from that.

A shorter tower has practical advantages. With 296 suites rather than 459, there are fewer people per elevator and fewer move-ins competing for the service elevator. The trade is that the upper floors here sit lower than the top floors of the sister towers, so the highest views in the complex are in phases one and two.

No studios: a two-bedroom building

condos.ca lists suites here from about 549 to 1,853 square feet. There are no sub-400-square-foot studios, which immediately separates this building from WaterClub II, where suites start at about 374 square feet. The current listings tell the same story: three of the four suites for sale were two-bedroom-plus-dens of 800 to 899 square feet.

That plan is the workhorse of this building. Two bedrooms and a den in under 900 square feet is efficient, not generous, so look at how the den is enclosed, whether the second bedroom has a window, and where the dining table goes. At the top of the range, the larger suites approach 1,900 square feet, which is a genuine family-sized or downsizer suite on the lake.

Because the building leans toward larger plans, it is likely to draw more owner-occupiers than first-time investors chasing the lowest entry price. The flip side of larger plans is fewer comparable sales in any one month, so a good agent has to reach back further in the sale history to price a suite properly.

I could not find published ceiling heights for the building, so measure in the suite if that matters to you.

Fees: parking in, hydro out

condos.ca lists the fee as covering common elements, heat, air conditioning, building insurance, parking and water. Unlike WaterClub II next door, hydro is not on the list, so you will have your own electricity bill. Parking being included still matters: most newer waterfront towers charge parking separately.

Across current listings, fees work out to about $1.12 per square foot a month, a touch higher than WaterClub II even though hydro is excluded here. Part of the reason is suite size: larger suites carry a larger share of common costs. Part may be the cost of a smaller corporation running its share of an older complex. Ask the property manager for the last three years of fee increases and the reasons for them.

Daily life at York and Queens Quay

The address puts you at the eastern end of Harbourfront, with the Toronto Island ferry docks, Harbourfront Centre and the waterfront promenade close by and the core within walking distance. WaterClub III also has an outdoor terrace with barbecue stations, which is the kind of space people use more than they expect in summer.

Summer also brings the crowds along Queens Quay, and the Gardiner and its York Street ramps are immediately north. Lake-facing suites are the reason to buy here; north-facing ones live with the highway. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability.

What it costs against the rest of the waterfront

condos.ca puts WaterClub III at about $839 per square foot on average. That is a little below WaterClub II at about $865 and below the CityPlace towers on Front Street, which is partly a function of suite size: larger suites usually sell for less per square foot than studios and one-bedrooms. For a lake-facing two-bedroom-plus-den with parking in the fee, the number is competitive.

At the time of writing there were four suites for sale and one for rent. Three two-bedroom-plus-dens of 800 to 899 square feet were asking from about $760,000 to $849,000, and the full range of listings ran up to about $1.4 million. Monthly fees across the four listings ranged from about $928 to $1,364.

The spread among those three similar two-bedroom-plus-dens is the useful detail. Same size band, same building, and close to $90,000 between the lowest and highest ask. Floor, exposure and condition are doing that work, so compare suites on those, and check the 12-month sale figures on this page before you anchor on any asking price.

Building specifications

Amenities at WaterClub III

You get the WaterClub complex’s indoor/outdoor pool and spa plus this building’s own barbecue terrace, guest suites and party and meeting rooms. Find out how the pool’s running and replacement costs are split among the three corporations before you count it as a free extra.

Jatin’s honest take on WaterClub III

WaterClub III — 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.