Lumiere, 770 Bay St: The Newer Menkes Tower at Bay and College

Lumiere is the building I suggest when someone wants Bay and College but finds the older towers on this block too dated. It is a 2011 Menkes and Lifetime tower with a three-storey podium, a rooftop amenity level under a big overhanging roof, and fees that sit near $0.90 per square foot. What it does not include, compared with its neighbour, is the part worth understanding first. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The third building on a planned block

Lumiere was not a standalone project. Wallman Architects describes it as the final piece of a site planned to hold three residential buildings, and its immediate neighbour is The Penrose at 750 Bay, an H&R tower from 1999. That history explains why the two buildings sit so close and share a block that feels like one complex from the street.

The architecture is more considered than most towers of its time. A three-storey podium holds retail at grade and a large indoor amenity floor above it. The tower itself has projecting balconies framed by a solid precast concrete wall with a pattern of coloured spandrel glass, and the top is capped by a dramatic overhanging roof that shelters a rooftop garden and amenity space.

That precast frame matters for daily life. A building that is not all glass tends to hold heat and cool better and suffers less from the greenhouse effect on south and west exposures.

The numbers do not agree, so check the registered count

Sources disagree on Lumiere’s size. Condos.ca lists 32 floors and 355 suites. UrbanToronto lists 32 storeys and 367 units. The architect’s own page says 30 storeys and 325 suites, which probably reflects an earlier design stage. The architect also lists the project as completed in 2009, while the corporation was registered in April 2011.

For a buyer this rarely changes anything, but it is a good reminder that marketing figures and final registered figures are not the same thing. If the count matters to you, for example when judging how many owners share the amenity costs, go by the condominium documents.

Suites and layouts

Condos.ca puts the suite range at about 535 to 1,262 sq ft. The current listings are mostly one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens between roughly 500 and 700 sq ft, with two-plus-den plans in the 800 sq ft range. That is a typical downtown mix, weighted toward the single professional and the investor.

Ask about the den in any one-plus-den plan. Some are true enclosed rooms that work as an office or nursery, and some are an open nook off the living room. The difference shows up in rent and resale.

Exposure matters more than floor height on this block. Suites that face the Penrose look at a neighbouring tower at close range, while those facing Bay Street or south toward the Financial District get the open views. Ask for the floor plan with the compass direction marked, and stand at the window before you make an offer.

Studio Munge did the interiors, and the building opened with the finish level Menkes was known for at the time. After fifteen years, check what has been updated inside the suite you are looking at.

Daily life at Bay and College

This corner sits between the Financial District and the university and hospital district. The University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University, the University Avenue hospitals and College Park are all an ordinary walk away, which is why so many owners and tenants here are students, residents and hospital staff.

Retail at the base of the building handles small errands. Bay Street is a major traffic and ambulance route, so if noise bothers you, ask which way the suite faces and visit in the evening.

Transit, schools and Walk Score are in the data panel on this page. The practical point is that most owners here do not need a car for daily life, which is useful because parking is not listed in the fee.

What is changing nearby is mostly more of the same: new towers keep going up along Bay and Yonge between College and Wellesley. That adds competition for tenants and resale buyers, so a suite here needs to be well kept and fairly priced to stand out.

What Lumiere costs

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $924 per square foot. That is a clear premium over The Penrose next door at roughly $751, and it reflects a building that is twelve years newer with more modern finishes.

Four suites were for sale when I checked, asking from about $448,000 up to about $759,000. Fees on those listings ranged from roughly $511 to $856 a month, which works out to about $0.91 per square foot.

That fee looks much lower than The Penrose, and it is, but the inclusions differ. Condos.ca lists heat, air conditioning, water, building insurance and common elements for Lumiere, with hydro and parking not listed. Add your own hydro and, if you need it, the cost of a parking space before you compare the two buildings side by side.

With five suites also listed for lease, there is a steady rental market here. If you are buying a specific suite and want comparables, I can pull them through my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Lumiere

The package covers the essentials well: concierge, a gym, an indoor pool, a party room and guest suites, plus the rooftop amenity level under the overhanging roof. Guest suites are a real asset in a building where most suites are one-bedrooms with no spare room for visitors. The pool is the item to watch in the reserve fund, because it is the costliest amenity to run and eventually to rebuild.

Jatin’s honest take on Lumiere

Lumiere — 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.