Opera Place II, 889 Bay St: Big Suites on Toronto’s Lost Opera House Site

Opera Place II at 889 Bay is one of the buildings I show buyers who are tired of 500-square-foot one-bedrooms. It is a 1999 mid-rise with generous layouts, a balcony on almost every suite and a fee that already covers your hydro and your parking. It also sits on one of the more interesting pieces of land in the city, the site where Ontario once planned to build its opera house. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The opera house that never was

The name is not marketing fluff. In 1984 the province promised to build an opera house on provincially owned land at Bay and Wellesley, ran a design competition, and picked a scheme by Moshe Safdie. The project was approved in 1988 and the existing buildings on the site were cleared.

After the 1990 election, the new provincial government judged the roughly $311 million project too expensive during a recession and withdrew its funding. The land was later sold to condo developers. Opera Place I at 887 Bay, Opera Place II here at 889 Bay, and The Allegro at Opera Place at 909 Bay now stand where the opera house was meant to go. Toronto’s opera company finally got its home in 2006 at the Four Seasons Centre on Queen Street.

The theme carries into the details. Floor plans here carry musical names, such as the Contralto, which is a nice touch when you are flipping through plans with a client.

Why the suites feel bigger than new builds

Suites run from about 538 to 1,301 sq ft, and the mix includes studios, one-bedrooms, one-plus-dens and one-plus-solariums, two-bedrooms and two-plus-dens. That is a wider and larger range than most towers built in the last ten years, where a one-bedroom of 500 sq ft is common.

Nearly every suite has a balcony or terrace. Listing material describes marble foyers and ensuite bathrooms, ceramic kitchen tile, solid-core entry doors and individually controlled heating and cooling. In a building of this age, assume the original broadloom and some finishes have been replaced or will need to be, and price your renovation into the offer.

The building itself is a brick and glass mid-rise of 16 storeys. It reads as a friendly street-wall building rather than a glass tower, and with 154 suites it is small enough that you will start to know the concierge and your neighbours. There is also an option many buyers do not expect: suites here have been combined in the past, so the larger plans can grow with you.

Two buildings, one community

Opera Place I and Opera Place II were built by the same developer and are marketed as one community, but they are separate condominium corporations with their own boards, budgets and reserve funds. That matters more than buyers expect. Two suites with the same floor plan, one at 887 and one at 889, can carry different fees and a different repair outlook.

The upside is choice. Between the two buildings and The Allegro to the north, there is a wider range of plans and exposures than a single 154-suite building could offer, and more recent trades to price against. If the suite you want is not available at 889, a similar one may be next door.

When I compare them for a client, I ask for the status certificate and the latest reserve fund study from each corporation and read them side by side. The building with the healthier reserve and fewer surprises in the board minutes is usually the better buy, even if its asking price is a little higher.

Bay Street at Wellesley, day to day

The ground floor has a drugstore and a café, which sounds small but saves you a lot of trips in January. Queen’s Park and the government offices, the University of Toronto, Toronto Metropolitan University and the hospital row on University Avenue are all within a walk, and Yorkville is a short walk north. The data panel shows the subway stations and walking scores.

That mix shapes who lives here: civil servants, hospital staff, professors and grad students, and downsizers who want space without leaving downtown. The blocks around Bay and Wellesley keep adding towers, so check what is planned near your suite’s view before you buy.

One more practical point: because this is a mid-rise, the upper floors do not get the long views a 50-storey tower offers, and lower suites on the Bay Street side will hear buses and traffic. Suites facing away from Bay are usually quieter. Visit at rush hour and listen with the balcony door open.

Pricing, and the hydro and parking in your fee

The building average sits around $789 per square foot. That puts it below most new towers in the Bay corridor, which is exactly the trade I explain to buyers: you give up new-build finishes and gain larger rooms, outdoor space and an older building whose reserve fund history you can actually read.

The fee looks higher than a new tower’s on paper, but it includes hydro, heat, air conditioning, water and parking. Most newer buildings meter hydro separately and charge for parking. Add those back before comparing, and the gap narrows or closes.

With only one suite listed for sale right now, a single listing tells you very little. I price suites here by blending recent trades in both Opera Place buildings and The Allegro, adjusted for size, floor and outdoor space. For actual sold prices, see the data panel or my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Opera Place II

The core package is practical: a gym, a sauna, a party room and a concierge. One listing source also mentions an indoor pool, squash court and billiards room, which may be facilities shared with Opera Place I, so ask management exactly what this building’s residents can use.

Jatin’s honest take on Opera Place II

Opera Place II — 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.