Polo Club I, 1055 Bay St: A 1987 Bay Tower With Squash and Hydro Included

Polo Club I is the original of the two Polo Club towers, and one of the first condo buildings on the stretch of Bay Street north of Wellesley. It was finished in 1987, it still includes hydro in the fee, and its amenity list leans toward squash and a whirlpool rather than the rooftop lounges of newer buildings. Very few suites come up at any one time, so when one does you need to know what you are looking at. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The first of the Polo Club pair

Polo Club I came first, in 1987, and its sister tower Polo Club II followed at 44 St. Joseph Street a year later. They are separate condominium corporations, MTCC-734 and MTCC-794, with their own boards, budgets and reserve funds, even though they share a name and a manager.

Together with 1001 Bay Street, the two Polo Club buildings founded the Bay Corridor Community Association, the residents’ group that now represents condo owners across the area between College and Charles Streets. When you are buying into a 1980s building, a neighbourhood where owners have stayed organised for decades is a good sign.

At 22 storeys, this is a mid-height tower by today’s standards. Many of the newer buildings that have gone up around it are far taller, which affects views from the lower and middle floors here. Ask what has been approved or proposed nearby before you pay for a view.

Squash, a whirlpool and a sauna

The amenity list reflects the era. Instead of a pet spa or co-working lounge, Polo Club I has a squash court, a whirlpool and a sauna, along with concierge and security staff and an underground garage.

A squash court is now rare in a condo. If you play, it is a real reason to look here; if you don’t, it is simply a room the building maintains. Either way, ask the property manager when the courts and the whirlpool were last refurbished and what the reserve fund study sets aside for them.

The building has concierge and security staff. On a busy section of Bay Street, that front-desk presence is worth more day to day than most of the amenities on any list.

Hydro in the fee, parking not listed

The maintenance fee covers common elements, heat, air conditioning, hydro, building insurance and water. Bundled hydro is now unusual, since nearly every building finished in the last 20 years puts each suite on its own meter.

That makes the fee look high on paper against a newer tower, and the comparison is not fair unless you add back a monthly hydro bill to the newer building. Do that math on any suite you are considering.

Parking is not shown as a fee inclusion in the building profile. Confirm whether a particular suite comes with a space and a locker, and whether either carries its own monthly charge.

Bay and St. Joseph day to day

The building sits on Bay Street at St. Joseph, a block north of Wellesley. You are among offices, grocery stores and services, with Yorkville to the north-west and the Yonge Street strip a short walk east.

Bay Street is a major north-south route, so suites facing Bay hear it, especially at lower levels. Suites on the quieter sides tend to suit light sleepers better. Transit, schools and Walk Score are shown in the automatic panel on this page.

How to think about price at 1055 Bay

Polo Club I trades thinly. When I wrote this there was only one suite for sale and three for rent, which is common in a 335-suite building where many owners stay for years. That means asking prices on any given day tell you very little, and I will not quote a single listing’s price or fee here.

The best guide is the sister building. Polo Club II at 44 St. Joseph Street averages about $696 per square foot on condos.ca, and 1001 Bay Street, a 1990 neighbour, averages about $739. Polo Club I is of the same era and has the same manager, so read its prices in that context rather than against new towers like 1 Thousand Bay, which averages about $1,015.

Another useful comparable is the Century Plaza at 24 Wellesley Street West, a 1991 tower of 349 suites that also bundles hydro into the fee and averages about $654 per square foot. Between the Century Plaza, Polo Club II and 1001 Bay, you have three buildings of roughly the same vintage and size within a few minutes’ walk, and that gives you a realistic range for older Bay corridor stock of about $650 to $740 per square foot.

Where a suite here lands within that range depends on condition more than anything. A renovated suite with a refreshed kitchen and bathrooms will sit at the top; an original suite will sit at the bottom, and should, because you will be paying for the work.

Before you make an offer, look at the building’s actual sold history for your layout and floor. Ask me for the building sold report, which uses aggregate figures from the TRREB MLS System.

Building specifications

Amenities at Polo Club I

Squash, a whirlpool and a sauna make this a better fit for someone who wants to work out and unwind in the building than for someone who wants social lounges. The staffed front desk matters more on Bay Street than any of them. The building profile I worked from does not list a pool, unlike Polo Club II’s, so confirm the full amenity list with management; a pool is one of the most expensive long-term costs a building can carry.

Jatin’s honest take on Polo Club I

Polo Club I — 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.