The Allegro, 909 Bay St: All-Inclusive Fees on the Opera House Site

The Allegro stands on land that was supposed to hold Toronto’s opera house. The province cancelled that project in the early 1990s and sold the site, and the condos that rose here were named after the building that never happened. What you get today is a 27-storey Bay Street tower with a full range of suite sizes and a fee that covers every utility, which is the part most buyers misread. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Built on the opera house that never was

In 1984 the province promised an opera house on provincially owned land at Bay and Wellesley. Moshe Safdie won the design competition, the project was approved in 1988, and the government offices on the site were cleared. After the 1990 election the new government pulled the funding, and the land was eventually sold to condominium developers.

The result is a small cluster: Opera Place at 887 and 889 Bay, completed in 1999, and The Allegro just to the north. Classical music writers have pointed out the irony of naming condos after the project the province killed. For a buyer, the practical point is simpler: this is a planned, coordinated block rather than a lone tower squeezed onto a lot.

Morguard is a large, long-established real estate owner and manager, and it built Opera Place 1 here as well. That does not tell you anything about this building’s current condition, which is what the status certificate is for, but it does mean the original developer was not a one-project company.

A full range of suite sizes

The Allegro was built with almost every suite type: bachelors, one-bedrooms with and without dens, two-bedrooms with and without dens, and three-bedrooms. A rental manager’s profile gives bachelors at about 476 square feet, one-bedrooms from about 498 to 740, two-bedrooms from about 859 to 1,188 and three-bedrooms from about 1,188 to 1,480.

condos.ca records suites up to about 3,583 square feet, well beyond the standard plans, which suggests penthouse or combined suites at the top. If you are looking at anything unusually large, check the condominium plan to see how it was created.

Most suites have balconies and some have patios, according to the same profile, which also says upper suites facing east have lake views. I would confirm any view claim from inside the suite, since Bay Street has added several towers since this one was built.

The fee covers everything, so compare it properly

Fees here include common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, building insurance, water and parking. The rental manager’s profile describes utilities as all included. Very few Toronto towers include hydro, and parking in the fee is also less common than it used to be.

Current listings work out to about $0.99 per square foot in fees, with monthly amounts from about $500 to about $700 for one-bedrooms. That looks high next to a new tower quoting $0.70. Add back hydro, cooling and a parking space to the newer building and the difference shrinks considerably.

Bundled utilities have a cost, too. Heavy users are subsidised by light ones, and the corporation absorbs rising electricity and gas rates. Ask how utility lines in the budget have moved and whether the board has considered sub-metering.

One more point for buyers who do not drive. If parking is bundled into the common expenses, you may be paying for it whether or not you use a space. Find out whether the suite actually comes with a space, and whether the declaration lets owners lease a space to another resident, before you count it as part of the value.

Daily life at Bay and Wellesley

This is a working part of downtown. The provincial government offices and the Legislature at Queen’s Park are close, the University of Toronto is to the west, the hospital district on University Avenue is a walk south and west, and Yorkville’s shops are to the north. Many buyers here work in one of those places and want to walk.

Bay Street has filled in around the building. Wellesley on the Park, The Britt and several newer towers now surround the intersection, which adds street life and retail but also construction and, for some suites, lost views. The panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability in detail.

Pricing against Opera Place and the newer Bay towers

condos.ca puts The Allegro’s average at about $869 per square foot. That is slightly above its Opera Place siblings, at about $847 for 887 Bay and about $789 for 889 Bay, and above the older 1001 Bay at about $739. It sits below the newer towers nearby: Burano at about $914, The Britt at about $989 and Wellesley on the Park at about $1,028.

So you pay a premium over the 1990s buildings for a slightly newer, taller tower with an all-inclusive fee, and a discount to the newest Bay Street product. With hydro and parking in the fee, I think the real monthly cost here is lower than the headline numbers suggest.

At the time of writing, three suites were listed for sale; the two one-bedrooms I could see were asking from about $520,000 to about $559,000, with fees from about $500 to about $700. No suites were listed for rent.

With 268 suites, there is usually enough sales activity to price from the building’s own history. For aggregate sold figures, see my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Allegro

The amenities are practical rather than showy: a concierge, a gym with a sauna, party and meeting rooms and visitor parking. There is no pool listed, which keeps the corporation’s running costs down, and the University of Toronto and downtown fitness clubs are close by for anyone who needs more.

Jatin’s honest take on The Allegro

The Allegro — 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.