Published 30 August 2026 · Updated 29 September 2026 · By Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty
What's Your Home Worth Right Now?
Get a free AI-powered price range for your property in under 90 seconds, based on recent GTA comparable sales. No name or address required.
Get My Free Estimate →
Costco is a genuine draw for buyers on this corridor and a genuine factor in why people buy here. It is also, for almost every condominium on The Queensway, a drive rather than a walk.
Costco is one of the most-searched things about this area — hours, gas prices, pharmacy, “is Costco Queensway open today”. It is a genuine draw and a genuine factor in why people buy here. It is also, for almost every condo on this corridor, a drive.
The honest walkability picture
The Queensway is a big-box corridor. That is its history — a service road beside a highway, lined with large-format retail. What it is not is a corridor where you carry a flat-pack home on foot.
- Costco — close to the corridor, easy by car, effectively never a walk from a Queensway condo. Also not a top-up shop; you still need a supermarket.
- Sherway Gardens — the major mall at the west end, near 1900 The Queensway. A drive from anywhere east of about 1300.
- Kipling Queensway Mall (1255 The Queensway) — mid-corridor, genuinely walkable from buildings around 1100–1400.
- IKEA, HomeSense, Canadian Tire — all in the same big-box belt. All car trips.
What is actually walkable, by building
The pattern across every category I have measured on this corridor is consistent:
- East end (roughly 620–960) — the independent cluster. Restaurants, dentists, groomers, salons, cafés, and Cosimo’s NoFrills at 748. This is the walking neighbourhood.
- Mid-corridor (roughly 1000–1300) — Longo’s at 1055, the Cineplex at 1025, Kipling Queensway Mall at 1255. Walkable to mid-size retail, not to independents.
- West end — Sherway and the big-box belt. A driving neighbourhood.
The point
“Close to Costco and Sherway” appears in a great deal of listing copy for this corridor. It is true in the sense that they are nearby by car. It is not true in the sense that most buyers hear it, which is that you can pop out on foot.
If car-free living is the goal, buy at the east end. If big-box convenience and highway access are the goal, the west end genuinely delivers — and it is cheaper. Just choose deliberately rather than on a Walk Score.
Why this matters if you are buying here
Big-box retail is the reason a large share of The Queensway’s traffic exists, and it is simultaneously the corridor’s convenience and its main drawback. Being able to do a warehouse shop without leaving your neighbourhood is genuinely useful; living on the route everybody else takes to do the same is the cost.
The Queensway condominium corridor is mostly mid-rise stock from roughly 2015 onward, sitting directly on the retail frontage rather than behind it. That produces a specific kind of daily life — most errands on foot, both the Gardiner Expressway and Highway 427 close by car, and an arterial road as the front yard.
The due diligence that actually applies
- Which side of the street, and how high. Stand in the bedroom with the window open at a busy hour. Two units in one building can be very different products on this variable alone.
- The reserve fund, against the age of the corporation. These buildings are young, so a low fee is arithmetic rather than evidence of good management. Ask whether the first reserve fund study update has happened and what it did to the required contribution.
- What the fee includes. Utilities are usually separately metered here. Add your own estimated bills before comparing against an older all-inclusive Etobicoke building.
- Parking and locker status. Owned unit, exclusive-use common element, or rented — only the first two convey.
- What is proposed next door. The corridor is still developing, so the low-rise or parking lot beside a building may not stay that way. The City’s development application records are public.
Thinking about buying or selling here?
I work this area every week and I will give you a straight answer, including when the answer is to wait. No pressure, and no drip campaign you cannot get out of.
Call or text 833-330-1925 Send me a message
Jatin Dua, Broker of Record — RE/MAX Quantum Realty Inc., Brokerage. Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers currently under contract with another brokerage.
Frequently asked questions
What big-box stores are near The Queensway?
The corridor and the surrounding area carry a substantial cluster of warehouse, home improvement, furniture and general merchandise retail, which is unusual to have within a walk or a very short drive of residential density. Specific banners, locations and hours change, so confirm directly rather than relying on a general answer.
Is traffic bad on The Queensway?
It is a busy arterial and the big-box cluster adds weekend and evening demand on top of the commuter pattern. Which block you are on, which side of the street you face and what floor you are on all change how much of that reaches you. Stand in the actual bedroom with the window open at a busy hour before deciding.
Is it worth living near big-box shopping?
It depends on how you shop. Not needing to drive twenty minutes for a bulk shop or a home improvement run is a real convenience, particularly for a household without a second car. Against that, retail parking traffic and delivery vehicles are part of daily life on the corridor.
Does retail traffic hurt condo values on The Queensway?
It is priced in rather than ignored, which is why units facing the arterial trade differently from units facing the neighbourhood behind. What supports value here is the walkable retail and services frontage; what discounts individual units is the specific exposure to the road. Choose the unit accordingly.
How do I get to the big-box stores without a car?
Most of the cluster is within a walk or a short surface transit trip from the residential parts of the corridor, which is unusual for warehouse retail in Toronto. Bulk shopping on foot has obvious limits, so many residents here keep a car and simply use it less than they would elsewhere in Etobicoke.
Which is quieter, The Queensway or Humber Bay Shores?
Neither is quiet, but the noise is different. The Queensway has arterial and retail traffic at street level; Humber Bay Shores has Lake Shore Boulevard and the Gardiner, with north-facing units most exposed. In both, floor and exposure matter more than the corridor. Visit at a busy hour before deciding.
Sources
- City of Toronto — Planning and Development — current and proposed development along The Queensway corridor. Accessed 10 September 2026.
- Toronto Transit Commission — surface routes serving The Queensway and connections to Line 2. Accessed 10 September 2026.
- TRREB Market Watch, August 2026 — the Etobicoke average sale price of $1,049,793 across 243 sales. Accessed 10 September 2026.
Related reading
- The Queensway, Etobicoke: the reference guide to the corridor
- Shopping and amenities on The Queensway
- Every condo building on The Queensway
- Grocery stores on The Queensway: the real options
- 1255 The Queensway and the Kipling Queensway Mall
Compiled from public sources and the City of Toronto planning record where applicable. Believed accurate but not guaranteed; corrections welcome. Not intended to solicit buyers or sellers under contract with another brokerage. E.&O.E.
Thinking about buying on The Queensway?
Tell me which building or stretch of the corridor you are looking at and I will send the actual sold and lease comparables from TRREB, an honest read on the location, and what the status certificate is likely to show. No obligation, and I will tell you if the answer is don’t buy it.
Tell me what you are planning
Three quick answers so I come back with something useful, usually the same day.
Or call Jatin Dua, Broker of Record, RE/MAX Quantum Realty · 833-330-1925
About the author — Jatin Dua, Etobicoke real estate agent
I am Jatin Dua, Broker of Record at RE/MAX Quantum Realty Inc., Brokerage, Unit 101, 799 The Queensway in Etobicoke, with more than four years of active GTA transactions and over $100M in sales volume. My office is on this street, so the local detail here comes from walking it rather than from a directory.
Reach me at [email protected] or 833-330-1925.