Aqua Condos, 410 Queens Quay W: Mid-Size Waterfront Building, Hydro In

Aqua is what I suggest to waterfront buyers who find the big Queens Quay towers too busy. It is 16 storeys and 273 suites at Lower Spadina, with a rooftop deck, a fee that covers hydro and heat, and enough sales each year to price a suite properly. The fee per square foot is the number to understand before you fall for the view. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A smaller building on a street of big ones

At 16 storeys and 273 suites, Aqua is modest by Queens Quay standards. The Waterclub towers to the east run to 37 storeys and more than a thousand suites between them. That difference shows up in daily life: fewer people waiting for elevators, a lobby where staff know faces, and a corporation small enough that owners can follow what the board is doing.

One listing site describes it as a 57-metre concrete building. Two listing sites credit Monarch as the developer, and one names Graziani + Corazza as the architect, a firm that has designed many Toronto towers. The listing data on condos.ca does not name a developer, so treat those credits as likely rather than certain.

The corner matters. Aqua sits where Lower Spadina meets Queens Quay, with Harbour Terrace across the street on the water side and HTO Park nearby. You are at the quieter west end of the central waterfront, not in the crowds at York Street.

Layouts from studio to penthouse

Suites range from about 390 sq ft studios to roughly 1,710 sq ft at the top of the building. One listing site gives typical plans of about 835 to 975 sq ft for two-bedrooms and around 840 sq ft for a one-bedroom-plus-den, with penthouse two-bedrooms also on offer.

Most current resale activity is in one-bedrooms in the 600 to 699 sq ft range. That is a practical size for a single owner or a couple and the easiest size to rent. The larger two-bedrooms are where downsizers and families land, and there are fewer of them, so they can take longer to find.

Listings describe open-concept plans, large windows and granite counters. In a 2003 building, though, original finishes are common and so are renovated ones. Price the suite by its condition, not by the building.

What the fee covers, and what it does not

According to the fee data, Aqua’s fee includes common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, water and building insurance. Having hydro included is unusual downtown, and it makes monthly costs easy to predict.

Parking is not in the fee inclusions for this building, unlike several of its neighbours. If a suite comes with a spot, ask whether there is a separate charge for it and whether it is owned or assigned. If there is no spot, check how easy it is to rent one nearby.

The fee per square foot here runs about $1.20 on current listings, which is high. Part of that is hydro, and part of it is scale: a 273-suite building spreads its fixed costs, such as concierge and security, over fewer owners than a 450-suite tower. Ask for the last few years of budgets so you can see where the money goes.

Living at the Lower Spadina end of the waterfront

The west end of the central waterfront is different from the York Street end. There are fewer tour groups and event crowds, and the parks along the water, including HTO Park beside Harbour Terrace, give the area a more residential feel. For many owners, that is the reason they chose Aqua over a tower further east.

You are also a short walk from the larger neighbourhoods to the north, across the Gardiner. Transit, schools, walkability and nearby restaurants are covered in the data panel on this page, so I will not repeat them here.

The practical point for a buyer is light and view. Aqua is not tall, and taller buildings sit around it, so a suite’s outlook depends heavily on its floor and direction. A higher south-facing suite and a lower north-facing suite are effectively different products, and they should be priced that way.

What Aqua costs

The building average is about $822 per square foot. That is in line with Waterclub I and well below the Riviera’s roughly $952, even though Aqua also includes hydro in its fee.

Current one-bedroom listings in the 600 to 699 sq ft band ask between $498,000 and $639,000. That is a wide spread for similar sizes, and it usually reflects view, floor and renovation. A higher floor with an open lake view is worth paying for; a dated suite looking into a neighbour is not worth the top of the range.

Fees on those one-bedrooms run from about $763 to $801 a month, which is higher than many comparable suites nearby. Add the hydro you would otherwise pay and the gap narrows, but it does not disappear. On a carrying-cost basis, Aqua is a building to compare carefully, not one to assume is cheap because the price per square foot is.

A larger two-bedroom was also on the market at the time I checked, but one listing is not a range, so I will not quote it. If you are shopping for a bigger suite here, expect to compare against recent sales and against similar suites in neighbouring waterfront buildings.

Building specifications

Amenities at Aqua Condos

There is no pool here, and that is part of why the building is calmer and simpler to run than its neighbours. The rooftop deck is the amenity owners will actually use, so go up and look at its condition and furniture before you buy. The meeting and multimedia rooms are useful if you work from home and want somewhere other than your living room for calls.

Jatin’s honest take on Aqua Condos

Aqua Condos — frequently asked questions

Looking at King West, Liberty Village and CityPlace more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.