Aquabella at Bayside, 118 Merchants’ Wharf: 3XN’s Terraced Waterfront Condo

Aquabella is the building on the Toronto waterfront that looks like a stack of offset boxes, and that shape is the whole point. Danish architects 3XN stepped the terraces so more suites face the lake and the outdoor space works like an extra room. It is also the most expensive of the Bayside buildings per square foot, so the question is whether you are buying the terrace or just paying for it. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The third building at Bayside

Bayside is the Hines and Tridel community on Queens Quay East, east of Sherbourne Common. Aquabella was the third of four buildings, following Aqualina and Aquavista, both designed by Miami’s Arquitectonica. The final phase, Aqualuna, was announced in 2018, the same year ground was broken for Aquabella.

Hines ran a design competition for each Bayside phase, and for Aquabella the winner was the Danish firm 3XN, which later designed Aqualuna as well. Kirkor Architects was architect of record for all four phases, Scott Torrance did the landscaping and II BY IV DESIGN the interiors. The City of Toronto describes the building as including 174 condominium suites, a city-owned childcare centre and retail at grade.

Sources differ on height. Listing data shows 12 storeys, while UrbanToronto’s 2016 and 2018 coverage described a 14-storey building. The difference may reflect how the stepped upper levels are counted, but confirm it on the status certificate if it matters to your suite.

The design was well received before a shovel went in. Tridel said at the 2018 groundbreaking that Aquabella had won three BILD awards in 2017 and that only 8 of its 174 suites were left unsold. A new public space, Aitken Place Park, was planned to separate the first two Bayside phases from Aquabella and Aqualuna.

Stepped terraces as outdoor rooms

The building is L-shaped, and the massing steps back toward the roof to open more views to the water. Those setbacks create large landscaped terraces that the architects designed to function as outdoor rooms. The facade is articulated into a pixel-like pattern rather than a flat glass wall.

Suite sizes reflect that ambition. At launch, plans ran from about 551 sq ft one-bedrooms to a 4,326 sq ft suite at the top, with one- to three-bedroom layouts. Few downtown buildings this size offer anything close to that upper range.

Not every suite has one of the large terraces. For everyone else, there is a seventh-floor amenity terrace with an outdoor pool and cabanas, so all residents get a share of the view. When you compare two suites here, measure the outdoor space as carefully as the indoor space, because that is where much of the price difference sits.

A greener building than most

Aquabella met the City’s Toronto Green Standard Tier 2 and was on track for LEED Platinum, according to the City’s project profile. Each suite has an energy recovery ventilator, which brings in fresh outdoor air while recovering most of the heat or coolness from the air going out.

There are practical features too. The garage was built with 29 spaces already wired with EV chargers and another 59 roughed in, and there are 166 long-term bike spaces. Rainwater from the roofs and terraces is stored in a cistern and used for irrigation.

None of this shows up in the listing photos, but it affects daily comfort and running costs. Ask whether the EV-equipped spaces are assigned or shared, and how charging is billed.

The sustainability work also matters at resale. Buyers are starting to ask about ventilation, energy use and EV charging, and a building that was designed for them from the start is easier to sell than one that has to retrofit.

Living on Queens Quay East

East Bayfront has changed from parking lots and industrial land to one of the newest parts of the waterfront. You are on the water’s edge promenade, with Sherbourne Common and Sugar Beach close by and the George Brown waterfront campus nearby. The St. Lawrence Market and the Distillery District are walkable. Transit and school details are in the data panel.

This part of the waterfront is still building out, with the final Bayside phase and other new development under way nearby. Expect construction and growing foot traffic for years, and check which neighbouring sites your suite faces.

The Bayside premium

The building average sits around $1,076 per square foot. That is the highest of the Bayside buildings: Aqualina averages about $955 and Aquavista about $978. It is also above Pier 27, the other high-end waterfront condo to the west, at about $1,032.

The fee covers only common elements and building insurance. Heat, hydro and water are not listed as included, and neither is parking. That is a thinner list than at Aqualina next door, where parking and water are included, so add those costs back when you compare.

Keep in mind that a building average blends very different products. A compact one-bedroom on a lower floor and a large terraced suite near the top do not trade on the same per-square-foot basis, so compare a suite against similar suites in the building, not against the average.

Two suites are listed for sale right now, asking between about $549,000 and $1,498,000, with fees from roughly $476 to $1,429 a month. That spread shows how wide the range is here, from compact one-bedrooms to large terraced plans. For sold prices and rents, see the data panel or my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Aquabella at Bayside

The outdoor pool and cabanas on the seventh-floor terrace are the signature amenity, and in a building with lake views they get real use in summer. The list is otherwise compact, with a concierge and a gym, which is fair for 174 suites, but an outdoor pool on a terrace is costly to maintain, so watch how it is funded in the reserve.

Jatin’s honest take on Aquabella at Bayside

Aquabella at Bayside — 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.