Backstage on the Esplanade, 1 The Esplanade: Rooftop Pool, High Fees

Backstage on the Esplanade is the building I show people who want to live at the foot of Yonge Street in something under ten years old with a pool. It sits right behind the city’s big Front Street theatres, which is where the name comes from. The catch is the monthly fee, which runs well above what most buyers expect for a building this young, and you need to understand why before you fall for the location. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A slim tower on a curving corner

The site is an awkward one. The Esplanade bends as it meets Yonge, and the building’s limestone-faced podium follows that curving property line rather than squaring it off. UrbanToronto’s coverage at handover noted the podium, two retail spaces just east of Yonge, and light porcelain panels on the east and west faces meant to tie the pale base to the darker tower above.

The design team is a strong one for a building of this size. Page + Steele / IBI Group did the architecture, Studio Munge (formerly Munge Leung) did the interiors and amenity floors, and Claude Cormier + Associés, the firm behind Sugar Beach and the Berczy Park fountain, did the public landscaping.

The developers are a known trio: Cityzen and Fernbrook also built Pier 27 on the waterfront, and Castlepoint Numa is a long-time downtown land developer. Condos.ca leaves the developer field blank, so if you are comparing builder track records, use the UrbanToronto credits, not the listing portal.

The amenity floors and the rooftop pool

The amenities are concentrated on the fifth, sixth and seventh floors, which is unusual. You get fitness and yoga space with steam rooms, a party room and a private cinema, and on top of the podium there is a pool of roughly 70 feet with a garden around it. For a 284-suite building, that is a big package.

Condos.ca also lists concierge, guest suites, a media room, a rec room, a rooftop deck and a sauna, plus Beanfield fibre in the building. That last one matters if you work from home in a tower where every suite is competing for the same lines.

The early marketing promised a direct connection to the PATH. I have not been able to confirm from a current source that the link was built as advertised, so ask the listing agent or management before you count on walking to the financial district underground in January.

Suites, views and the rail corridor

Suites run from about 531 to 1,040 sq ft, which tells you who this building was designed for: one-bedrooms, one-plus-dens and compact two-bedrooms. There is very little here for a family that needs three bedrooms. Current listings are mostly in the 500 to 700 sq ft range, with a few two-bedroom and two-plus-den plans in the 800s and 900s.

Orientation makes a real difference. The south side of The Esplanade backs onto the rail corridor that runs into Union Station, so south-facing suites trade lake views for train and highway noise below. North-facing suites look up Yonge and across the theatre district. Ask which way the suite faces, then stand on the balcony for ten minutes before you make an offer.

The street life is the selling point. You are steps from Meridian Hall, the St. Lawrence Centre, Berczy Park and the restaurant row along The Esplanade and Front Street, with St. Lawrence Market a short walk east. Next door, L Tower is the obvious comparison if you want the same corner in a taller building.

How it compares with the older Esplanade stock

Most of The Esplanade was built out in the 1980s and 1990s as part of the St. Lawrence neighbourhood plan, with co-ops, rentals and mid-rise condos. Backstage is one of the few buildings on the strip that is less than ten years old, and that is most of its appeal: newer windows, newer mechanical systems and a modern amenity floor.

The older condos a few blocks east usually offer more space per dollar and, in many cases, fees that include more. What they do not offer is a 2017 building at Yonge Street. If you are torn, price the same budget in both and compare the monthly cost, not just the purchase price.

Two retail spaces sit at the base just east of Yonge. Ground-floor tenants change over time, so check what is open now if you are counting on a coffee shop or grocery in the building.

One more thing on supply: with only 284 suites, the number of listings at any given time is small, and a few one-plus-dens can make the numbers look busier than they are. Look at the sold data before you assume there is plenty of choice.

The price per foot looks low. The fee per foot does not.

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $773 per square foot, which is modest for a 2017 tower at Yonge and The Esplanade. The reason shows up on the fee line: across current listings the fee works out to about $1.36 per square foot, and listed fees range from roughly $667 to $1,401 a month. That is much higher than most towers of this age downtown.

Part of that is the inclusions. Heat, air conditioning and water are in the fee here, which is not the case in many newer buildings, and a pool, steam rooms and a staffed lobby all cost money in a building with only 284 suites to share them. Even so, a buyer paying close to $900 a month for a one-plus-den will feel it, and the high fee is very likely part of why the price per foot sits where it does.

On asking prices, the current one-bedroom listings sit just under $450,000, one-plus-dens run from about $490,000 to $585,000, and two-bedroom and two-plus-den plans ask between about $680,000 and $725,000. The data panel beside this review shows what has actually sold and leased.

Building specifications

Amenities at Backstage on the Esplanade

This is a full resort-style package in a mid-sized tower, which is great to use and expensive to run. If you will swim and use the steam rooms, the fee buys you something real; if you never will, you are subsidising neighbours who do.

Jatin’s honest take on Backstage on the Esplanade

Backstage on the Esplanade — 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.