Cove at Waterways, 39 Annie Craig Dr: The Low-Rise Option on the Shore

Cove at Waterways is what you buy on the Humber Bay waterfront when you want the lake, the trail and an indoor pool without living 50 storeys up. It is one of the shortest buildings in a district of very tall ones, and it is still close to new. The catch is that most of the suites are small, and the ones that are not are priced like a different building. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A mid-rise in a district of towers

Humber Bay Shores is known for height. The Conservatory Group’s own next-door tower, Water’s Edge at the Cove, was reported by UrbanToronto at 56 storeys and 606 suites as it neared its top-out in 2024. Cove at Waterways sits beside it at roughly a third of that height, and that is the main reason to look at it.

Fewer floors means fewer people per elevator bank, shorter waits in the morning, and a building that feels closer to the street. It also means you are not buying a sky view. Lake and skyline views exist from the upper floors, but the lower half of the building looks at its neighbours, so the floor and the direction of the suite matter more here than in a 50-storey tower.

The height is reported two ways. Condos.ca records 17 storeys; the developer’s marketing and the UrbanToronto forum thread both say 16. The difference is likely a mechanical or amenity level counted one way and not the other, but if a listing calls a suite a penthouse, check which floor it is actually on.

The chevron shape and what it means for your suite

The building is not a simple slab. Forum coverage of the site describes a chevron footprint running parallel to The Marginal Boulevard and turning into an L where it meets Marine Parade Drive. In practice, that creates inside corners, where suites look across at each other, and outside corners, which get the widest and least obstructed outlook.

Annie Craig Drive, the street that gives the building its address, was planned to run beneath the Water’s Edge parking garage to serve Cove residents. That tells you how tightly these two buildings are knitted together. Your driveway, your construction noise for the last few years and your future neighbours are all tied to the tower next door.

When you view a suite, stand at the window and ask what is directly across. If the answer is another wing of this building or the Water’s Edge podium, that suite should be priced below one that faces the lake or the park.

Layouts: mostly one-bedrooms, with a few larger exceptions

The developer’s marketing advertised one- and two-bedroom plans from about 460 to 1,093 square feet, with 9-foot ceilings, large windows and quartz or granite counters. Condos.ca records a slightly wider range, up to about 1,262 square feet, and some listing records carry TH designations, which normally means grade-level townhouse-style suites. Confirm the layout of any of those on the floor plan.

The bulk of what trades here is the one-bedroom-plus-den in the 500 to 600 square foot range. That is a starter suite or an investor suite. The den is usually large enough for a desk and not a bed, so if you need a real second bedroom, budget for a true two-bedroom.

Nine-foot ceilings are standard for this generation of building, not a luxury. They help a 550 square foot suite feel less tight, but they do not change the floor area. Measure your furniture before you fall for the view.

Daily life at the bottom of Humber Bay Shores

This end of Humber Bay Shores is the quieter end. The Martin Goodman Trail and Humber Bay Park East are on the doorstep, and Marine Parade Drive is a pleasant walk along the water. The grocery, pharmacy and LCBO cluster up at Lake Shore Boulevard is the daily errand run. The panel on this page has the transit and walkability details.

The real daily issue in this district is traffic at Park Lawn and Lake Shore. Everyone who lives in the towers funnels through a small number of intersections to reach the Gardiner. Drive the route at 8 a.m. on a weekday before you buy, and decide whether the trail and the lake make up for it. For most of my buyers here, they do.

Priced as a young building, with heat included

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $908 per square foot. That is in line with other newer Humber Bay Shores buildings and above the older towers along Lake Shore, which is what you would expect for a building completed in 2021.

Active one-bedroom-plus-den listings ask between about $548,000 and $560,000 for 500 to 600 square foot suites, which works out close to $1,000 per square foot. Smaller suites always carry the highest price per foot. Larger two-bedroom and two-plus-den suites currently ask from about $880,000 to $1.52 million across four listings, and the top of that range is a very different purchase from the bottom.

Fees on active listings run at about $0.92 per square foot, from roughly $500 to $930 a month depending on size. That figure includes heat and air conditioning, which many buildings of this age meter separately, so compare it with a newer building’s fee plus its utility bills, not with its fee alone. Hydro appears not to be included, so check the listing.

Building specifications

Amenities at Cove at Waterways

An indoor pool and guest suites in a building of under 300 suites is a good package, and the guest suites matter more than people expect when family visits and your suite is 550 square feet. The pool is also the line in the reserve fund study I would read first, because it is the costliest amenity to run.

Jatin’s honest take on Cove at Waterways

Cove at Waterways — frequently asked questions

Looking at Humber Bay Shores, Mimico, the Queensway and central Etobicoke more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.