Eau du Soleil, 2183 Lake Shore Blvd W: Two Towers, One Big Amenity Bill

Eau du Soleil is the building I point to when someone tells me they want a resort without leaving the city, and I mean that as both a compliment and a warning. Empire put two towers, a salt water pool, a basketball and tennis court in the sky and a long list of fitness rooms on the edge of Lake Ontario, and every owner pays for all of it every month. If you will use it, the math can work. If you won’t, there are cheaper glass towers down the street. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Two towers, and why you need to know which one you are in

Eau du Soleil is not one building. It is a pair of towers on a shared podium, branded Sky and Water, sitting on about three acres at the foot of Park Lawn. Construction started in early 2015, first residents moved in during 2019, and the last occupancies were expected by early 2020.

The numbers depend on who you ask. Empire marketed the towers at 66 and 49 storeys. A 2018 construction report counted 67 and 50 storeys above the street once the connecting podium is included, and roughly 1,280 suites across the complex. The listing record this page draws on shows 63 floors and 750 suites, which reads like one tower rather than both.

That matters more than trivia. Listing sites split the complex into separate entries, and owners in each tower may sit in different condominium corporations with their own budgets and reserve funds. Before you compare fees or read a status certificate, confirm exactly which tower and which corporation the suite belongs to.

The sloped roofs and the white bands

From the Gardiner, the taller tower is easy to pick out. Both roofs slope sharply, up to about 67 degrees according to the builder, so the tops read like a ski jump rather than a flat mechanical box. When it topped out it was billed as the tallest building in Toronto outside the downtown core.

The other signature is the white striping on the balcony guards and metal panels, meant to suggest the sails of boats on the lake. It is a simple move, but it gives the towers a look you won’t confuse with the rest of the Humber Bay Shores skyline. The lower three storeys of the podium were designed for commercial space.

Layouts, ceilings and the penthouse range

Suites in this entry run from about 480 to roughly 3,200 square feet, which is a far wider range than most waterfront buildings. The bulk of what trades is one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens under 700 square feet, with two-bedrooms around 700 to 800. At the very top are the large penthouses Empire marketed at up to about 3,500 square feet.

Empire’s specification called for 9-foot ceilings on most floors and 10-foot ceilings from the 40th floor up, with full-size balconies or terraces, granite counters, glass tile backsplashes and soaker tubs. Studio Munge did the interiors. On a smaller one-bedroom, that extra foot of ceiling height on the upper floors is something you notice the day you walk in.

The view is the reason most people buy here, so be fussy about it. South and southwest exposures look over the lake and Humber Bay Park; north and east exposures look back at the city and the Gardiner. Ask for the floor and the direction before you fall in love with listing photos.

Humber Bay Shores, day to day

The building sits at Lake Shore and Park Lawn, right where the waterfront trail runs past. Stepping out to walk or cycle along the lake is the everyday payoff, and it is the main thing a downtown condo at the same price can’t give you.

The trade-off is density. Humber Bay Shores is a wall of towers, and most of the traffic in and out runs through Lake Shore, Park Lawn and the Gardiner ramps. The transit, school and grocery details are in the data panel on this page; I would test your own commute at 8 a.m. before you commit.

There are five levels of underground parking under the complex. Whether a given suite comes with a spot or a locker varies by unit, so confirm it is deeded or exclusive-use in the agreement rather than assuming.

Pricing: high fees, but heat and air conditioning are inside them

Active listings here average about $1.03 per square foot in maintenance fees. That is high for a building completed in 2019, and it is the first number buyers react to. The reason is the amenity package: a pool, a sky court, ten guest suites and a 49th-floor lounge all cost money to staff, clean and insure.

The fee does cover common elements, building insurance, heat and air conditioning, so you are not paying a separate bill to cool a glass suite in July. When you compare against a newer building at 70 cents a square foot, add back what you would spend on heating and cooling there before you call it cheaper.

At the time of writing, eight sample active listings in this entry were asking between $450,000 and $579,900, with monthly fees between about $513 and $703. Recorded sale and lease medians are in the data panel; I would always judge a specific suite against those, not against asking prices.

Building specifications

Amenities at Eau du Soleil Condos

This is one of the deepest amenity packages in the west end, and it is the reason the fees look the way they do. If you would otherwise pay for a gym, a pool and a place to put up visiting family, the building replaces all three; if you never use them, you are subsidising the people who do.

Jatin’s honest take on Eau du Soleil Condos

Eau du Soleil Condos — frequently asked questions

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