Horizon on Bay, 633 Bay St: A 1987 Tridel With a Pool at $600 a Foot

Horizon on Bay is one of the best-value buildings in the Bay corridor if you can live with 1980s bones. It is a Tridel tower from 1987 with suites that are larger than today’s norm, a pool, a squash court and a rooftop deck, and a fee that covers hydro. At around $600 a square foot, it costs far less than the glass towers going up around it. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A Tridel tower from the 1980s

Tridel is one of Toronto’s longest-running condo builders, and Horizon on Bay is an early example of its downtown work. The tower rises 26 storeys with 475 suites, which makes it a large building by any standard, with a wide spread of exposures and plans.

Buildings of this era were built with a different idea of what a condo should be. Suites were planned as homes, not as investor units, so rooms are larger, kitchens are often enclosed or have a proper island, and two bathrooms in a one-bedroom-plus-den is not unusual. The trade-off is lower ceilings and smaller windows than a modern glass tower.

It is also nearly 40 years old. Windows, balcony doors, elevators, the garage, the pool and the central heating and cooling plant have all reached the age where they are replaced or rebuilt. Some of that work may already be done. The reserve fund study will tell you which, and the board minutes will tell you whether owners have been warned about fee increases to pay for what is left.

Layouts: where the value is

Listing data puts suites at about 631 to 1,069 sq ft. Within that range, the plans I see most often are one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens of about 750 to 850 sq ft, many with two bathrooms and a den with French doors that works as a second bedroom or an office.

That is the core of the value argument. In a new tower nearby, 800 sq ft usually buys a compact two-bedroom with an open kitchen along one wall. Here, it buys a one-bedroom with real living space, a dining area and storage. Buyers who work from home tend to notice the difference immediately.

What you give up is the light and height of a new tower. Expect standard 1980s ceiling heights and punched windows rather than floor-to-ceiling glass, so upper floors and south or west exposures matter more here for brightness. Many suites have been updated with new flooring and paint, but kitchens and bathrooms vary a lot, so price the renovation you would want before you make an offer.

Two-bedrooms run to about 900 to 1,000 sq ft, and the ones I have seen have split bedrooms, separate living and dining rooms and an enclosed kitchen, a layout most new buildings no longer offer.

Parking is where sources disagree. One listing site includes parking in the fee, while condos.ca does not list it. Some suites come with one or even two spaces and others have none, and some have no locker. Check exactly what is deeded with the suite you are looking at, and what you pay for it each month.

Bay and Dundas, between the hospitals and the Eaton Centre

The location is central in the most practical way. The Eaton Centre and Dundas Square are a short walk east, the hospital row on University Avenue is a short walk west, and Toronto Metropolitan University, City Hall and the courts are close by. The data panel shows the subway stations and walking scores.

That geography decides who lives here: hospital staff, medical residents, students and professionals who want to walk to work. It is a building with a lot of renters, which helps investors. One current rental listing notes that the corporation applies rules to leased suites, including no pets, no roommates, no smoking and single-family occupancy. If you are buying to rent out, read the declaration and rules first, because those limits affect who you can rent to.

Bay Street here is busy, and the blocks around Bay and Dundas continue to fill with new towers. Ask which direction your suite faces, what is planned on neighbouring lots, and visit at rush hour with the balcony door open.

With 475 suites, this is also a busy building inside. Elevator waits in the morning, move-in bookings and a steady flow of tenants are part of daily life. Look at the lobby, the hallways and the pool area when you view. In a building this age, the condition of the common areas is one of the quickest ways to judge how well it has been run.

Pricing: older tower, newer-tower location

The building average sits around $600 per square foot. That is well below what newer towers in the Bay corridor achieve, and below the Opera Place buildings further north at around $790.

Two suites are for sale right now, with asking prices from about $500,000 to $700,000 for one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens. Asking prices are not sold prices; for those, see the data panel or my building sold report.

Fees on current listings work out to about $1.02 per square foot, which looks high next to a new building at $0.70. But the fee here includes hydro, heat, air conditioning and water, and it also pays for a pool, a squash court and a 24-hour concierge. Add your hydro bill back onto the newer building before comparing, and confirm whether parking is charged separately for your suite.

Building specifications

Amenities at Horizon on Bay

For a building at this price point, the package is generous: a pool, a hot tub, a squash court and a rooftop deck. That is a real saving if you would otherwise pay for a gym, but older pools and rooftop decks are expensive to maintain, so look for them in the reserve fund plan.

Jatin’s honest take on Horizon on Bay

Horizon on Bay — 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.