Key West Condos, 36 Park Lawn Rd: Creek Views, No Pool, Lean Fees

Key West Condos is the Humber Bay Shores building I suggest to buyers who want a newer tower and do not care about a pool. Times Group built it in 2016 at the corner of Park Lawn and Lake Shore, facing the Mimico Creek valley rather than the lake, and it has one of the more active resale and rental markets in the neighbourhood. The fee looks lean, but read what it leaves out. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The tower that faces the creek

Most Humber Bay Shores towers were sold on lake views. Key West sits at the north-west corner of the neighbourhood, where Park Lawn meets Lake Shore, and its ground-floor amenity rooms were planned to look out over the Mimico Creek valley. Depending on the side and the height, you get creek and treetops, the lake to the south, or the downtown skyline to the east.

Burka Architects designed the 44-storey tower, about 136 metres tall, for Times Group, with Sigmund Soudack & Associates on the engineering. Schollen & Company did the landscape, and the podium roof was planned as a green roof as part of the city’s Tier 2 green standard. At the time it went up, a bicycle connection was planned to link the site to the Humber Bay parks and the Waterfront Trail.

Two amenity floors, and no pool

Times Group split the amenities across two levels. The ground floor holds the fitness centre, a lounge, a dining room with a presentation kitchen, a billiards room and a multi-purpose room. The second floor has a tech lounge, a media lounge, a yoga studio, a second presentation kitchen and a guest suite, with outdoor lounges and a barbecue and dining terrace on the podium roof.

What it does not have is a pool. That is a deliberate trade-off, and in my experience it is one reason fees here run lower than at the pool buildings nearby. If you swim, look at Lago, South Beach or Beyond the Sea instead. If you do not, you are not paying to heat water you will never use.

The guest suite is worth a mention. Humber Bay Shores is a neighbourhood where family often visits from out of town or from the suburbs, and a bookable guest suite saves a hotel bill. Book early around holidays, because guest accommodation shared by 421 households goes quickly. Ask the concierge how far ahead bookings open and whether there is a nightly fee.

Investor-sized suites, end-user pockets

Suites run from about 520 to 1,224 sq ft, so there are no micro-units here and no large penthouse product either. The bulk of the building is one-bedrooms, one-plus-dens and two-bedrooms, and the two-bedroom plans in the 800 to 1,000 sq ft range are where I see the most end-user interest.

With ten suites for sale and seven for lease as I write this, Key West is one of the more liquid buildings on this strip. That is good news when you sell, because buyers can find comparables, and it means real competition when you buy or rent out a one-bedroom. A high lease count also tells you a fair share of owners are investors, which is worth knowing if you want a quieter, owner-occupied building.

Being on Park Lawn rather than on the water also means a different soundscape. Lake Shore, Park Lawn and the Gardiner ramps are all close by. Ask for a suite on the creek side if traffic noise bothers you, and visit at rush hour. The upside of the same location is that you are first out of the neighbourhood: drivers here skip most of the congestion inside the Humber Bay Shores strip.

What is coming across the road

Key West looks across Park Lawn toward the former Christie cookie factory at 2150 Lake Shore Boulevard West. The owners, First Capital and CPP Investments, have a phased master plan for about fifteen towers between 28 and 70 storeys, a new GO station, about 1.25 hectares of parkland and space for schools, daycares and a library.

For Key West owners, that is probably the single biggest factor in long-term value. A GO station and new public facilities would make this corner far more complete than it is today. The cost is years of construction across the street and, for some north- and east-facing suites, the loss of open views.

Price per foot, and what the fee leaves out

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $802 per sq ft, which sits in the middle of the Humber Bay Shores range: below the newest lakefront towers, above many older buildings. Fees across active listings average about $0.86 per sq ft.

That fee figure needs context. Condos.ca lists only heat and water as included. Air conditioning, hydro and possibly parking are separate costs here, where buildings like Lago include cooling and parking in the fee. Before you compare fees, add back your expected hydro and cooling bill and any parking charge, and confirm in the status certificate how parking and lockers are billed for the specific unit.

Active asks currently run from about $495,000 to $550,000 for one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens, and from about $679,000 to $849,000 for two-bedrooms. Recent sold medians and lease figures are in the data panel on this page, and with this much inventory you should always check them before you make an offer.

Building specifications

Amenities at Key West Condos

The amenity package is built around socialising and fitness rather than water: two kitchens, lounges, a gym, a yoga studio and a podium terrace. For a young professional who entertains, it is plenty; for a swimmer, it is the wrong building.

Jatin’s honest take on Key West Condos

Key West Condos — 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.