Matrix at CityPlace, 361 Front St W: The First Towers, Hydro Included

Matrix is where CityPlace began. The two towers at 361 and 373 Front Street West were finished in 2002, years before the rest of the neighbourhood existed, and they now trade at a discount to the newer glass around them. The reason to look here is simple: your fee covers hydro, heat and parking, which almost nothing built since does. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Block 1: the towers that started CityPlace

Concord Adex bought the western Railway Lands from Canada Lands Company in 1997, and the first street block it built was the one fronting Front Street just west of the Rogers Centre. Matrix took the two eastern towers on that block, with Apex beside it at 381 and 397 Front. Both Matrix towers started in 2000 and were finished in 2002.

That timing matters. When Matrix opened there was no Canoe Landing Park and no Puente de Luz footbridge, and most of the land south of the tracks was still empty. Owners here bought into a plan, and the plan was eventually delivered: CityPlace now holds close to thirty towers, an eight-acre central park and a community centre, with about 21,000 residents expected at buildout.

The towers themselves reflect their era. They are concrete and glass with a lot of solid wall, smaller windows than today’s floor-to-ceiling glass, and enclosed hallways rather than a hotel-style design. I do not count that against them. Buildings from this period often have more practical layouts and better sound separation than the thin-walled glass towers of a decade later.

Two towers, and the layouts that trade

The taller tower at 361 Front is 32 storeys and about 97 metres high; the tower at 373 Front is 28 storeys. Suites run from about 482 to 1,411 sq ft. Most of what comes to market is a one-bedroom or one-bedroom-plus-den between 600 and 800 sq ft, which is exactly the product that downtown first-time buyers and investors want.

Every active sale listing I reviewed in October 2026 was a one-bedroom or one-plus-den, and most sat in the 700 to 799 sq ft band. That is generous for a one-plus-den by current standards; a new downtown tower will often give you the same bedroom count in 550 sq ft. The two-bedroom and corner suites are the scarcer stock and tend to be held longer.

Ask which tower and which side a suite faces before you fall for the finishes. South-facing suites look across the rail corridor to the rest of CityPlace and the lake, north-facing suites look over Front Street toward the Entertainment District and the core, and lower floors on both sides sit close to rail or Front Street traffic. Views here have changed as CityPlace filled in, so check what is now built in front of you.

Hydro in the fee, and why the fee looks high

Condos.ca lists the fee as covering common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, water, building insurance and parking. That is close to an all-inclusive fee, and it is rare downtown. Almost every tower built after about 2005 has its own suite meters for hydro, and many charge separately for parking.

So when you see active listings at roughly $1.14 per square foot, against $0.70 to $0.90 at newer CityPlace towers, do not stop there. Add back a monthly hydro bill, a suite heating and cooling bill and a parking charge to the newer building, and the gap shrinks a lot. For a one-plus-den owner who works from home and runs air conditioning all summer, it can close entirely.

The flip side is that bulk utilities expose every owner to the building’s energy costs. When utility rates rise, the whole fee rises, and you have no meter of your own to manage. Ask the property manager whether the corporation has studied suite sub-metering, because that is a common conversation in older bulk-metered buildings and it would change your monthly costs.

What daily life on Front Street looks like

Matrix sits at the northeast corner of CityPlace, which makes it one of the closer CityPlace buildings to the Financial District, Union Station and the Rogers Centre. On game nights and concert nights, Front Street fills with crowds; owners here learn the schedule.

Unlike most of CityPlace, Matrix and Apex sit on the north side of the rail corridor, on Front Street itself. That puts you closer to King West and the core, but it also means the rest of CityPlace, Canoe Landing Park and the waterfront are across the tracks, reached by the Spadina Avenue bridge or the Puente de Luz footbridge. Rail noise is part of life here, so listen for it at the suite you are considering.

Transit, schools, Walk Score and nearby parks are shown in the data panel on this page. The everyday point is that you can walk to most downtown offices from here, and the CityPlace shops and Canoe Landing Park are a few minutes south once you cross the tracks.

Pricing: a discount to the newer CityPlace towers

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $805 per square foot. That is below Apex next door at about $859 and Montage at about $880, and below the roughly $820 to $835 at the Parade towers further west. Matrix is the oldest stock in CityPlace, and the market prices that in.

In October 2026 there were 13 suites for sale. The eight I reviewed in detail were asking between $439,000 and $625,000, nearly all one-bedroom-plus-den suites, with monthly fees from about $600 to $890 depending on size. Remember that those fees include hydro and parking.

The fair comparison is total monthly cost, not the fee alone. Put the fee, property tax and your estimated hydro and parking side by side with a newer building, then compare price per square foot. For the aggregate sold record at this address, ask for my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Matrix at CityPlace

The amenity list on Condos.ca is short compared with newer CityPlace towers: concierge and security, a sauna, and the garage. You are not buying Matrix for a rooftop lounge; you are buying it for the size of the suite and what the fee covers.

Jatin’s honest take on Matrix at CityPlace

Matrix at CityPlace — frequently asked questions

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