Queens Harbour, 600 Queens Quay W: All-Inclusive Fees on the Water

Queens Harbour is the waterfront building I point to when a buyer wants the lake and a predictable monthly bill. The twin eleven-storey buildings at 600 Queens Quay West were finished in 2000, and their fee covers hydro, heat, cooling and parking, which almost nothing on the water does anymore. It is not glamorous, but it is honest value. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

Twin buildings with a nautical look

Queens Harbour is two matching eleven-storey buildings with rounded white concrete and pale blue-tinted glass. Listing descriptions have long compared the look to an ocean liner, and on the waterfront that is a fair description. The curves soften what would otherwise be two fairly plain slabs.

The buildings went up in the late 1990s, in the same wave as 500 Queens Quay to the east and the Atrium at 650 to the west, when this part of the waterfront was being filled in with mid-rise condos. I could not find a reliable source naming the original developer or architect, and Condos.ca does not list one either. If that matters to you, the original disclosure documents in the status certificate package will name the declarant.

Eleven storeys is a good height on this stretch. The buildings are low enough to feel like part of the street and high enough that the upper floors look over the harbour and the islands.

The two-building plan also keeps the corridors shorter and the elevator lobbies smaller than in a single large tower, which many owners prefer. With 276 suites split between them, each building feels closer to a mid-sized residential block than a downtown high-rise.

Suites: practical sizes, a few with dens

Suites run from about 460 to 1,246 sq ft on Condos.ca. That is a more modest range than 500 Queens Quay next door, which holds very large penthouses. Here the stock is mostly one-bedrooms, one-plus-dens and two-bedrooms, with some two-plus-den plans using an enclosed solarium or sunroom as the den.

Listings describe split-bedroom two-bedroom plans, open kitchens and in-suite laundry. A 2017 Globe and Mail piece on a ground-floor corner suite noted the high windows on the main floor, and storage lockers come up regularly in listings. Confirm the locker and the parking space for any suite you look at, because not every suite has both.

Orientation matters as much here as anywhere on Queens Quay. South-facing suites look straight across to the water. North-facing suites look into the city and toward the Gardiner and the towers of CityPlace, which have filled in a great deal since 2000.

Ground-floor suites are a niche of their own here. They give you higher windows and easier access to the street, but less privacy and no view over the water, and some buyers love them while others will not consider them. Price them against other ground-floor suites, not against the upper floors.

The fee covers almost everything

Condos.ca lists the fee as including common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, water, building insurance and parking. That is essentially an all-inclusive fee. Newer downtown buildings bill hydro and often heating and cooling by suite meter, and many charge for parking separately.

So when you compare the fee here with a newer building, add those costs back to the newer building before deciding which is cheaper. For a buyer on a fixed budget, the predictability is valuable: there is no summer air-conditioning bill and no winter heating bill to plan for.

The risk is the one every bulk-metered building carries. Energy costs are shared, so when rates rise, the fee rises for everyone. Ask the manager about recent fee increases, whether sub-metering has been studied, and what the reserve fund study says about windows, balconies, the roof and the garage.

Life at Queens Quay and Dan Leckie Way

The buildings sit across Queens Quay from the waterfront trail and the boardwalk, between Spadina and Bathurst. Dan Leckie Way runs north from here into CityPlace and toward Canoe Landing Park and the community centre on Fort York Boulevard.

This is the quieter, residential end of Queens Quay. You are a walk from the Music Garden and the harbour, and the Queens Quay streetcar runs past the door to Union Station. Restaurants and nightlife are mostly a streetcar or a longer walk north to King West.

Transit, schools, Walk Score and parks are covered in the data panel on this page.

Pricing context

Condos.ca puts the building average at about $799 per square foot. That sits below 500 Queens Quay next door at about $897, close to the Atrium on Queens Quay at about $807, and above 550 Queens Quay at about $771 and King’s Landing at about $703. Given that hydro, heat and parking are included here, $799 is a competitive number for the waterfront.

There was only one suite for sale and none for lease when I prepared this review, so I will not quote an asking range. With 276 suites, listings come regularly over a year, but the building is not one where you will have a dozen to choose from at once.

Because hydro is included, the property tax and the fee are most of your monthly carrying cost, which makes it easier to compare Queens Harbour with a newer building once you add that building’s hydro and parking.

When you compare your options, compare total monthly cost, not the fee alone. For the aggregate sold record at this address, ask for my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Queens Harbour

The package covers the basics: concierge, a gym and sauna, a party room and meeting room, guest suites and visitor parking. There is no pool, but on a street where the waterfront trail is outside the door, most owners will not miss it.

Jatin’s honest take on Queens Harbour

Queens Harbour — 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.