The Tides at Mystic Pointe, 185 Legion Rd N: Hydro Is in the Fee

The Tides at Mystic Pointe is the building I show buyers who want one predictable monthly number. The fee looks high on paper because it pays for things most owners in newer towers pay separately, including hydro. Whether that is a bargain or a trap depends on how you live, and I will walk you through both sides. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A fee that covers hydro, and why that cuts both ways

The headline fact here is the fee inclusion list. Condos.ca shows heat, air conditioning, hydro, water, building insurance and parking all inside the monthly maintenance. In most towers built after about 2010, hydro is on your own meter and parking is a separate charge, so a straight fee comparison between this building and a newer one is not a fair fight.

Across the five suites listed for sale when I checked, fees ran from about $537 to $1,111 a month, which works out to roughly $1.09 per square foot. That is well above the $0.60 to $0.80 you see quoted at newer buildings nearby. Add back a hydro bill, a parking charge and summer cooling to the newer building, and the gap narrows a lot.

Here is the other side. When utilities are shared, every owner pays for the heaviest user on the floor. If you are careful with heat and air conditioning, you subsidize your neighbours. If you run a home office with the A/C on all summer, the arrangement works in your favour. Ask the property manager what share of the budget goes to utilities and how that line has moved over the last three years.

Studios to two-plus-dens in a 304-suite tower

Suites range from about 425 to 1,140 square feet according to condos.ca. At the small end you have studios under 500 square feet; at the top, two-bedroom-plus-den plans in the 900s and a few larger two-bedrooms. That mix gives the building a broad owner base, from first-time buyers to downsizers who still want a second bedroom and a den.

Expect layouts of their time rather than the open, tall-ceilinged plans of a new tower. I could not confirm ceiling heights from a reliable source, so measure during a viewing and look at the floor plan before you compare suites.

Because parking is included in the fee, ask whether each suite you look at actually comes with a space, whether it is owned or exclusive-use, and whether a locker comes with it. Studios in particular do not always include parking, and that changes both the fee and the resale audience.

Part of the Mystic Pointe pocket on Legion Road

The Tides sits within the Mystic Pointe group of buildings on Legion Road North and Manitoba Street, a pocket north of Lake Shore Boulevard between the Mimico and Humber Bay Shores areas. Neighbours include California Condos at 165 Legion, iLofts at 155 Legion and the Mystic Pointe Skylofts on Manitoba Street. If you are shopping here, you will likely see all of them in the same weekend.

Compared with the waterfront towers south of Lake Shore, this pocket is quieter and a little more residential in feel, and you trade a direct lake view for lower prices per square foot. Higher floors facing south and east can still pick up lake and skyline views over the low-rise blocks, so the floor and exposure matter more here than in most buildings.

The data panel on this page covers transit, schools, parks and nearby food in detail, so I will not repeat it here.

The Christie site will change this neighbourhood

The biggest thing happening nearby is the redevelopment of the former Mr. Christie bakery lands at Park Lawn and Lake Shore, a site of about 28 acres. The master plan prepared for First Capital calls for roughly 7,500 homes, more than a million square feet of commercial and community space, two public parks and a new Park Lawn GO station as part of a transit hub.

For owners at The Tides, that is mostly upside over time: a new GO station, more retail and new parks within reach. The trade-off is years of construction traffic along Park Lawn and Lake Shore, and a lot of new condo supply arriving in phases. New supply can slow resale price growth in older buildings, so buy here for how you will live, not for a quick flip.

If you are weighing a resale suite here against a pre-construction suite on the Christie lands, remember what you are comparing. Here you can read years of board minutes, see the reserve fund and move in on closing. A pre-construction suite gives you new finishes and a new warranty, but also a wait of several years, development charges and an unknown final fee.

About $690 a square foot, before you add back utilities

Condos.ca puts the building’s average at about $690 per square foot. For a 2006 tower in this part of Etobicoke, that is a value price, and it is below what newer towers along the waterfront and at Park Lawn typically ask.

When I checked, five suites were listed for sale, with asking prices from about $394,500 to about $800,000. Asking prices are not sale prices, so use the data panel above for what has actually traded here.

The way I run the numbers for clients: take the monthly fee here, then add an estimated hydro bill, a parking charge and some cooling cost to a comparable newer suite. On a like-for-like basis, the carrying cost at The Tides is often closer to the newer building than the fee alone suggests, while the purchase price per square foot is lower.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Tides at Mystic Pointe

This is a practical package rather than a resort one: a staffed lobby, a rooftop deck for summer evenings, a party room and guest suites for visiting family. Condos.ca’s list is partial, so ask on a viewing whether there is a gym or pool before you assume either way.

Jatin’s honest take on The Tides at Mystic Pointe

The Tides at Mystic Pointe — 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.