WaterClub II, 208 Queens Quay W: Lake Views, Hydro and Parking in Fee

WaterClub II is the building I show buyers who want the lake in front of them and do not want to think about utility bills. It is the middle phase of Kolter’s three-tower WaterClub complex at York Street and Queens Quay, 37 storeys and 459 suites, and its fee covers hydro, heat, air conditioning and parking, which almost nothing else on the waterfront does. The trade-off is a 20-year-old building on a site wedged against the Gardiner, and that is where my questions start. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A complex designed to face the lake

WaterClub is three glass towers between York Street and Queens Quay West: phase one at 8 York Street, this tower at 208 Queens Quay, and the shorter third phase at 218 Queens Quay. Together they hold roughly 1,186 suites. Kirkor Architects designed the complex on a podium of retail and garden-level suites, and by the architect’s account placed more than 90% of the condominiums to face the lake.

That orientation is the reason to buy here. The site itself is awkward: it is squeezed between the Gardiner Expressway and Queens Quay, next to an existing eight-storey parking structure, which made access difficult and means the north side of the complex looks at highway and parking, not water. The design pushes the suites away from all of that.

Sources differ slightly on timing. condos.ca records this tower as built in 2004 and the corporation was registered in December 2004, while an architectural history of the project dates phase two to 2005. Either way, it is now about 20 years old.

From 374 square feet to 3,000-square-foot penthouses

WaterClub II has the widest size range in the complex. condos.ca lists suites from about 374 to 3,022 square feet, so the same building holds small studios aimed at investors and penthouses of around 3,000 square feet. Most of what trades sits in between: one-bedrooms, one-plus-dens and two-bedroom-plus-dens.

That mix creates two different buildings in one. Small suites tend to attract investors and tenants, while large upper-floor suites tend to attract owners who plan to stay, and the two groups pay very different prices per square foot. When you compare prices, compare within the same size and height band, not against the building average.

Views vary more than the marketing suggests. A south-facing suite on a high floor gets open lake and island views; a lower suite can look at the neighbouring towers on Queens Quay. Stand at the window before you fall for the floor plan.

What the fee actually replaces

condos.ca lists the fee here as covering common elements, heat, air conditioning, hydro, building insurance, parking and water. Hydro and parking together in the fee are rare on the waterfront. Most newer towers meter hydro to each suite and charge parking separately.

So a fee that looks high next to a newer building is carrying costs you would otherwise pay elsewhere. Before you compare, add a realistic monthly hydro bill and a parking charge back onto the newer building. The gap usually narrows a lot. Then ask the opposite question: in a bundled building, owners who use little electricity subsidise those who use a lot, and the corporation absorbs every utility rate increase through the fee.

Living at York and Queens Quay

You are at the eastern end of Harbourfront, close to the ferry docks for the Toronto Islands, the Harbourfront Centre and the waterfront promenade, and within walking distance of the core. For downtown workers who want the lake on weekends and the office on weekdays, this is one of the better-placed blocks on the waterfront.

The other side of that is the Gardiner and the York Street ramps immediately north, plus summer crowds along Queens Quay. North-facing suites are the ones closest to the highway, so listen at the window before you buy. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability, so I won’t repeat the distances.

Price per square foot and what is listed

condos.ca puts WaterClub II at about $865 per square foot on average, slightly above its sister tower at 218 Queens Quay (about $839) and close to the CityPlace towers on Front Street. For a tower with lake-facing suites at the foot of York Street, that is a fair number rather than a premium one.

Fees across the current listings work out to about $1.07 per square foot a month. That is high on paper, but remember it covers hydro and parking as well as heat and cooling. On a like-for-like basis, it is closer to market than it looks.

The same logic applies to the purchase price. A suite with a parking space included in the fee is not directly comparable with a suite elsewhere that needs a parking space bought separately, so when you line this building up against newer towers, adjust for parking before you judge which is cheaper.

At the time of writing there were five suites for sale and five for rent. Asking prices ran from about $449,000 to about $1,080,000, with one-plus-den suites in between. Monthly fees across those listings ranged from about $618 to $1,305. Use the 12-month sale figures on this page as your anchor rather than asking prices, which are only what sellers hope for.

Building specifications

Amenities at WaterClub II

The headline amenity across the WaterClub complex is the indoor/outdoor pool and spa, which is still uncommon downtown. Ask which corporation owns it and how its running and replacement costs are split between the three towers, because a 20-year-old pool is an expensive thing to share.

Jatin’s honest take on WaterClub II

WaterClub II — 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.