Wellesley on the Park, 11 Wellesley St W: A Tower Beside Its Own Park

Most downtown towers are surrounded by other towers. Wellesley on the Park is surrounded by grass, because the developer put a 60-storey building on one corner of the site and gave the rest over to a public park. That single decision is why buyers pay more per square foot here than almost anywhere else around Yonge and Wellesley, and it is also why I tell them to look hard at the suite sizes before they fall for the view. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A site that sat empty for almost 20 years

The land at 11 Wellesley West was owned by the Province of Ontario, which once intended it for a ballet and opera house. That never happened, and the site sat vacant for close to two decades while neighbours lobbied for it to become green space. The province eventually sold it to Lanterra.

Earlier plans for the site contemplated several towers with up to 1,000 units and only a small parkette. Lanterra’s approved scheme consolidated everything into one tower at the northeast corner and left more than two-thirds of the roughly three-acre site for a 1.6-acre public park. Lanterra combined the parkland dedication from three of its area projects, including The Britt Residences at Bay and Wellesley, to make the park this size.

For an owner, that history matters in one practical way. The open land beside your building is a city park, not a parking lot waiting for a rezoning application. In a part of downtown that the local councillor at the time described as one of the most park-deficient wards in the city, that is unusual and it is durable.

KPMB’s curved tower and the podium

KPMB Architects was the design architect and Page + Steele / IBI Group was the architect of record. The tower’s floor plans are rectilinear inside, but the corners are rounded and the balconies form an undulating pattern that KPMB says was inspired by Alvar Aalto’s famous glass vase. NAK Design Strategies did the landscape design.

The base is a five-storey mixed-use podium with retail and office space, and the residential and office lobbies are separate. Restaurants and shops face the park along a walkway that wraps the podium. According to the project architect, the podium steps back at each level up to where it meets the tower, so the building appears to rise out of the park rather than wall it off.

The tower is angled to open toward the park, which also helps sunlight reach the grass. If you are choosing between two suites, the exposure that faces the park is the one that will hold its value best, because that view cannot be built out.

Small suites, by design

When Lanterra launched in 2014, suites ran from about 300 sq ft studios to about 878 sq ft two-bedroom-plus-dens, with interiors by Munge Leung. That is a compact range, and it shows in what trades here: the current listings are almost all one-bedrooms and one-plus-dens in the 500 to 599 sq ft band, with very few two-bedrooms.

This is a building built for singles, couples, students and investors, not for families who need a third bedroom. If you need more than about 800 sq ft, you will be looking at a short list of plans, and they come up rarely.

The upside of small suites in a big tower is liquidity. With more than 700 units of similar size, there is nearly always something to compare against, which makes pricing a one-bedroom here more reliable than in a boutique building with three sales a year.

Daily life between Yonge and Bay

The address puts you on the quiet block of Wellesley between Yonge and Bay, with the Yonge Street strip on one side and the hospital and government district on the other. Queen’s Park, the University of Toronto and the Bay Street corridor are all within an easy walk, and the subway is close. Exact transit, school and park data is in the panel on this page.

The park changes how the building feels at street level. Instead of a driveway and a blank podium wall, you get patios, a promenade and open lawn, and the shops and restaurants on the ground floor face the green rather than traffic. Expect the park to be busy on summer evenings and weekends, because it serves the whole neighbourhood, not just residents.

The area around it keeps growing. Newer towers such as 8 Wellesley Residences have gone up on the same stretch of Wellesley, so check what your suite looks at today and what could rise on the sides that do not face the park.

Paying for the park

The building average sits around $1,028 per square foot. That is above The Britt Residences a block west at about $989, and well above the 1980s and 1990s buildings on Wellesley West, such as Century Plaza at about $654 and Queen’s Park Place at about $610. The premium is for age, the amenity package and, above all, the park.

The fee is the part to watch. Current listings average about $0.98 per square foot, and the fee covers only common elements and building insurance. Heat, hydro and water are not listed as included, so budget for them on top. Compare that with the older Wellesley buildings, where heat, hydro and parking are often bundled in.

Right now six one-bedroom and one-plus-den suites in the 500 to 599 sq ft range are asking between about $569,000 and $638,000, with fees between roughly $495 and $615 a month. A two-bedroom is also listed, but with only one on the market I will not quote it. For recent sold prices and rents, see the data panel or my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Wellesley on the Park

The developer’s announced program put the gym, yoga studio, pool, hot tub and spa on the fourth floor, and a party room with a barbecue terrace on the fifth. Current listing data confirms the concierge, gym, indoor pool and party room. An indoor pool is a real draw at Yonge and Wellesley, where many towers skipped one, but it is also an operating cost every owner shares, so confirm the full current list on the status certificate.

Jatin’s honest take on Wellesley on the Park

Wellesley on the Park — frequently asked questions

Looking at St. Lawrence, the Financial District and Downtown Yonge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.