Palace Place, 1 Palace Pier Court: Inside Toronto’s Most Expensive Waterfront Building

By Jatin Dua · Updated August 10, 2026 · 7 min read

The building

Palace Place is the south tower of the two cruciform high-rises that stand where the Humber meets Lake Ontario. Bramalea Limited, the same developer behind Palace Pier, built it as the second act: Wikipedia dates its completion to 1991, while Condos.ca records it as built in 1993 — a spread I flag rather than paper over, and one that likely reflects the gap between construction and registration. Either way, this is an early-1990s tower, which matters: newer mechanical systems and construction methods than its 1978 sibling, but still from the era of full-sized suites.

The numbers, per Condos.ca: 44 floors, 504 suites, sizes from roughly 833 to about 2,894 square feet. As at Palace Pier, the cruciform floor plate gives most suites light from more than one direction, and the mix runs from generous one-bedrooms up to sub-penthouses the size of bungalows.

Listed amenities include an indoor pool, gym, sauna, guest suites and 24-hour concierge and security, with Crossbridge Condominium Services recorded as manager. One structural point of the fee model worth knowing before you compare buildings: Condos.ca lists the monthly fees here as including cable TV, air conditioning, heat, hydro, water, building insurance and parking. That is about as all-inclusive as Toronto condo fees get. It makes the headline fee look high next to a new tower where everything is extra — and often makes the true monthly cost look better. I publish no figures; pull the current numbers from a status certificate.

Location and getting around

The setting is the thing. Palace Place shares a landscaped estate with Palace Pier at the eastern tip of Humber Bay Shores, bounded by the river, the lake and parkland. The Martin Goodman and Waterfront Trails pass the property, and the Humber Bay Arch Bridge next door puts downtown within a flat, waterfront bike ride. It is the neighbourhood’s closest point to the city by trail, and arguably its furthest in feel.

Transit and driving both work from here: buses along Lake Shore Boulevard West link to the streetcar corridor and towards Mimico GO station, and the Gardiner Expressway ramps at Park Lawn Road are minutes away by car. The neighbourhood’s shops — grocery, pharmacy, restaurants around Marine Parade Drive and Park Lawn — sit west of the property, so most residents treat errands as a short drive, a bus hop or a pleasant walk along the water rather than an elevator ride.

What day-to-day life offers

Daily life at Palace Place runs on the grounds and the trail. Morning runs to Humber Bay Park, evening walks to the river mouth to watch the swans and the skyline, cycling downtown in season — the location makes the waterfront a routine rather than a destination. The estate-style grounds shared by the two towers are of a scale no current project can replicate, and they change what tower living feels like: you exit the lobby into gardens, not onto a podium.

Inside, the building has the character of an established, owner-heavy community. Suites are large enough that people stay, and the amenity set — pool, sauna, gym, guest suites, full concierge — covers the essentials without chasing novelty. If your mental image of condo living is formed by the newest towers on the strip, expect something quieter, roomier and more settled here.

Who this building suits (and who it may not)

The natural fit: downsizers who want house-scale rooms without house-scale upkeep, end-users who prioritize floor area over amenities-as-entertainment, and anyone who wants the lake and trail at the door. The sibling comparison usually lands on a simple split — Palace Pier for provenance and the largest plans, Palace Place for younger systems.

It is less suited to buyers who want walk-downstairs retail, the latest finishes, or a short-term investor play built on minimal square footage.

Buying or renting here

With 504 suites there is reasonable turnover, but the large floor plans attract a patient, end-user buyer pool, so listings here behave differently from the investor-driven towers nearby — expect fewer bidding sprints and more negotiation on terms. Whether buying or selling, the status certificate and the specific line and level of the suite matter more than neighbourhood averages.

For tenants and landlords: a tower first occupied in the early 1990s is well inside Ontario’s rent-control regime, which covers units first occupied before 15 November 2018 — guideline increases generally apply to sitting tenants. The mechanics are in my explainer, Is my Etobicoke rental rent-controlled?

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Wikipedia — The Palace Pier. Identifies Palace Place at 1 Palace Pier Court as the south tower, completed 1991, and describes the two cruciform towers at the Humber’s mouth. Accessed 10 August 2026.
• Condos.ca — Palace Place, 1 Palace Pier Crt. Build year (1993), 44 floors, 504 units, Bramalea Limited, suite size range, amenities, management and fee inclusions. Accessed 10 August 2026.

Related reading

• Humber Bay Shores condos over 2,000 square feet
• Living in Palace Pier — the 1978 original next door
• Living in Nevis Condos — the boutique mid-rises on Palace Pier Court
• Living in Grand Harbour
• Living in Waterford Towers
• The complete Humber Bay Shores condo buildings guide
• Etobicoke community guide