Affordable waterfront

Toronto's new and older waterfront condos appeal to buyers of all ages and price
ranges
Suites are a bargain here, compared to other big North American cities, writes
Tracy Hanes

If you're scouring major cities across the continent in search of a waterfront
condominium, Toronto has a bargain for you.

According to Jeanhy Shim, editor of Urbanation, the quarterly publication
tracking the GTA condo market, the city's new waterfront condos, priced at $410
to $412 per square foot, represent a bargain among big North American
metropolises.

A suite in a similar location would run you $600 per square foot in Chicago,
$1,000 in Manhattan and $700 in Boston.

Vancouver is one of the most expensive waterfront markets, at $1,500 per square
foot. One example is the Fairmount Pacific Rim condo hotel in Vancouver, where
prices for the "estate" sutes start at $2 to $2.5 million.

"The prices in Toronto are nowhere near the levels of major U.S. cities," says
Shim. "Our market hasn't seen the increases U.S. cities have, where it's more
a speculative market. Waterfront here is still a great deal."

Shim says one reason Toronto prices are considered a deal is because the city's
condo market is driven by affordability, so a lot of suites are being built to
cater to a wider market, from young people all the way through to empty nesters
and retirees.

"The great thing is that everybody loves the waterfront," she says. "It has
appeal for every type of buyer."

Shim believes this mix of buyers "makes our waterfront more interesting."

She says the Toronto market also offers a lot of small suites, which many other
cities don't.

Linda Mitchell, vice-president of sales and marketing for Monarch Corp., which
has just opened Quay West at Tip Top on the waterfront, agrees.

I think right now, Toronto has more product on the market than any other city,
which keeps prices in check," she says. Mitchell points out that during the
last boom of the late '80s, there were less than 100 condo projects on the
market, while now there are about 250.

Mitchell says there's a real push on from condo developers to maintain
affordability, as the majority of buyers are "average people with average
salaries" who can afford to spend between $180,000 and $280,000.

What's unusual about the Toronto market is that unlike other major cities, its
waterfront is not the most expensive area in the city. That honour goes to the
Yorkville neighbourhood, with it's array of glitzy designer stores and trendy
restaurants.

"In a lot of cities, waterfront is only for the rich, but here, it's affordable
to a range of buyers," Mitchell says. "What a great value Toronto's waterfront
is."

Monarch's Quay West suites start at $139,900.

That's for a 360-square-foot studio, which is fine for someone who just needs a
place to sleep. The most inexpensive units are smaller and not in the prime
location in the building," says Mitchell, adding that the average price of
units in Quay West is in the high $200,000s.

When the project opened in mid-August, 152 of 364 units in the modern, glass,
23-storey building sold on the first weekend.

The site is next to two waterfront parks, connected by the Martin Goodman Trail
and will provide views of Coronation Park to the west and Queen's Quay marina
to the east.

Even Quay West's pricier units would be considered a deal on the global market.

"People in Europe see our prices as a joke because they are so low," says Nestor
Repetski, senior partner at Winick Realty Corp., sales and marketing agents for
Plazacorp's West Harbour City, another new project, on the site of the former
Molson Brewery on Fleet St., just a stone's throw from Lake Ontario.

"Vancouver's pricey, Boston's pricey, L.A.'s pricey, close to double what our
prices are," says Repetski.

"Our prices are low because of the general proliferation of condo sites
downtown. There is so much choice," he explains.

"You can charge a premium, but you have to remain competative."

Phase one of West Harbour City is virtually sold out and phase two has been
launched, with prices starting at $222,990 for a 703-square-foot unit, and up
to $332,990 for a two-bedroom-plus-den suite.

The project is on the western edge of the downtown waterfront and Repetski says
there is no more waterfront land available for condo evelopment to the west
until Etobicoke.

To the east, there is land at the foot of Yonge St. and farther east, which will
likely come on stream soon, he says, as the area becomes further
de-industrialized.

That industrial image has been another reason why Toronto prices have lagged
behind other major cities.

"Torontonians have always taken the lakefront for granted," he says. "For years,
it was abandoed and for generations, perceived to be an industrial, not a
residential area. We turned our back on the lake."

The first downtown waterfront condo was developed by the Campeau Corp. about 30
years ago, Repetski says, next door to the hotel that's now the Westin Harbour
Castle.

The waterfront market began in earnest about 20 years ago, until the bust of the
early '90s and started to revive 10 years ago.

Repetski says 20 years ago, one of the big issues was the insufficient
infrastructure for every day needs for local residents, though there were
plenty of tourist amenities.

Now, he says, "all the infrastructure in the world" exists along the waterfront
and even more is coming, with a Great Canadian Superstore going in at the
corner of Fleet and Bathurst Sts.

Projects like 500 Queens Quay W., Atrium on Queens Quay, 1 York Quay and the
Waterclub are among those that have transformed the city's waterfront lands
from industrial to residential over the past two decades.

But Repetski says there's still not an appreciation for the waterfront as a
desirable residential area, even though condos there have proven to be a good
investment.

(For example, he says a 400-square-foot bachelor suite in the Atrium on Queens
Quay, which sold for $89,000 in 1996, would be worth more than $200,000 now.)

He gives the analogy of people who live in a neighbourhood with a 300-year-old
oak tree, who don't take note until the local historical society puts a plaque
on the tree and plans events to commemorate it.

"All of a sudden, everybody notices the tree and goes, 'Isn't that great!' All
of a sudden, people woke up and went, 'There's a waterfront here!"

But, he adds, "the Toronto waterfront is still undervalued and underappreciated
and that's going to shift.

"There's only so much waterfront in the core of the city used for residential
evelopment and, once that's done, values are going to accelerate," he predicts.