Development is changing the look and feel of what used to be a barren lakeside to a vibrant blend of mixed-use communities
A breathtaking water view is one of the perks of a penthouse at Menkes Harbour Plaza, whose two towers include 1,315 suites and which is generating buzz among luxury buyers. MENKES DEVELOPMENTS
Lakeshore projects are luring luxury buyers. Development along the Toronto waterfront is rapidly transforming the city’s skyline. From Bathurst Street in the west to Cherry Street in the east, the barren industrial shoreline of yesteryear is fast being filled in with an array of sleek, new mixed-use projects.
Menkes Developments has played a significant role in the rebirth of Toronto’s waterfront. A decade ago, the developer was a pioneer in South Core, the area south of Union Station once considered a no-man’s land. Menkes constructed South Core’s first office tower, 25 York Street (Telus House), and triggered a wave of subsequent development there.
Now, the company is nearing completion on Harbour Plaza, a project at Lake Shore Boulevard and York Street that includes two residential towers (one 70 storeys, the other 66); a 200,000-square-foot podium with shops, services and restaurants; and an office tower, One York Street. And Menkes has just unveiled plans for Sugar Wharf, its high-profile redevelopment of the LCBO lands on Queens Quay East. Both projects have generated big buzz within Toronto’s luxury real estate market.
Sugar Wharf’s first phase, launching this summer, will include two residential towers, 64 and 70 storeys. The community ultimately will comprise five condo buildings and a mid-rise rental tower. The first development on the 11-acre site is a 25-storey office building, to be anchored by the LCBO, replacing its existing administrative facilities. There will be an LCBO flagship retail location at the tower’s base, as well as a grocery store. The Sugar Wharf neighbourhood will eventually have a public school and a two-acre park.
Luxury buyers will be drawn to Sugar Wharf’s exclusive waterfront location and the spectacular views that will come as a result, says Mimi Ng, Menkes’ vice-president of sales and marketing. And upper floors of Sugar Wharf’s five condo buildings will offer high-end buyers ample opportunity for the creation of custom-designed suites.
Harbour Plaza kitchens, boast custom-designed cabinetry, a custom island and engineered-quartz countertops. MENKES DEVELOPMENTS
While luxury buyers will have much to choose from at Sugar Wharf, Ng says the project caters to a wider demographic, too, families in particular. The builder has seen tremendous interest from families at its Harbour Plaza development. This prompted Menkes to include a dedicated 700-square-foot kids room and an adjoining 2,100-square-foot outdoor kids play area there.
“And we’ve had a ton of positive feedback to it from people living in the building.” Since Sugar Wharf will include a public school, Menkes anticipates families being even more attracted to that project. So, the developer plans an expanded kids amenity program and suites designed with families in mind.
“We’re trying to be inclusive,” Ms. Ng says. “We’re seeing many young families living in our buildings and they need facilities, too.”
The project is attracting a lot of families, so Menkes has added a kids room, left, and adjoining outdoor play area. MENKES DEVELOPMENTS
The Sugar Wharf site is to be bisected by an extended Harbour Street, which will run through the centre of the development and into the neighbouring property at One Yonge Street (also being redeveloped), before terminating at Jarvis Street.
Just across the road from Sugar Wharf, Menkes is developing the Waterfront Innovation Centre, an office complex that’s luring creative and tech companies to the lakeshore. And farther down Queens Quay, several mixed-use condo communities by other developers are under construction, helping to populate much of the postindustrial space along the waterfront. An expanded Queens Quay LRT will soon serve this burgeoning area, and it will be a short stroll for residents of Sugar Wharf to Sugar Beach and Sherbourne Common, parks built in earlier phases of the waterfront revitalization.
“The city has been focused on putting in community infrastructure to serve the new population,” Ms. Ng says.
Harbour Plaza has seen plenty of interest from luxury buyers. The project includes 1,315 suites between the two residential towers, and the Penthouse Collection, on the top two floors of each building, has just been released. These luxury residences range from 1,529-square-foot two-bedroom units to 2,045-square-foot three-bedroom suites. Prices start at $2.3-million. “They are move-in ready,” Ms. Ng says, adding that a model suite by award-winning design firm Cecconi Simone is available for by-appointment viewings.
Sugar Wharf, below, is one of the projects transforming Toronto’s waterfront, and will ultimately comprise five condo buildings and a mid-rise rental tower. MENKES DEVELOPMENTS
The penthouses have 10-foot ceilings; a glass-enclosed gas fireplace with limestone mantle and natural stone surround; engineered hardwood flooring in principal rooms; and porcelain, ceramic or stone tile flooring in bathrooms.
Kitchens boast custom-designed cabinetry by Cecconi Simone and an engineered-quartz countertop with ceramic, porcelain, glass-mosaic tile or engineered-quartz slab backsplash. Kitchens come with Miele appliances and a custom-designed island with engineered-quartz countertop and a pots-and-pans drawer.
Bathrooms have a soaker tub with ceramic, porcelain or stone wall tiles in the tub or shower enclosure; a frameless shower with clear-glass door; and designer-selected white plumbing fixtures. Penthouses at Harbour Plaza will appeal to luxury buyers who are downsizing from family homes. The suites are also ideally suited to executives working in the financial district who want to live in a triple-A location that’s close to the office. “We’ve had a lot of interest from those two segments of that market,” Ms. Ng says.
Harbour Plaza connects the waterfront to the downtown core via the PATH network, and this will be expanded eastward to the Sugar Wharf site, as well as to several neighbouring developments, including One Yonge and a CIBC-anchored office complex being built at the base of Bay Street. “PATH is an amazing asset for everyone,” Ms. Ng says.
Residents at Harbour Plaza and Sugar Wharf have the luxury of using PATH to go see a game at the Air Canada Centre (soon to be called Scotiabank Arena). And if they need to catch a flight to a holiday or business destination, they can take PATH to Union Station, board a UP Express train, and arrive at Pearson International Airport, all without ever having to venture outside.
“No more walking on the streets and under the Gardiner Expressway in the rain and snow, with cars whizzing past you,” says Ms. Ng. “Those days are gone.”
Advertising feature produced by Globe Content Studio. The Globe’s editorial department was not involved.