Waterfront tower expected to fetch among city's highest rents

Toronto has an ambitious plan for its waterfront, and no address will be more in-demand than the towers on the shore line.

Count Pier 27 among them. The sprawling tower has among the city’s most exclusive addresses thanks to its exclusive view of Lake Ontario, not to mention its ease of access to myriad city amenities, including the Martin Goodman Trail, St. Lawrence Market, major sporting venues, and more.

“It’s at the foot of Yonge St., so you can walk to the central business district from there,” said Sam Crignano, president of Cityzen Development Group, which built Pier 27 with Fernbrook Homes. “You’re on the lake and just a ferry ride from Toronto Island and a stone’s throw from the highways with your vehicle. You’re close to expressways and public transit.”

The waterfront has one of Toronto’s strongest rental markets, and the demand is expected to get hotter when the entire neighbourhood’s build-out is complete over the next couple of decades.

“It has some of the highest rents in the city, so there’s clearly demand for that product, and it all has to do with the location and proximity of the amenities,” continued Crignano. “In terms of location, there’s nothing better. It’s centre ice in the city, centre ice waterfront—it’s as good as it gets.”

Unquestionably, there’s investor opportunity—and it’s partly abetted by the fact that Pier 27 is primarily driven by end-users. Crignano says that Pier 27 has more end users than recent Cityzen projects, and that’s good news for investor-landlords. With fewer transient residents, units retain more value over time.

“An owner will take better care,” said Crignano. “I don’t necessarily agree with that but a lot of people believe that’s the case. Typically what ends up happening is an owner tends to spend more time there, so there are fewer frequencies of moving in and moving out, and that’s probably the bigger factor in terms of wear and tear.”

Internationally-renowned sculptor and artist Alice Aycock also unveiled her first Canadian art installation called A Series of Whirlpool Manoeuvres for Pier 27, composed of Maelstrom and Toronto Twister—two installations representing different facets of the city.

“The composition of Toronto Twister,” said Aycock, “was partially derived from images of lenticular clouds. The sculptural assemblages also suggest weather patterns, waves, wind turbulence, turbines, vortexes of energy, and the expressive quality of wind as well as the chaotic beauty of fluid-flow dynamics.”

Related stories:
Market flow stymied
These condo units are Toronto’s hottest commodity