National Post

Palace Pier and its gilded rooms

- This Luxe Condominium Has Existed For 30 Years But Is Still Toronto's Best-Kept Secret

Sherry Noik-Bent

National Post

Saturday, July 21, 2007

There's nothing else like it in Toronto: a condominium that is an empire unto itself, a sovereign solitude of luxe on the lake, a Versailles-esque symbol of power and privilege situated just out of reach of the madding crowd.

Ever since it was built, on the lakefront just west of the Humber River, Palace Pier has been an outpost for the wealthy. And 30 years on, this home of the mil-lion-dollar resales can stand up to the poshest digs anywhere.

"It was built like a fortress," says Irene Goodman, president of Regency Park Realty and a long-time resident. "It's not what's being built today, for sure. It's a city on its own."

She has offered to give Post Homes a rare peek inside this exclusive enclave, what she calls "the best-kept secret in town."

Of course, back in the day, Palace Pier had to be fortified because it was located within spitting distance of a strip of seedy by-the-hour motels that teemed with undesirables. Enclosing its nine-acre spread within wrought iron gates ensured the silver spoons didn't mix with the tarnished rabble.

That's changed now, with a spate of new condo developments rising in place of the motels over the past five years. Still, Palace Pier maintains an aloof distance from the new kids on the block, if not in geography then in attitude.

Long before "condo" became a household word, some of Toronto's well-heeled wereabandoning their manors and taking up residence in these 433 gilded, yet spacious, cages. "The concept of Palace Pier was to give people the semblance of a home-- room sizes, character -- without having the responsibility of maintaining a home," says Ms. Goodman, who bought her first suite here in 1977 for $80,000.

And why not, when they could have round-the-clock royal treatment right on-site. A licensed restaurant, a full-service spa/beauty salon, an organic dry cleaners and a food market are all operated on the premises -- none open to the public. There are tennis and squash courts, a fitness centre with scheduled classes, a putting green and driving range, and a brand new $600,000 swimming pool complex. Concierge and

maintenance personnel are on call 24/7. Weekday private shuttle service operates to St. Lawrence Market, Union Station or Sherway Gardens (in fact, that's the only thing it shares with its neighbouring condo, Palace Place); a new flat-screen TV in the waiting room tracks the shuttle's progress with a little red GPS dot on a map.

All at 59 cents per square foot monthly maintenance, compared with about 40 cents on new condos today (though that 59 cents is currently boosted by a one-year special assessment of 18 cents more per foot to cover the remodelling of the pink-and-green hallways). It's no wonder there isn't much turnover of suites -- about 50 per year, estimates Ms. Goodman. And, as many people go south for the winters and north for the summers, wear and tear is minimal.

As the official broker for the development, her Web site (regencyparkrealty. com) contains all current listings, and some of them can be had for a very reasonable price if the new owner is willing to adopt old Miami Vice-peach paint and parquet flooring: a 1,250-sq.-ft. suite recently sold for $275,000 -- well below the average cost of a home in Toronto today. Meanwhile, a suite like Ms. Goodman's current one-- 3,257 renovated sq. ft. of panoramic three-sided views -- would go for $1.2-million. She paid $535,000 for it in 1996. "Demographics have changed," she says. "Ten years ago, we were totally reliant on Toronto and who was coming from within. Now we're cheap to the rest of the world. Try to get 3,000 sq. ft. in New York and you're looking at US$15-million."

Befitting a palace, life here is governed by a form of court etiquette, something Ms. Goodman describes as "going back to the '50s, as far as people's values go. This is serious money and serious people who live here."

Self-contained, self-managed from Day 1 and self-perpetuating: Homeowners rarely move out, more often just playing musical suites. And when anyone needs a service not on the long list already provided in-house, there are resident dentists, doctors, IT experts, art dealers and even renovators. "I started off 18 years ago doing little repairs," says Jerry Adie, a denizen from Day 1. Now he estimates he's done work in 80% of the suites. Walls come down, walls go up, layouts are re-configured over and over again with every relocation.

In-suite remodels bring new life to the edifice, whose age can be felt in the heft of its building materials and the fade of its common-space decor. Yet Palace Pier continues to upgrade to the pace of modern living.

It's now wired for high-speed Internet and outfitted with satellite TV, including a dedicated Palace Pier channel displaying maintenance notifications and traffic conditions. The recent installation of high-efficiency chillers and boilers has reduced CO2 emissions by 961 tonnes annually and produced energy savings totalling $229,000 per year. A generator means the power can keep running during a blackout. But they have bridge and tennis instead of a movie screening room; the media room is a library, not an Internet workstation. The Rat Pack would feel right at home in the top-floor party room with its chrome and mirrors and built-in banquettes.

This three-decade old development can hold its own in today's changed condo market. As the daily fresh flowers in its lobby attest, Palace Pier remains a deeply rooted old-school community, and the residents here wouldn't have it any other way. Elitist? "Absolutely," Ms. Goodman says with a smile, "and it should be. It's not everything for everybody."