no one reads the Globe?
Last tower for historic Distillery
From Friday's Globe and Mail
May 30, 2008 at 11:49 AM EDT
* Gooderham Condominiums
* Location: Parliament Street and Mill Street, downtown
* Builder/Developer: Cityscape Development Corp. and Dundee Realty Corp.
* Size: 493 to 1,983 square feet
* Price: $248,900 to $1,253,900
* Sales Centre: The Stables (Building 51 in the Distillery District), Trinity and Mill Streets
* Contact: (416) 361-1322 or
www.liveatthedistillery.com
Five years ago, dozens of crumbling brick monoliths that used to house the Gooderham & Worts Distillery were gutted and renovated to unveil the Distillery District. The project was a pretty brave gamble to turn what was then a sprawling industrial wasteland — albeit one with historically significant 19th-century architectural features — into a trendy destination zone of gourmet restaurants, bars, art galleries, boutiques and cultural landmarks.
Gooderham Condominiums, to be officially launched in mid-June, is the last of three high-rise condominiums to be erected in the Distillery (as it is now known), and is the final residential element completing the aggressive revitalization of this downtown parcel.
Designed by Peter Clewes of Architects Alliance, the 35-storey Gooderham is designed as the sister building to Clear Spirit, which is under construction. It will be a visually appealing building with a mostly glass façade featuring an abundance of wraparound balconies on every floor that appears to twist as you look up. The corkscrew illusion is appropriate considering it will be built on top of the building that used to house the whisky racks of another era, according to Cityscape principal John Berman.
"The views are just incredible for this building," said Mr. Berman, noting that it is also opposite the Young Centre for the Performing Arts.
There are a lot of affordable opportunities within the initial launch of these 310 suites for buyers looking for something under $300,000.A planned extension to the King Street streetcar line to serve the West Donlands precinct will stop in front of the Gooderham, and there is an extensive fruit-and-vegetable market set to open there this year.
With the exception of a bank branch, the Distillery's retail and cultural component is reserved strictly for locally owned businesses, with no commercial chains allowed.
