The Mercer, 8 Mercer St: Brick-and-Stone Tower on John Street, Reviewed

The Mercer is the building I point to when a buyer tells me every downtown tower looks the same. It is a 33-storey tower on the corner of John and Mercer that went up in brick and stone when almost everything around it went up in glass, and it has one of the larger podium terraces in the Entertainment District. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

A masonry tower in a glass neighbourhood

Most towers finished around John Street in the 2010s are window-wall glass. The Mercer was designed by BBB Architects (Brisbin Brook Beynon) to read differently: layers of brick, stone and glass meant to echo the character of Mercer Street, a short street running west from John. One of the firm’s partners described the approach as “Romantic Modern,” which is a fair summary of what you see from the sidewalk.

The five-storey podium carries the Mercer Street streetwall east along John Street, so at ground level the building feels like part of the block rather than a tower dropped onto a plaza. UrbanToronto counted it, along with 300 Front and the Pinnacle on Adelaide, among the towers filling in the west side of John Street when it topped out in 2014.

Why does the cladding matter to a buyer? Partly appearance, and partly the long term. A masonry and punched-window facade ages differently from a full glass curtain wall. I am not going to claim it is cheaper to maintain without seeing the reserve fund study, but it is a question worth asking, and it is one of the few buildings nearby where the answer may be different.

Small suites, and who buys them

Suites run from about 363 sq ft to 1,133 sq ft, and the mix, according to UrbanToronto, is studios, one-bedrooms, one-plus-dens, two-bedrooms and a smaller number of three-bedrooms. Almost all of the building is under 700 sq ft. That makes it a first-buyer and investor building, and the current market shows it: seven suites are listed for rent against only two for sale.

A three-bedroom that tops out around 1,100 sq ft is a compact three-bedroom. It suits a couple who want an office and a guest room, or roommates, more than a family that needs real storage. If you are looking at one of the larger plans, walk it with a tape measure and check whether the third bedroom has a window and a closet.

On the small suites, focus on the layout rather than the number. A 450 sq ft studio with a squared-off living space works far better than a 500 sq ft one-bedroom with a long hallway and an interior bedroom. Ask whether the suite comes with a locker, because at these sizes it makes a real difference.

Club Mercer and the podium terrace

The amenities sit in two places. Club Mercer, on the second floor, has the party room with a kitchen, the fitness centre, a screening room and a Scandinavian-style sauna and spa. On top of the podium is a terrace of about 10,000 sq ft, which DASH Property Management describes as including private lounges, a games area, barbecues, an outdoor kitchen and dining area, green space and a reflecting pool.

That terrace is the amenity that changes daily life. In a neighbourhood where a balcony is often the only outdoor space you have, a large shared terrace six floors up is genuinely useful in summer. There is no swimming pool, so if a pool matters to you, this is not your building.

A sixth-floor terrace also means the lower floors of the tower look onto it. If you are buying a suite on the first few floors above the podium, check what you see and hear from your balcony on a busy evening.

Living at John and Mercer

This is the heart of the Entertainment District. TIFF Bell Lightbox, Roy Thomson Hall and the theatres on King Street are minutes away, as are the Rogers Centre and the CN Tower. John Street is one of the city’s main pedestrian routes between Queen Street and the waterfront, and it is busy most evenings.

The trade-off is noise. King Street nightlife and event crowds pass close to the building, and the area has kept densifying since 2015, so some views that were open at registration have since been built in. Ask which direction a suite faces and what is planned on the neighbouring lots. Transit, walkability and schools are covered in the data panel on this page.

Prices and fees at 8 Mercer Street

The building averages around $937 per square foot. That is a premium figure, and it reflects two things: the location and the small suites, which always price higher per square foot than larger ones. Compare a one-bedroom here with one-bedrooms in nearby buildings rather than with an area average.

Only two suites are listed for sale right now, asking between $459,000 and $950,000. With so little on the market, there are few current comparables, so lean on recent sales in the building, which I can pull for you.

Fees on current listings work out to about $0.71 per square foot. That includes heat, air conditioning and water as well as common elements and insurance, which is better than many glass towers nearby where heat and cooling are metered to the suite. Hydro is separate, and parking is not listed as a fee inclusion, so if the suite has a spot, confirm whether there is any separate charge.

Because the suites are small, the gap between a good and a weak suite is mostly layout and view rather than size. A studio facing the podium terrace and a studio facing north over John Street can ask similar prices and be very different places to live.

Building specifications

Amenities at The Mercer

The second-floor Club Mercer covers the indoor basics, and the 10,000 sq ft podium terrace gives small-suite owners an outdoor room the neighbourhood rarely offers. There is no swimming pool.

Jatin’s honest take on The Mercer

The Mercer — frequently asked questions

Looking at King West, Liberty Village and CityPlace more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.