Parliament Square, 39 Parliament St: The Distillery’s Value Entry

Parliament Square is the building I point to when someone wants the Distillery and has a budget that the newer towers will not meet. It is a 2000 mid-rise with a fee that includes hydro and parking and the lowest average price per square foot of the condos around the district. It also sits on a corner that is about to change a great deal, which you need to weigh before you buy. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

One of three first-generation Distillery condos

In 1994 the City set a planning framework for the old Gooderham and Worts distillery lands, dividing them into districts including a Parliament Street Residential District and a Mill Street Residential District. Three condominiums were completed under it: 70 Mill, 80 Mill and 39 Parliament, all by Davies Smith Developments. Parliament Square, registered in March 2000, is the largest of the three at 181 suites.

These buildings came before the Distillery District as we know it. The distillery stopped production in 1990, and the site was only bought in 2001 by the group that turned its Victorian industrial buildings into today’s pedestrian district. Parliament Square’s first owners were buying next to an empty industrial site.

That history explains its scale. At 13 storeys, it is a mid-rise from an era when nobody was approving 40-storey towers here. The newer towers came later: Pure Spirit at the southeast corner of Parliament and Mill in 2008, then Clear Spirit and The Gooderham farther in.

Suite range: studios to large family units

Suites run from about 421 square feet to about 1,861. That is a much wider spread than you find in most new towers, which means the building attracts a real mix: first-time buyers and renters in the smaller suites, and owner-occupiers and downsizers in the two-bedroom and larger plans.

Current listings include a one-bedroom-plus-den in the 600 to 699 square foot band and two-bedroom suites in the 900 to 999 square foot band and larger. For downtown, two-bedrooms of that size at this price per foot are hard to find in a newer building.

I could not confirm the architect, ceiling heights or exact floor plans, so I will not guess. As with any 25-year-old building, finishes vary a great deal from suite to suite, and an original kitchen and bathroom should be priced in.

A fee that includes hydro and parking

Fees at Parliament Square cover common elements, heat, hydro, air conditioning, building insurance, water and parking. Hydro and parking in the fee are both uncommon, and together they add up to a real monthly saving compared with a building that bills them separately.

Active listings average about $0.80 per square foot in fees, with monthly amounts from about $510 to about $800. Before you compare that with a new tower at $0.65, add back the newer building’s hydro, cooling and parking. The gap usually narrows or disappears.

Bundled hydro shifts the risk of rising electricity rates onto the corporation, and heavy users are subsidised by light ones. Ask how utility costs are trending in the budget and whether the board has studied sub-metering.

The corner of Parliament and Mill is changing

The building sits at the Distillery’s west gate. The car-free lanes, restaurants and the winter market season are steps away, along with the traffic and crowds that come with them on busy weekends. Corktown’s older streets are to the north, and the Canary District and West Don Lands parks are to the east.

Two big changes are right next door. The Goode, a new tower at 33 and 35 Parliament, has been completed on the adjacent lot. And the First Parliament site at Front and Parliament, which the City described in 2012 as parking lots and car-related businesses, has been slated for the Ontario Line’s Corktown station. Expect construction activity on that block for some time, and better transit when it is done.

If you are looking at a suite on the side facing either site, ask what has changed for light and views. Parliament Street itself is a busy road, so lower suites on the street side will hear more traffic than upper suites or those facing the interior of the block. Visit at rush hour and on a Saturday evening before you decide, because the building feels different at each. The panel on this page covers current transit, schools and walkability.

The lowest price per foot among the Distillery condos

condos.ca puts Parliament Square’s average at about $703 per square foot. That is below its siblings, Lindenwood at 70 Mill at about $734 and 80 Mill at about $799, and well below the newer towers: Pure Spirit and Clear Spirit both average about $891 and The Gooderham about $906.

Some of that discount is age and some is the mid-rise format, which many buyers trade away for views. But with hydro and parking in the fee, I think the gap is larger than the building’s quality justifies, and that is the opportunity.

At the time of writing, three suites were listed for sale, asking from about $550,000 to about $890,000, with monthly fees from about $510 to about $800. One suite was listed for rent.

With 181 suites there are usually enough sales each year to price from the building’s own history, which is not true of many smaller buildings nearby. For aggregate sold figures, see my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Parliament Square

The amenity package is basic: a rooftop deck, party and meeting rooms, visitor parking and an underground garage, with no pool or gym listed on condos.ca. You are paying for location and fee inclusions, not an amenity floor, and the corporation is not carrying the cost of one.

Jatin’s honest take on Parliament Square

Parliament Square — frequently asked questions

Looking at St. Lawrence, the Financial District and Downtown Yonge more broadly? Start with my Toronto community guide — the neighbourhoods, what each pocket is like, and how they compare.