Pure Spirit, 33 Mill St: The Distillery District’s First Condo Tower

Pure Spirit is the building that brought the high-rise condo to the Distillery District. When it was finished in 2009, it was the only modern tower standing over the Victorian brick and cobblestones, and it still sets the template that Clear Spirit and the Gooderham followed. The question for a buyer is not whether the building is good, but whether you want to live inside one of Toronto’s busiest tourist districts. I’m Jatin Dua, RE/MAX Quantum Realty.

The tower that opened the Distillery to condos

Toronto Life has called 33 Mill Street the first condo tower built in the Distillery District, and the Toronto Star’s architecture critic at the time singled it out as one of the more elegant buildings in the city. UrbanToronto credits architectsAlliance with the design of all three phases of the Cityscape project, which means Pure Spirit, Clear Spirit next door and the later Gooderham share a design family.

That matters for resale. You are buying the original of a set, and buyers comparing the three towers will usually find Pure Spirit is the oldest and, as I show below, priced in line with Clear Spirit rather than at a discount to it.

The tall modern towers here were controversial when they went up, with real debate about glass towers sitting inside a heritage district. That argument is long settled on the ground, but it explains why the district’s low-rise core will stay low-rise: the tower sites were the exception, not the start of a trend inside the cobblestone blocks.

Ceilings and the loft look

The suites lean into a loft feel with exposed concrete ceilings and exposed ductwork. One building profile reports ceilings of about 10 feet on the first six floors and about 9 feet above that, and Toronto Life described a 10-foot ceiling in an upper penthouse, so heights vary by level and suite type. Measure the one you are looking at.

Bedrooms in many plans use sliding doors to save floor area, which is common in this era of downtown building. It works well in a one-bedroom, but check whether the bedroom has a true window or borrows light from the living room, and whether the slider gives you the privacy you need.

The west corner suites are the ones people remember. The tower’s angled footprint creates pointed corner layouts with a lot of glass. They photograph beautifully; they are also harder to furnish, so walk one with a tape measure before you fall for the view.

Living inside a tourist district

The Distillery is a pedestrian district of restored 19th-century industrial buildings, galleries, restaurants and shops. On a weekday morning it is calm and beautiful. On a summer weekend, and especially during the holiday market season, the lanes fill with visitors, and that is the trade-off you accept here.

Toronto Life raised the fair question of whether the district works as a place to live or mainly as a place to visit. My answer is that it suits people who like the atmosphere and don’t need a car-oriented daily routine. A grocery store at the base of the building, reported in one profile, softens the everyday errand problem considerably.

The area east and south of the Distillery keeps changing. Clear Spirit, the Gooderham and the Canary District buildings have all been added since Pure Spirit opened, so the neighbourhood now has far more residents than it did in 2009. The automatic panel on this page covers transit, schools and walkability.

What the fee covers

Maintenance fees here include common elements, heat, air conditioning, building insurance and water. Parking is not listed as included, so if you need a space, confirm whether it is deeded to the suite and whether it carries its own monthly fee.

Active listings show fees running about $1.04 per square foot. That is on the high side for downtown, but heat and cooling are bundled, which removes the summer and winter swing that buyers in newer metered buildings pay separately. Hydro for lights and appliances is your own cost.

When you compare this building with a newer tower nearby, add back the heating and cooling bill the other building charges separately, and add parking if you need it here. Done that way, the headline gap between fee levels in the district is usually smaller than it first looks, and sometimes it disappears.

Pricing against the other Distillery towers

Pure Spirit averages about $891 per square foot on condos.ca. That is the same as Clear Spirit at about $891 and just under the Gooderham at about $906, despite being the oldest of the three. Older low-rise buildings on Mill Street, such as Lindenwood at 70 Mill and the 80 Mill Street condos, trade lower, at roughly $734 and $799.

Fees per square foot are broadly similar across the trio: about $1.04 here, about $1.01 at Clear Spirit and about $1.24 at the Gooderham, based on active listings.

At the time of writing, three suites were listed for sale, asking from about $600,000 to about $1,000,000 across one-bedroom-plus-den and two-bedroom plans, with fees in the high $700s to high $800s a month. The spread reflects floor and view as much as size. For aggregate sold figures, see my building sold report.

Building specifications

Amenities at Pure Spirit

condos.ca lists a gym, party and media rooms, a rooftop deck with barbecues and a concierge. An older building profile also describes a podium-level outdoor pool and hot tub, saunas and guest suites; the current listings do not mention a pool, so confirm what is operating today before you count on it.

Jatin’s honest take on Pure Spirit

Pure Spirit — 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.