By: Dimitrios Tsotos
A large city can easily be thought of as a living thing, comprised of streets and neighborhoods that possess a vitality that ebbs and flows with the times. Some neighborhoods rise to prominence and hold that sway. Others, however, stumble into irrelevance and languish until the proper confluence of elements permit them to be great again. The Distillery District is an example of just such a neighborhood.
Located east of Toronto’s downtown core, the Distillery District came to be with the founding, in 1832, of the Gooderham and Worts Distillery. By the late 1800’s Gooderham and Worts had become the largest distillery in the British Commonwealth and contributed significantly to the wealth of both Toronto and the country as a whole. However, a number of factors (i.e. WWI, prohibition, influences from outside business interests) contributed to the distillery’s decline and eventual closure in the early 1990’s.
Development of the 13 acre plot of land was slowed by a recession and crash, in the early 1990’s, of Toronto’s real estate market. In the meantime, the district’s collection of Victorian-era industrial architecture, which is the largest and best-preserved in North America, made the area a popular destination for Hollywood productions. Hundreds of films were shot there, including Chicago, Cinderella Man and X-Men.
The district’s development into its current incarnation as a hub for arts, culture, shopping and entertainment only started to come to fruition with the purchase of the property, in 2001, by Cityscape Holdings. Cityscape embarked on an ambitious project of renovating and retro-fitting the buildings so that, by 2003, it was ready for the world to discover.
Now, the Distillery District is a destination in its own right. Popular with locals and tourists alike, the area is occupied by restaurants, cafes, artist studios, performing arts theatres, art galleries, a micro-brewery, jewellery stores and other various boutiques.
With the completion in recent years of a number of condominiums, the area has also become a popular and desirable area in which to live, and will only continue to grow in demand as the Distillery District, and surrounding properties, continue to develop.
Dimitrios Tsotos is a Sales Representative with Royal LePage R.E.S/ Johnston & Daniel Division. Dimitrios is a regular contributor to Toronto’s Muddy York Real Estate Blog.
