Rating: NNNNN
The Distillery Jazz Festival coincides with the opening of what could turn out to be one of Toronto’s most innovative developments – the Distillery Historic District. Formerly the Gooderham and Worts distillery, the complex’s 44 buildings hold a mix of artist spaces, retail outlets and residences. Developers offered cash-starved artists’ groups cut-rate rents and long leases to attract tenants, while courting independent retailers for the project. Stores open 11 am to 7 pm Monday to Wednesday and Sunday, 11 am to 9 pm Thursday through Saturday, and the site is pedestrians-only after 11 am every morning. It’s clear from these photos taken just days ago that renovators of the site – spanning Mill to the Gardiner and Parliament to Cherry – are pushing it to meet their deadlines.
The jazz show goes on either way.
District data
Original construction 1831
Size 5.2 hectares
Tenants 119
Art studios 33
Retail stores 22
Galleries 21
Cobblestones imported to pave site 340,000
Chain or franchise tenants 0
