Home of the Week, 488 Hunter St., Peterborough, Ont.Fine Homes Photography
488 Hunter St. West, Peterborough, Ont.
Asking price: $2.195-million
Taxes: $12,393.90 (2022)
Lot size: 153- by 101-feet
Agents: Lucas Bolahood and Joe Bolahood, Coldwell Banker R.M.R. Real Estate
The backstory
Jane Parr and Shawn O’Connor moved to the city of Peterborough, Ont., in 2006 from a waterfront home outside of the city in order to be closer to their young daughter’s school.
They purchased a four-bedroom Arts and Crafts-style house in a traditional neighbourhood known as the Old West End.
The property had originally been part of a large estate owned by George Albertus Cox. The prominent businessman served as mayor of Peterborough in the late 1800s and later moved to Toronto, where he built a financial empire in the banking, insurance and railway industries.
Upon Mr. Cox’s death, his extensive land holdings in Peterborough were divided.
Mr. O’Connor’s research shows that house at 488 Hunter St. W., was built around 1909. In typical Arts and Crafts fashion, the building is turned so that the side of the house faces Hunter Street and the driveway leads to the rear. In this case, the home is on a corner lot and the front door faces Belmont Street.
Ms. Parr and Mr. O’Connor were drawn to the leafy neighbourhood and the home’s French Country decor.
The house today
Home of the Week, 488 Hunter St., Peterborough, Ont.Fine Homes Photography
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Most of the original floor plan of the house remains intact, but the previous owners had renovated the house with a new kitchen and bathrooms.
An old butler’s staircase leading to the servants’ quarters on the third floor had been removed in the 1950s or so, Mr. O’Connor says.
The removal of the staircase allowed for a larger kitchen, with a beamed ceiling, white cabinets and a large island.
A butler’s pantry connects the kitchen to the formal dining room.
The main floor also has a large living room with a bay window, built-in bookshelves, a fireplace and plenty of room for a grand piano.
“It’s a very family-oriented house,” Ms. Parr says.
A former sun porch has been turned into a family room with windows overlooking the pool and garden area.
“It’s a really cosy television room,” Mr. O’Connor says. “The cats love it.”
Mr. O’Connor and Ms. Parr had a new mudroom built with French doors leading to the pool.
Upstairs, the primary bedroom has a bay window, a sitting area and an ensuite bathroom.
The second level also has a sitting room with built-in bookshelves, a fireplace, a bathroom and a door opening to a balcony.
The second bedroom has an ensuite bathroom.
Stairs lead to the third floor, which the previous owners renovated to include two bedrooms and a common room between. There’s also a den and two bathrooms.
Mr. O’Connor and Ms. Parr say the neighbourhood has lots of families with young children.
Parks, clay tennis courts and the restaurant district are nearby.
The couple’s daughter spent lots of time at riding facilities just outside of Peterborough, where she kept her own horse and became an accomplished equestrian.
The best feature
The secluded inground pool.Fine Homes Photography
The inground pool is at the front of the house, hidden from view behind a tall hedge.
The couple had an older pool deck replaced with a stone terrace.
“It’s very secluded,” Mr. O’Connor says. “A lot of people don’t even know it’s there.”