19 ST. CLAIR GARDENS, TORONTO
Asking price: $629,000 (goes to market April 7)
Taxes: $2,675.13 (2014)
Lot size: 16 by 79.75 ft.
Agent: Lance and Brenda Van der Kolk, sales representatives, Re/Max Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage
It’s a common enough story in the Toronto real estate market: Young professional buys shoebox condo downtown, wants bigger digs, looks for house, realizes prices in adjacent areas are unattainable, reassess expectations, settles for small fixer-upper outside the core.
And that is basically what happened to Nadine McHorgh when she decided to sell her West Queen West condo back in 2012. But instead of looking east to places such as Riverdale and Leslieville (which are becoming increasingly more unaffordable for younger homeowners), she went north to St. Clair Avenue West and Dufferin Street, a neighbourhood that agent Lance Van der Kolk calls one of Toronto’s new “pockets.”
“Everyone is looking for a house in a neighbourhood that is going in the right direction but you can still get a good deal on,” he said.
Ms. McHorgh was lucky enough to find her deal in a small semi on St. Clair Gardens.
The back story
“When I got it, it was super cluttered,” Ms. McHorgh said.
“But that helped us get it under the listing price,” Mr. Van der Kolk said. “It was a real find actually. It had slipped under the carpet in the market at the time.”
But instead of moving into it right away, Ms. McHorgh decided to renovate it from top to bottom, which took about two months and cost her around $80,000.
The first floor was always open concept with the living room, dining room off of the front and a kitchen in the back, but it was originally covered in small, brown tiles. They were one of the first things to go, swapped out for hardwood.
Another big change Ms. McHorgh made was replacing all of the electrical, which was still knob and tube when she bought it.
But she also made some smaller changes, such as adding five-inch crown moulding and baseboards throughout the first floor. And the entire house has been fitted for custom blinds and got a new paint job (something Ms. McHorgh painstakingly did herself).
Upstairs, Ms. McHorgh kept the old hardwood floors but sanded and refinished them. She also added a built-in wardrobe in the master bedroom and completely redid the house’s only bathroom.
One of the last areas to get a makeover was the kitchen, which she designed in under 10 days.
“I thought there might be a better arrangement for the layout, but there wasn’t. So I decided to keep it simple and elegant,” she said.
By keeping everything where it originally was, Ms. McHorgh didn’t have to change any of the plumbing. Instead she just upgraded all of the amenities, including adding very tall overhead cabinets, a three-foot deep sink and all new appliances.
She even paid close attention to every small detail; for example, she meticulously sourced sleek, little Italian-imported handles for her new kitchen cabinets so that they would match with the grain of the wood.
The outside of the house also got some of Ms. McHorgh’s love. She redid the porch and painted the front façade, but kept the portrait of Jesus that is so common on homes in the area.
“I have a master’s degree in art history so I couldn’t get rid of the religious tiled art on the front of the house,” she said. “I kept it as a piece of kitschy art. I loved the colouring of it and I tried to match it with the colour of the front door.”
“I think it has spectacular curb appeal,” Mr. Van der Kolk said. “Not all houses are beautiful from the street.”
Favourite features
When all of the changes were done, Ms. McHorgh was most satisfied with the bathroom.
“I really love the bathroom,” she said. “The space isn’t so big, so I thought if we could do very end-high finishes for everything, it’d be this jewel box in the house.”
Some of those finishes included a deep soaker tub, a rainforest showerhead, ruby fixtures and heated floors.
For Mr. Van der Kolk, the first floor is his favourite space.
“I love the open concept nature of the first floor. It feels nice and roomy and it’s a great entertaining space,” he said.
“I’ve been able to host parties of 20 to 25 people on this floor and it doesn’t feel crowded,” Ms. McHorgh added.
But both agree that the neighbourhood, officially called Earlscourt but more commonly known as Corso Italia, is one of the best aspects of the home.
Ms. McHorgh says that in her two years there she has gotten to know not just her neighbours on St. Clair Gardens but also all of the local shopkeepers and restaurant owners in the area.
“It’s a neighbourhood that is really gentrifying,” Mr. Van der Kolk said. “So who is going to move here? It’s somebody who can’t afford the Annex but wants the incredible diversity, excitement and vibrancy of being in a really fun, eclectic neighbourhood.”
Ms. McHorgh agrees and says that the size of the home (only about 1,100 square feet), the low-maintenance backyard and proximity to transit make it a great step-up from a condo. And Mr. Van der Kolk adds that because of Ms. McHorgh’s renovations, it’s not only turn-key but also distinct.
“It’s got a good sense of life in here,” he said.