Even in the gloomy days of February — when the snow looks bruised, the days are cold, and the Christmas lights are gone — Guildwood Village still had a majestic quality for Dianna Witte and her husband Ric Santon.
"It just had this charm and beauty to it," Ms. Witte recalled, "and we've always liked that mid-century architecture."
Two years ago, Ms. Witte, the owner of a Leslieville art gallery, and her husband, an artist, were looking for a new house to move to with their young daughter, Lily. The couple had lived for years near the Art Gallery of Ontario, but now things were different.
"When we had Lily, it was a little hard to live out there with a little kid," Ms. Witte says.
"There's so much noise and we wanted her to have a little more space."
On a friend's suggestion, the couple, now both 40, took a drive through the forested village in Scarborough, located off Kingston Road about 20 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. Nestled among the trees was a house they wanted so badly that they put down an offer of $300,000 without even seeing the interior, which they knew they'd have to renovate.
"Once you get out here, it's amazing how easily you become a convert and how much you just love it," Ms. Witte says. "Everyone who comes to visit us just thinks it's beautiful. It actually feels like you're away from the city so close to the city."
In the past five years, Guildwood, which includes about 3,500 homes, has seen a steady increase in buyers such as Ms. Witte and Mr. Santon. It's almost like déjà vu.
What's happening brings to mind the 1950s and 1960s, when the village — the vision of philanthropists Spencer and Rosa Clark — was in its nascent stages. Young families are moving from downtown to the village because they want a sturdy house at an affordable price, with a good-sized lot for children, and proximity to the city.
"We've really been a best-kept secret for a long period of time, so you're getting a lot of value for your money here," says Janis Evanoff, an agent with Evanoff Real Estate Ltd. "I don't think the values have nearly reached their potential."
The Clarks formed an artists' co-operative called the Guild of All Arts in 1932 to encourage a resurgence of traditional handcrafts. In 1957, the couple officially opened the village, and many people who bought there up to 50 years ago have remained in the same houses ever since.
Ms. Evanoff, whose family has lived in Guildwood since 1965, called the village "an entity on its own, self-contained in every sense." There are plazas, schools, a GO Train stop, and easy access to and from the city.
People are often flabbergasted when they drive through the village, she says, because they are expecting to see the Scarborough that's often portrayed in the media — unsafe for kids and ridden by violence — not a quiet community built around mature trees and within walking distance of the waterfront.
"It's prime opportunity for a young family to come in and do what they want to do for an affordable price," she says.
And yet, there seems to be something more to this new generation of buyers. Instead of moving to a monster home all too characteristic of some areas in the Greater Toronto Area, some buyers are reclaiming the mid-century bungalow and preserving the village's integrity.
"I really think that things will just continue to have a steady rise here," Ms. Evanoff says. "They'll follow market conditions but over all, I believe that this will become a very sought-after area."
