245 DAVISVILLE AVE., SUITE 605
Asking price: $569,000
Maintenance fees: $543.09/month
Taxes: $3071.14 (2015)
Unit size: 1,003 square feet (including balcony)
Agents: Steven Fudge and James Ormston, sales representatives, Urbaneer.com, Bosley Real Estate Ltd., brokerage
Nestled between boisterous Yonge and Eglinton and the gentility of Yonge and St. Clair, there lies the little residential alcove of Davisville Village. Low-rise buildings and single-family homes populate the sides of its namesake street, including The Parkside.
The Parkside is an L-shaped, yellow-bricked condominium building with oblong balconies and big windows. Diane Tamaki calls the westernmost unit on the sixth floor her home.
"You can't beat this location," she said. In fact, she loved the neighbourhood so much that prior to moving into suite 605, she used to live one street south on Balliol Street. And even after she sells her current home, she plans to stay in the neighbourhood.
The back story
The Parkside was conceived in 2001 and Ms. Tamaki remembers seeing the sales office go up. She and a few other residents from the Balliol tower they used to live in ended up wandering over to take a look at the plans. Quickly thereafter, she purchased a two-bedroom, two-bath unit and moved in two years later.
Her suite is split into two zones: the sleeping quarters in the south end and an open-concept kitchen, dining and living room on the north end.
"I call it a house in the sky," agent Steven Fudge said. "I like the fact that it doesn't feel like a Cracker Jack box like some of the new places that have a more predictable layout."
One of Mr. Fudge's favourite aspects is the way the master suite is arranged, with windows on the south and west walls and a walk-in closet and ensuite bathroom on the opposite sides.
Part of the reason why the home has distinct areas is because of its size. At nearly 1,000 square feet (including the balcony), it is a larger two-bedroom, two-bathroom condo than many on the market. And for that, you can thank the building's age, Mr. Fudge said.
"Basically today, the newer the building, the smaller the space, but there isn't a huge differential in the price point," he said, adding that most new two-bed-two-bath units are only about 850 to 900 square feet.
And while the suite may be 12 years old, it has new features, thanks to Ms. Tamaki. Over the years, she has not only given it a fresh coat of paint and a few new light fixtures, she also bedecked it with crown moulding and a sleek black-and-white kitchen.
"I wanted to strike a classic, contemporary look, by combining traditional elements like the crown moulding with the clean lines in the kitchen cabinetry," Ms. Tamaki said.
Favourite features
The entertaining area of the home is also Ms. Tamaki's favourite space.
"I spend most of my time in living room-dining room space," she said. "I like to look out at the park; there is always something going on there."
June Rowlands Park is a hub for the community, as it is not only home to the Davisville Tennis Club, but it also hosts the Davisville Farmers Market every Tuesday evening from May to October.
And for the next owner of suite 605, the park also represents one other thing: a protected view.
It's one of three views that Ms. Tamaki's unit has to offer. There is also a west view that lets the evening sun slip into her home and south view from the two bedrooms.
"It's wrapped in windows," Mr. Fudge said. "Diane has basically unlimited light. She is always going to have natural light streaming through her windows cause nothing will ever be built on her west and north exposures."
But Ms. Tamaki and Mr. Fudge agree that the best feature of the unit is its location.
"What I like about this particular location is that you still get this village, residential flavour that's not the bright lights-big city that you find at Eglinton," Mr. Fudge said.
"As some Toronto neighbourhoods become intensified and higher density, then the availability of this kind of environment is diminishing and this in some ways protects the values of the condominiums in Davisville."
This slightly more relaxed urban atmosphere is symbolized by the low-rise nature of the building. With just more than 140 units across nine floors, The Parkside isn't overwhelmingly huge. In terms of demographics, there is a mix of some young couples and families (who have bought condos because they are priced out of the single-family housing market in the area), as well as some professional, older couples and a lot of downscaling "zoomers."
There are also a number of single women in the building, including Ms. Tamaki. She says that's likely because it's a safe neighbourhood with great access to transit – there is a bus stop immediately in front of the building.
"It's also partly because of the scale of the neighbourhood. It's spacious and you've got your eyes on the street," Mr. Fudge said. "There isn't any reason to feel uncomfortable when you're in Davisville."
And there is a sense of community at The Parkside, Ms. Tamaki said. Over her dozen years there, she has come to call a number of her neighbours friends; people she can not only socialize with but also count on when there's an emergency, such as when her fridge was on the fritz (a neighbour let her use theirs while hers was repaired).
"I can always count on them and I'll miss that," she said.
Madeleine White