The listing: 312 Logan Ave.
Asking price: $1-million
Taxes: $4,026.38 (2016)
Lot size: 14 feet by 115 feet
Listing agent: Brad Douglas, sales representative, Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd.
Home buyers in Toronto have heard the horror stories before: bully bids, listings that sell way over asking, homes on the market for only a day.
Coming from Stratford, Suzanne Villeneuve and her husband knew the Toronto market was going to be hot, but some thirty homes and three bids later, they really got a sense of exactly how hot it was.
“It was a bit of a nightmare, honestly,” she said.
It began to feel like they were never going to find the right house. Then, they came across 312 Logan Ave. last spring.
The back story
Shortly after 312 Logan Ave. popped onto the market, Ms. Villeneuve and her agent Brad Douglas went to see it.
“I said, ‘Okay Brad, go in and ask them what they want,’” said Ms. Villeneuve, adding that she was not willing to wait for the offer day.
So that night, they got their pre-emptive bid together and the next day they put it in.
“I bought this place and my husband hadn’t even seen it,” she said with a laugh. “Because it was that kind of market. Thankfully, we’ve never had a moment of regret.”
Despite the lengthy search, the Villeneuves did not settle. The row house on Logan Avenue, just north of Queen Street East, fit all of their criteria: it had three bedrooms, it walked out to a vibrant street and it was in a coveted neighbourhood that had a lot to offer.
“I’m glad this is where we netted out because I’m not so sure we would have fit in quite as well elsewhere,” said Ms. Villeneuve. “I’ve never assimilated into a neighbourhood more quickly.”
She said that in the short time she and her husband have been in Leslieville they’re become patrons of local gyms, made many friends and explored almost all of the restaurants between Leslie Street and St. Lawrence Market along Queen Street.
Leslieville is also a neighbourhood that is undergoing a lot of change and 312 Logan saw its own transformation just over a year ago. The previous owners of the home were builders who gutted the old row house and gave it new life, including Canadian hickory floors, a fully finished basement, new electrical and plumbing, custom windows and a new one-and-a-half car detached garage.
Aesthetically the three-bedroom, two-full-bathroom home draws on the very popular open-concept main floor with clean lines, whereas the second floor has kept its older layout but everything from the closets to the trims have been updated.
Mr. Douglas said what impressed him was the quality of the build. “It was a smart, no-nonsense quality renovation.”
Ms. Villeneuve’s inspector confirmed this when he gave the home a great review.
“We felt confident that the renovation was well done and there weren’t any issues – and there haven’t been,” she said. “I’m past the age when a surprise in your house is an exciting opportunity.”
She also appreciated that the renovation gave each room a distinct purpose and every space is used efficiently.
Case in point: the kitchen.
When the Villeneuves moved from Stratford, they left behind an old Victorian home with a spacious kitchen. The kitchen at 312 Logan is a fraction of the size. But it does boast a nine-foot-long island and a wall of cabinetry.
“I was concerned about what I was going to do with a [smaller] kitchen but it’s so smartly designed … I maybe had more space in this kitchen in the end,” she said.
Favourite features
Over the course of the year they have owned the house the Villeneuves have made a few changes to massage the space, like adding a statement light fixture in the dining room and some California shutters to the large front windows.
“My space has to feel like it’s coming together for me to feel comfortable,” said Ms. Villeneuve.
Part of that process involved transforming the backyard. When they bought it, the backyard had a patch of new sod, which was pretty to look at until the squirrels found it. Then it was pulled up corners and kicked up dirt.
“It was important to me that the space continue outdoors,” she said. “That you could open the door and people could flow in and out and you wouldn’t have a jarring experience.”
So they decided to take out the grass and replace it with flowerbeds and wood chips. “It looks way neater and if the squirrels want to bury their little nut you just kick the wood chips over.”
The other elements of the home that both the Villeneuves and Mr. Douglas appreciate are the exposed brick wall along the main and top floor and the glass partition for the staircase.
“The architectural elements of this place – the glass and the brick – made it really fun to live here,” Ms. Villeneuve said, adding that she loves the juxtaposition of the heavy brick anchoring the space to the lightness of the glass.
The glass also plays an important role in streaming light through the row house.
“The glass wall really welcomes you to go down and use that lower level because of the way the light carries down,” Mr. Douglas said.
Though their stay has been short, Ms. Villeneuve really cherishes the opportunity 312 Logan gave her to change up her life for a bit.
“For people who are making a life transition, moving into a home like this is an opportunity – to clean your karmic space and try something new on,” she said. “It has been a lot of fun for us.”
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