- 17 ST. MARGARETS DR.
- WHAT: A newly built residence on a 90-foot wide lot in Hoggs Hollow.
- ASKING PRICE: $5,775,000
- TAXES: not yet assessed
- AGENT: Andrew Zimet, Chestnut Park Real Estate Ltd.
- AMENITIES: The two-storey house contains more than 7,000 square feet of living space, including five bedrooms, eight bathrooms and a main floor library and family room. There is also a finished basement and a garage measuring 53- by 42-feet.
On the main floor, there is a sky lit atrium in the middle of the house, three fireplaces and multiple double doors to the patio from the living room and family room.
The latter is open to the eat-in kitchen that was custom built entirely on site with rows of birch cabinetry, poplar doors and glass inserts in some cases. The space also has an oversized island with a sink. A butler's pantry has direct access to the dining room.
Upstairs, the master suite has a gas fireplace, his-and-her walk-in closets and a six-piece bathroom. Also on the level are four other bedrooms, three bathrooms — both private and shared — and a laundry room.
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On the lower level, there is a recreation room, media room, wine cellar and nanny's quarters with a full bathroom.
The home is equipped with top-of-the-line kitchen appliances and systems for central vacuum, security and sound. There are separate heating and cooling systems for the garage, basement, first and second levels, plus radiant heating in most bathrooms, the driveway, walkways and steps.
Outside, the 0.27-acre lot sits on the corner of a crescent, filled out with several trees.
The location of this newly-built home in a maturely treed neighbourhood off Yonge Street and York Mills Road brings to mind the expression "country in the city," agent Andrew Zimet says.
"Hoggs Hollow is a winding enclave of small private streets, and those streets do not have curbs and sidewalks," Mr. Zimet says. "So it feels a lot like being in the country."
The lot sizes are also spacious, ranging from 50 by 150-feet properties to rare 75 by 300-foot lots backing onto the Rosedale Golf Club or the West Don River.
This two-storey house stands out for its 90-foot wide frontage on the corner of a prime crescent.
"St. Margarets [Drive] is considered to be one of the best — if not the best — streets in Hoggs Hollow," Mr. Zimet says. "There are only 17 houses on the street, so if you see traffic, it's one of your neighbours."
Belvedere Developments have built and designed many homes in and around the area, but this is one of the largest and most lavish, Mr. Zimet says.
"There are a lot of new homes in Hoggs Hollow," particularly for Bay Street bankers and investors, he says. "It's just that they're not built on lots that are this big and they're not built on the scale that this house is built."
For instance, the home has over 7,000-square feet of living space with principal rooms around 22 by 20-feet in dimension.
"It's almost a perfect square, but then when you add a 12-foot ceiling to it, it feels like a ballroom," Mr. Zimet says. "It's like a château in the country."
Yet, the grand scale of the home is offset with a central atrium — complete with a skylight over 25-feet above — that has a view of nearly every room, including the bedrooms upstairs.
"There are no long hallways in the house, so you don't have to go searching for a room," Mr. Zimet says. "They're all off that main atrium space, so it's not overwhelming in its size."
There is also room for eight to ten cars in an underground garage, somewhat larger than generally seen in the area's other high-end homes, Mr. Zimet says. The garage also has its own heating and cooling system, making it handy for more than storage.
"It's not uncommon for kids of the family to use the underground garage to play ball hockey," Mr. Zimet says. "So you don't have to own eight cars."
As for aesthetics, no expense was spared to give the home an elegant look.
"The challenge is to select finishes that the buyer does not question are the right finishes for this calibre home," Mr. Zimet says. "When you're building a high calibre home, you need high calibre finishes."
As an example, the exterior is covered with cut stone and Indiana limestone, and topped with a slate roof.
"It's unique to the market because most builders build a stone front, and on two sides and the back, they use brick, stucco or some other combination thereof," Mr. Zimet says. "[This builder] has gone with stone all the way around to ensure the buyer is getting the utmost quality."
Inside, there are marble and granite finishes throughout and 12-foot ceilings in most of the main and second floor rooms. "That's at least two feet more than most houses," Mr. Zimet says.
The front library has solid walnut floors and matching walnut wall panelling, mouldings and ceiling. Floor-to-ceiling built-in shelving flanks the gas fireplace with marble surround.
"The walnut library is the room that makes all the [potential] buyers go, "Wow," Mr. Zimet says.
The six-piece master bathroom has mirrored walls with bevelled glass, Horus faucets and marble floors, countertops and walls. There is a freestanding Oceania air jet bathtub and a shower stall with a bench, body sprays and hand-held showerhead. For added comfort, the room has radiant heated floors.
While the home is almost finished, the buyer would need to decide where to install speakers and exterior cameras before it is completed.
"It's a very grand, elegant home," Mr. Zimet says. "A real family home."
Special to The Globe and Mail
