When Corey Silver first walked into 465 Broadview Avenue, the home’s real estate agent said he felt he had been “transported back in time.”
The 116-year-old mansion features a view of the Toronto skyline across Riverdale Park East. The 5,220-square-foot lot includes six bedrooms, four bathrooms, detached servant’s quarters and a backyard.
A deep brown wood-paneled entrance opens to a stained-glass window upon the main stairwell. The dark mahogany accents contrast light pine hardwood throughout the home. Antique light fixtures and two white fireplaces would illuminate the spaces not lit by the large windows.
For the first time in almost 50 years, the mansion is hitting the market listed at $2,789,000.
“It’s a big giant period piece,” Silver said.
“It takes you back in time, is what it does. It’s still got its original charm.”
Silver added the North Riverdale neighborhood rarely has houses of this size on the market. The mansion boasts 2,500-square-feet on the main and upper levels and a 1,000-square-foot basement.
The home’s price also dwarfs others in the neighbourhood. The average price of homes sold in North Riverdale was about $1.7 million last quarter, according to the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board. The mansion is listed at 1.6 times that price.
Originally built in 1906, the home has been maintained by the same family since 1975. Erin Fremlin is the estate’s executor. She said the previous owners, her grandparents of her, upheld the home’s heritage.
“They kept all that charm. They didn’t renovate and there’s still all the details of the original property,” Fremlin said.
A large wooden door swings open from the kitchen into a dining room. Several bay windows brighten the house’s many rooms. The house also uniquely features a wraparound veranda and even a laundry chute. Fremlin said she remembered hearing her grandparents use a servant’s bell to communicate across storeys of the home.
With a separate entrance, stairwell and amenities, the servant’s quarters qualify the home as a duplex.
Fremlin noted the home would need some touching up before it met modern standards, but letting the house go was bittersweet.
“There definitely needs to be some upgrades done if somebody was looking to have it as a residential property,” Fremlin said.
“It’s very, very close to my heart so I am sad to see it go, but I love the fact that somebody is going to be able to give the house the TLC that it deserves.”
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be a registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free)