In November 2023, a row of historic houses in Toronto’s Cabbagetown neighbourhood mysteriously went up in flames.
Toronto Fire confirmed to blogTO back in 2023 that the primary addresses for the incident were 225 through 229 River St.
229 River St. had been sitting on the market, boarded up for a while, and then, on the day of the fire, it sold.
229 River St. had also been listed as a “multi-unit development” possibility, though the wording was removed from the listing.
The front of the house.
This made some people suspicious, with some speculating that the fire may have been started to get out of having to replicate the heritage attributes of the house.
According to the Ontario government webiste, if a heritage property is destroyed by fire or accident, “the designation by-law does not require the owner to replicate any lost heritage attributes. A replacement building can be of a different design,” as the “intent of designation is to preserve the historic, physical, contextual or other heritage value of a property.”
Now, another one of the houses that was affected by the fire is on the market.
227 River St. has just been listed for $499,000.
The back of the house.
According to the listing, the house was “gutted” by the fire and is not allowed to be entered. So, of course, it is being sold “as is” for “land value only”.
Although before it was a shell of a home, it apparently did have two bedrooms and one bathroom.
As far as land value goes, it’s on a decent-sized lot (16 x 100 feet) and backs onto Riverdale Park.
But the fact that it is a heritage property, does bring into question what you can actually do with the property.
If you have to rebuild the house exactly as it once was – replicating and restoring all its historical elements – you’re likely in for a money pit-type situation.
However, if you can just demolish and rebuild,with the only restriction of keeping in the style and character of Cabbagetown South, this could be the deal of the year.
The backyard.
Semi-detached homes can sell anywhere between $999,900 and$2,350,000 in this neighbourhood, meaning you could double or triple your investment.
But since the listing advises speaking to a lawyer about what you can and can’t do with this property, our guess is that the options are limited.
Either way, this is probably the cheapest house you’ll ever see in Cabbagetown, and that’s something worth talking about.
