Listing: 2386 St. Clair Ave. W., Toronto
Asking price: $780,000
Taxes: $2,509.30 (2017)
Lot size: 17.67 by 95.67 feet
Listing agent: Matthew Shapiro, sales representative, the BREL team, Sage Real Estate Ltd., brokerage
For some people, owning a mixed-use property would come with a lot of unknowns. But not for Tam Nguyen. He grew up above a beauty salon near Bloor Street and Lansdowne Avenue in Toronto's west end.
So when he was ready to buy his own property, he started to look for another commercial and residential building and ended up finding 2386 St. Clair Ave. W. This was back in 2005, when the area, west of Keele Street, was still largely industrial.
"I thought it was a good investment property," Mr. Nguyen said. "The whole area was up and coming."
The living room is located in what used to be the storefront unit.
The backstory
At the time Mr. Nguyen purchased the home, it was vacant but had a storefront in the front half of the first floor and a residential unit that spanned the back of the first floor and the three bedrooms above.
Soon after acquiring it, Mr. Nguyen found tenants for both units: a real estate agency took up occupancy of the storefront and a family moved in upstairs. But by 2015, the home was empty again and Mr. Nguyen and his wife, Christine Wong, were living in a condo with their two small children. They were realizing it was time to find a bigger homestead for their young family.
"Condo living wasn't really practical any more," Mr. Nguyen said.
"And there was something that we really liked about the space [of 2386 St. Clair]," Ms. Wong added.
The owners made the decision to keep the sleek kitchen separate from the living and dining area to keep food prep and smells from the larger space.
Next, they made a pros-and-cons list examining their two options: Buy another house and find new tenants, or renovate their mixed-use building into a single-family home. Some of the major factors that helped tip the pros over the cons were 2386 St. Clair's high ceiling, lack of dead space (i.e. few hallways) and its backyard and detached garage.
In 2016, they found a designer and contractors and started the renovation, which turned out to be a seven-month project.
"This was a full gut renovation – right down to the studs," real estate agent Matthew Shapiro said.
By the time the reno was finished, the semi-detached home featured a full bath among three bedrooms on the second floor.
Along with new electrical and mechanics (HVAC, water heater etc.), they also had to redo the concrete for the subfloors.
The couple's goal was to recreate their condo lifestyle and aesthetic as much as possible. So their redesign was guided by desire to keep the high ceilings, open up the main floor to maximize the space and add clean lines.
To actually convert the building from two units to one, they had to tear down a drywall partition that was separating what is now the dining room from the living room. They also changed the zoning to residential to lower the property taxes.
The house costs a bit more than a two-bedroom condo, but has an extra bedroom and no condo fees, says real estate agent Matthew Shapiro.
Mr. Nguyen and Ms. Wong were fairly hands-on during the renovation, guiding the details of the design and sourcing materials and finishes.
"We renovated the house thinking we were going to live there for a very long time," Ms. Wong said. "So everything was done with quite a bit of detail and care."
By the time it was finished, the semi-detached home featured three bedrooms and a full bath on the second floor, an open-concept living and dining room on the first floor (the kitchen was moved to the back addition on the first floor) and a finished basement that included laundry, a playroom, a spare bedroom and another full bathroom.
The backyard has also seen some transformations. It features a mulberry tree and a Japanese pear tree, which Mr. Nguyen's father shipped over from Vancouver.
The backyard was one of the factors that pushed Mr. Nguyen and his wife to convert the mixed-used property into a residential unit.
"We have a little oasis back there," Ms. Wong said.
For Mr. Shapiro, this house offers a family the chance to buy a home they can grow into.
"It's such a great buy because for $780,000, it's a little bit more expensive than a two-bedroom condo in the Junction, but you're getting a beautiful house with three bedrooms," he said. "Plus, no maintenance fees on top of that."
Favourite feature
For both the owners and Mr. Shapiro, the standout "room" is the combined living and dining area.
"That's where we spent most of our time when we're not sleeping," Ms. Wong said.
"We've made it so comfortable that people don't want to leave when they come over," Mr. Nguyen joked.
The combined living and dining area is the couple’s favourite space in the house.
A big part of its appeal, though, was Mr. Nguyen's decision to separate the kitchen from that space, Mr. Shapiro said.
"It lets you cook in the back, but still keep an eye on the kids or your company but then there's no mess in the rest of the house," he said, with Mr. Nguyen adding: "I also wanted to make sure that when you're cooking the smell doesn't scatter around."
Despite their love for their converted home, Mr. Nguyen and Ms. Wong have decided it's time to move on as their family continues to grow.
"This house is kind of quirky and unique, but I think whoever gets it will really enjoy it," Mr. Nguyen said.