Discover a Winter Hamlet at 87 Humberview Rd

Old Millside: 87 Humberview Rd $1.75M - 3 BR - 3 WR - 17 x 73 ft. lot - Sold

Wonderful opportunity to own in a prime location backing onto the Humber River! Beautiful English Tudor offers 3 plus 1 bedrooms, spacious open plan. Living and dining rooms on the main floor. Lower level walk up to back yard. Walking distance to Old Mill and Jane subway stations and just a short stroll to Bloor West Village! Lovingly cared for by one owner for over 50 years and just waiting for your updates to make it your very own special home!

Nick's Notes:

Walking down the rolling, snow-covered crescents of Old Millside/Baby Point will remind you of the magic of winter. The roads are narrowed by white snowbank humps, with basketball nets popping out. Red hockey nets are tossed aside, ready for shinny. The stillness of melting icicles hanging from the steep roofs become noticeable as the sun finally breaks through after weeks of grey. At this time of year, you can see through the forested ravine and make out the flow of the Humber River. This isn’t the brown slush of the city, this is a quiet, beautiful, hidden winter hamlet of Tudor-style homes.

Standing in front of 87 Humberview Rd is only rivalled by standing behind it. The west-facing leafless ravine lets much-needed sunlight through, while also providing glimpses of the untouched vastness beyond the trees and above the river. You want to winter like this, you NEED to winter like this. So how do we get there?

Walking inside 87 Humberview Rd, you think back to the photos. You were ready for the worst, but now you are even more set on finding a way to make this home happen. It’s not all that bad inside. It’s in near-original condition, but that’s the charm of it, and that’s why you’re here. Upon entry to the home and later down to the basement, there are no pungent scents, a good sign given the old carpet in the basement. Built in 1936, the house has a concrete block foundation, not a stone foundation, which has kept this home level and, on first glance, dry. Contacting a professional to determine the condition of the foundation and how a concrete foundation may be a benefit for a large renovation or rebuild may be worthwhile.

While talking to a contractor, you may want to ask about expanding the kitchen as well. The kitchen is where the fantasy of reclaiming this house, without getting into a much larger project, faces its largest challenge. The current kitchen space is small. In fact, the house itself isn’t that large at 1,273 sq.ft above grade. The dining room is a good size, but only because the kitchen is so small. Expanding the kitchen without doing an addition means taking over the dining room, which effectively creates two rooms on the main floor, an eat-in kitchen and the living room.

The basement is a bit of a maze right now and will need to be gutted. Underpinning to add more usable space would go a long way without expanding the footprint. There is a walkout from the basement to the backyard. The house has hot water radiator heating and was very warm during my viewing, but one visible heating pipe in the basement may be wrapped in asbestos. On a positive note, many electrical outlets throughout the house have been replaced, as has the main panel, and there is evidence of knob-and-tube wiring having been cut out. Each level has a washroom, and upstairs there are two adequately sized bedrooms and one inadequately sized one.

This property is an estate sale full of conundrums. Anything is possible in this market, so at the right price I wouldn’t completely discount it for a small family, retirees, or empty-nesters willing to tackle a character-driven home in a beautiful setting. Or look at taking the back of the house off. The neighbours have. Either way, it is a rare chance to create something special in a remarkable setting.​​

Listed by Patricia Ward, RE/MAX Professionals Inc Brokerage