7 Dale Ave., suite 106, Toronto
Asking Price: $7,995,000
Taxes: N/A
Monthly maintenance fee: $4,430.04
Agents: James Warren and Alex Obradovich, Chestnut Park Real Estate and Janice Fox, Hazelton Real Estate
The exterior features brick imported from Denmark and limestone from Ontario.Birdhouse Media
The backstory
In the mid-1800s, lawyer and business magnate John Hoskin purchased a swathe of land on the edge of the Rosedale Valley ravine and built a turreted Gothic Revival mansion he named The Dale.
Over time, the sprawling grounds were parcelled off, and the stately home was demolished in the 1900s. As the Rosedale enclave grew, newer Victorian and Edwardian houses began to spring up on Dale Avenue.
In the middle of the 20th century, Clare Wood, president of Hobbs Glass, purchased a vacant lot that had once been part of the grand estate. He commissioned architect Gordon Adamson to design a strikingly contemporary house that would showcase the modern uses of glass in products ranging from Thermopane windows to kitchen tiles and opaque bathroom walls.
The Hobbs Sun House, as it was known, had floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking gardens designed by renowned landscape architects Dunington-Grubb & Stensson.
Canadian Homes and Gardens celebrated the modernist residence with a lengthy spread in November, 1944.
It took 10 years for developer Platinum Vista to see the project through.Birdhouse Media
Eventually, Mr. Wood purchased the lots on either side of his property to ensure that new houses would not block his views. He had low-slung bungalows similar to his own built well back from the street.
The three remained single-family dwellings for decades as Dale Avenue gradually saw the arrival of low-rise apartment buildings, co-ops and additional infill houses.
In 2014, James Warren of Chestnut Park Real Estate listed the Hobbs Sun House for sale. No. 9 landed on the market soon after.
No. 5 was purchased in a private transaction.
The buyer of all three properties was developer Platinum Vista Inc., which paid $6-million for 7 Dale Ave. and $2.7-million for 9 Dale Ave.
The three properties sat within the South Rosedale Heritage Conservation District, which was created in 2003 to protect architecturally significant houses and the area’s character. The three bungalows had been given a “C” rating, which meant they could only be replaced with a building of equal or better architectural value within the context of the neighbourhood.
Platinum Vista had assembled the land for a new project, but the battle was just beginning, recalls Mr. Warren.
“They had a huge protest in Rosedale,” he says, recalling the signs that neighbours erected on the street. “I think people were concerned about tearing down so much real estate.”
Landscape architect Janet Rosenberg designed the formal garden beds.Birdhouse Media
In 2016, Platinum Vista submitted its proposal for a boutique condo building, designed by acclaimed Hariri Pontarini Architects, to the City of Toronto.
Much legal wrangling ensued, with local politicians, planners, heritage consultants and lawyers entering the fray. Even the surrounding homeowners were split into opposing factions.
Architect Siamak Hariri worked with the various groups to address a range of local concerns about massing, the street face, setbacks and materials, he told The Globe and Mail, as the clash continued in 2018.
The City dropped its opposition after the plans were reworked and, in 2019, the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal gave Platinum Vista the green light.
In approving the project, the tribunal considered the land’s history as far back as The Dale. Their report described Mr. Hoskin’s home as “a structure of physical presence” perched on a bold promontory overlooking the valley below.
Reuniting the three parcels and restoring the physical presence with a “remarkable building” could arguably be treated as more true to the heritage of the property, the tribunal declared.
The building features a fitness centre, spa and 24-hour concierge.Birdhouse Media
The house today
“It was a 10-year endeavour,” says Josh Shteiman, vice-president of development operations at Platinum Vista of seeing the project through. “We obviously met with some resistance.”
Along the way, the planned five-storey building became a four-storey, and one long structure was reconfigured as two wings in order to partially preserve the view from the street to the ravine.
The first shovel went into the ground in May, 2020, just as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions slowed construction and shipping containers soared in price.
“We suffered in that regard,” says Mr. Shteiman.
For the exterior, Mr. Hariri specified brick imported from Denmark and Algonquin crust face limestone from within Ontario.
“The front respects Rosedale, continuing with the red brick and the dormers,” says Mr. Shteiman. “The back is much more contemporary.”
The interiors were designed by Alessandro Munge of Studio Munge.
The building, registered in April, 2024, has 26 suites with about two-thirds sold. Boris Shteiman, Josh’s father and a vice-president at Platinum Vista, lives in one of the four penthouses.
Suite 106 is one of three recently made move-in ready so that potential buyers can experience the space and touch the wood and stone.
“At this price point, people do not want to buy off a plan,” says Mr. Shteiman.
In the east wing, suite 106 has two bedrooms, two bathrooms and one powder room in a little more than 3,250 square feet of living space.
There is a gallery-style entrance with walls designed to accommodate art and a living area open to the kitchen with a large central island.
Floor-to-ceiling windows and doors face manicured gardens and a private terrace sheltered by a bronze canopy.
The primary suite has an ensuite bathroom with a soaker tub, water closet and walk-in shower.
Mr. Shteiman says each unit is designed to feel like a home with custom-controlled heating and cooling.
The building also has a fitness centre, spa and 24-hour concierge.
The historic gardens from the Hobbs Sun House that originally stood on the site were preserved as a common area.Birdhouse Media
The best feature
The Dunington-Grubb & Stensson landscape, with a Pennsylvania stone terrace, fountain, statue and tea house, has been preserved as a common area for the residents of 7 Dale.
“It was part of our application that we thought would bring the sides together,” Mr. Shteiman says of the decision to conserve the historic gardens from the Hobbs Sun House.
The builders also pulled invasive plants out of the ravine, planted 1,200 new trees and returned that portion of the land to public ownership.
Landscape architect Janet Rosenberg designed the formal garden beds with plantings of geometric hedges, flowering perennials and leafy ground cover.
“The buildings wrap around these original specimen trees,” says Mr. Shteiman, pointing to a towering birch in front of the west wing.
He steps into the restored garden tea house and looks out over the forested ravine. “It’s quite serene.”