THE LISTING: 166 The Kingsway
ASKING PRICE $2,489,000
TAXES $11,300 (2016)
LOT SIZE 40 by 120 feet
AGENT Ira Jelinek, Harvey Kalles Real Estate Ltd.
The back story
Rudy Ionides was having a hard time finding a traditional house in central Toronto that seemed suitable for his expanding family. He and his wife had one small child and another about to arrive so they were quickly outgrowing their downtown condo.
Frustrated by their lack of progress, they decided to look farther west in the historic Kingsway neighbourhood where a newly-built house had been sitting on the market for a while. “We ended up looking on a whim,” Mr. Ionides says.
He was immediately drawn to the area’s towering trees.
“The tree-lined drive off Bloor is just fantastic. That’s the part of my drive that I look forward to. It’s quite serene.”
At 166 the Kingsway, builder Rose Barroso had replaced an older home with a four-bedroom, 4,000-square-foot house that took advantage of the deep lot.
Mr. Ionides, who has always considered older houses more his style, was surprised at how much he liked the open plan, high ceilings and contemporary design.
“The interior was fantastic,” he says.
The house today
The family’s second daughter arrived soon after they purchased the house.
With two little ones, Mr. Ionides says, the large combined kitchen and family room immediately became the place where everyone congregated. “A lot of family time is spent around the table.”
The modern kitchen, with sleek white cabinets, has a large island and a wall of windows overlooking the backyard.
Ceilings on the main floor are 10 feet high but soar to more than 20 feet inside the front entrance.
There’s a more formal sitting room facing the street, a main floor powder room and a large dining area next to the kitchen.
Doors from the family room open to a large deck that accommodates outdoor dining. “The luxury of eating outside was something we hadn’t really enjoyed in a condo,” Mr. Ionides says.
An open staircase leads to the second floor. There, a skylight illuminates the central hall and reaches into the interior on the ground floor below.
A glass bridge leads to the master bedroom, which has an ensuite bathroom with a freestanding tub and his-and-hers vanity.
Mr. Ionides says he found the glass floor a bit unnerving at first but he soon learned that it is designed to hold one tonne. “It gives you a little more confidence crossing the bridge.”
Another bedroom has an ensuite bathroom and the other two share a bathroom. There’s also a laundry room on the second floor. The lower level has a playroom and a climate-controlled wine wall.
Mr. Ionides says the backyard has been large enough to accommodate a bouncy playhouse for a kids’ party in addition to the playset they put up for their daughter.
The Kingsway neighbourhood offers good shopping and restaurants along Bloor Street, he adds.
Outside the family’s downtown condo, protests were more common than family-friendly events, he says. Now the couple can take the kids to the Taste of the Kingsway and other festivals.
The best feature
Mr. Ionides says one of the best aspects of the building is its technology. The interior and exterior lighting, garage door, surveillance cameras, intercoms and alarms can be controlled remotely from a phone or tablet.
“The smart home features are fantastic.”