House of the Week: $2.1 million for a Wychwood Park stunner lived in by its architect
ADDRESS: 78 Wychwood Park
NEIGHBOURHOOD: Wychwood
AGENT: Nicole Weber, Schiavone Diamond Team, Prudential Town Centre Realty
PRICE: $2,100,000
THE PLACE: Built into the landscape, facing a pond and surrounded by lush greenery, this is basically Mole End writ large—only with the added benefits of central heating, electric lighting and an indoor garage (presumably to stop Toad from stealing the car). The exterior mimics the historic Arts and Crafts–style architecture of the neighbourhood, but the house was originally built in 1990 by architect Mel Mekinda, who has lived there ever since, so the interiors are sun filled, clean lined and contemporary (a painting in the dining room conceals a flat-screen TV).
BRAGGING RIGHTS: Wychwood Park was founded by landscape painter Marmaduke Matthews in the 1870s and has since been home to local legends like artist Gustav Hahn, architect Eden Smith and thinker Marshall McLuhan.
BIG SELLING POINT: Living in a Wind in the Willows fantasy that’s steps away from the TTC, Wychwood Barns and St. Clair’s restaurant row—although who needs The Stockyards when the house has a dedicated barbecue terrace?
POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: This could go either way, but the original architect-owner is moving just next door, so ripping out the kitchen and adding a solarium may be met with unscheduled site inspections.
BY THE NUMBERS:
• A gazillion trees • $15,625.00 in taxes • $1,212.77 for the Wychwood Park Association fee • 3,500 square feet • 4 bedrooms • 4 washrooms • 3 levels • 2-car driveway • 1-car garage • 1 fireplace • 1 barbecue terrace (gas grill included) • 1 covered porch • 1 “piano area” • 1 balcony
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