House of the Week: $1.5 million for a Parkdale Victorian with a view of the lake

Address: 1586 King Street West
Neighbourhood: Parkdale
Agent: David Bailey, Re/Max West Realty Inc., Brokerage
Price: $1,499,000
Previously sold for: $530,000, in 2009

The place

A handsome, recently updated Victorian with some original features intact, located right at King Street’s western terminus.

The history

The sellers, a pair of real estate investors, bought the home a decade ago, and they’ve made some strategic upgrades within the past five years. They overhauled the kitchen with a new quartz island, a gas range and heated slate floors, and the upstairs bathroom has likewise had a refresh.

The front door has a stained-glass transom window:

And there’s a bit more stained glass in the living room:

Here’s the dining room:

And the kitchen, with its new countertops and heated floors:

There’s a small den space by the rear of the main floor, with doors to the backyard:

There are three bedrooms on the third floor:

This one is currently set up as a family room:

This bedroom, with a wall of built-in shelving, is being used as an office:

And here’s the master bedroom:

All the bedrooms share this bathroom. It has a skylight:

There are two more bedrooms on the third floor. Here’s one of them:

And this bedroom is being used as a gym:

There’s another bedroom and bathroom in the basement:

And here’s the backyard:

Big selling point

The location has some major upsides. Aside from easy access to Roncesvalles and Queen West, the house has views of Lake Ontario through its south-facing windows—which, at least in this part of town, is a luxury usually reserved for people living on the upper floors of condo towers.

Possible deal breaker

The location also has some drawbacks. Living right at the intersection of King and Queen means that streetcar traffic will be an inevitable, unavoidable fact of life for the buyer. But the selling agent points out that the home’s windows and doors are all relatively new, meaning the interior is well insulated from street noise.

By the numbers

• $1,499,000
• 6 bedrooms
• 3 parking spaces
• 3 storeys
• 2 bathrooms
• 2 adjacent streetcar routes
• 1 detached garage