House of the Week: $1.8 million for a modern home near Harbord Street with a Victorian facade

Address: 147 Borden Street
Neighbourhood: University Agent: Abhai Singh Bhullar, Remax Gold Realty Inc., Brokerage Price: $1,789,000 Previously sold for: $1,646,000, in 2016

The place

A modernized bay-and-gable house near Harbord Street’s restaurant row, which includes Victor Barry’s Piano Piano. The University of Toronto is within easy walking distance.

The history

The home was built in the 1890s. Five years ago, a previous set of owners did a complete interior renovation. They added heated floors, a gourmet kitchen, a glass staircase and a modern fireplace. Plus, there’s a separate apartment in the basement.

Here’s the living room, with its fireplace:

The floors are polished concrete, and they’re heated:

The family room has doors to the backyard:

There are two bedrooms on the second floor, but only this one has a Jeep bed:

Here’s the master bedroom:

All the bedrooms share this bathroom:

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

And the other:

Here’s the basement apartment’s living room:

And the basement apartment’s kitchen:

The basement apartment’s bedroom has lots of handy built-in shelving:

Big selling point

The upstairs kitchen is made for chefs, with a six-burner Wolf range (complete with a handy water spout to fill heavy pots), a 50-bottle wine fridge and gleaming Calacatta marble counters. If the buyer isn’t much of a cook, the room is still a stylish place to open takeout containers:

Possible deal breaker

The home is located beside what was once the Boulevard Café. The spot is sure to be snapped up by a new restaurateur soon. Some buyers may not love the nearby hubbub.

By the numbers

• $1,789,000 • $6,904.56 in taxes • 5 bedrooms • 3 bathrooms • 1 parking space