125 Sorauren Ave., Toronto

Asking Price: $3,299,000

Taxes: $10,200 (2020)

Lot Size: 25.3 feet by 100 feet

Agent: Alex Brott, Sage Real Estate Ltd.

The backstory

The property at 125 Sorauren Ave. in Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood had boarded-up windows and paving in place of a front garden when Mary-Beth Jenner first saw it in 2016.

“You could barely see the ‘For Sale’ sign in the window,” she says.

Ms. Jenner doesn’t know the original purpose of the dwelling, which is about 100 years old, but she notes that it’s one in a row of similar brick buildings on the street. Some of them originally served as local shops in the residential area, she says.

Today, the buildings are extremely flexible, she says, noting neighbouring structures have been converted into a combination of flats, restaurants and cafés. One has found new life as a yoga studio.

When she entered No. 125, the various levels were rundown, she says.

“They were so neglected and falling apart but they all had such nice high ceilings.”

Ms. Jenner is a former film producer who turned her love of design into a new career doing residential design and landscaping.

She could see potential in the property and it’s pleasant backyard.

She enjoys the area north of Queen Street West, near Roncesvalles Avenue, and she liked the position of the property across the street from a neighbourhood landmark: The Annunciation of the Virgin Mary Greek Orthodox Cathedral.

She purchased the property and began a lengthy renovation.