200 First Ave

Behind a lush, mature front garden, the red-brick façade of 200 First Ave rises three storeys, with a covered porch and stained glass offering the first clues to what’s inside. Step through the foyer and the house opens up: soaring ceilings, beautifully detailed archways, crown moulding and exposed brick give the main floor a richness that could only belong to a heritage home.

The foyer leads naturally into the open-concept living and dining rooms, where those architectural details can make an impression. The stained-glass window brings colour and pattern to the living room, while the gas fireplace creates a natural focal point. Warm hardwood runs underfoot, and the archways define the living and dining areas without interrupting the openness of the floor plan.

Then there’s the exposed brick. It begins on the main floor and continues upward across two levels, bringing warmth and texture to the home’s centre. Set against crisp walls, crown moulding and the more ornate detailing of the archways, it creates the kind of contrast that makes the architecture feel layered rather than precious.

At the rear, the large updated kitchen brings its own warmth, with butcher block countertops, a centre island and exposed brick continuing along one wall. Its position at the back of the house also creates one of the nicest relationships here: doors lead directly from the kitchen to the deck and garden, so the greenery becomes part of the room’s experience.

The backyard is lush and established, with layers of greenery, mature plantings and climbing vines surrounding the deck. It’s a lovely place to sit outside, whether that means a quiet morning coffee or dinner just beyond the kitchen doors. Together with the equally pretty front garden, it gives the property greenery on both sides of the house without demanding endless upkeep.

Upstairs, the second floor keeps the primary bedroom, second bedroom, large family bathroom, and separate laundry room together on one level, a layout that makes particular sense in a three-storey house.

The extensively renovated family bathroom stands out. Generously proportioned with heated floors, it has both a large glass-enclosed shower and a gorgeous separate soaker tub, with enough room for each to feel intentional rather than squeezed in. It’s a substantial, beautifully considered family bath.

The third floor changes the possibilities again. It’s divided into a third bedroom and a separate bonus room, with power and plumbing run to this level. That extra room can change with the household: an all-important fourth bedroom, an office, a family room, or a teenage hangout. There is also a walkout to a rooftop area, which currently has no railings.

Downstairs, a second bathroom and large closet are located at the bottom of the basement stairs, separated from the unfinished portion of the basement. The unfinished area has new interior membrane waterproofing.

The work done to 200 First Ave has been thoughtful and substantial, focused as much on how the house functions as how it looks.  The kitchen was renovated, the family bathroom was extensively redesigned, and a new laundry room was added to the second floor in 2020. The main level now has new hardwood floors (including the subflooring) and a new gas fireplace. The third-floor layout was reconfigured with updated electrical and new plumbing to create a bedroom and a separate bonus room with a walk-out to the roof, offering the opportunity to add more outdoor space in the future. The result is a heritage home that still feels like itself, but with a floor plan and key spaces carefully adapted for the needs of a busy family.

Beyond the front garden, First Avenue is a quiet, tree-lined residential street with much of what makes South Riverdale worth living in just a short walk away. Wynona Toronto is only a few minutes away on foot for fantastic food and atmosphere, while Alice Marie Coffee makes an easy local coffee stop. Evenings can mean cocktails at The Comrade or Pinkerton’s, or a stop at East End Vine when you need a great bottle and an equally good recommendation. The streetcar at Gerrard and Logan Avenue is about a minute from the house, and the future Gerrard Station at Gerrard and Carlaw will bring the Ontario Line into the neighbourhood, adding a major new rapid transit connection to an already well-connected pocket. 

200 First Ave has a warmth that comes from more than any one detail. It’s in the stained glass and exposed brick, the rooms that open into one another, the garden waiting beyond the kitchen and the extra space tucked away on the third floor. This is a heritage home that has been cared for, adapted and allowed to keep its character, a house with history, personality and plenty of room for what comes next.

See the Feature Book for 200 First Ave here.