By Monika Warzecha | Illustrations by Jack Dylan | Photography by Emma McIntyre

The urban mix is the appeal of East End Danforth—a neighbourhood that has proximity to the boardwalk; manicured houses flying Beach flags; family-friendly Norwood Park; a southern fringe of stately detached Edwardians; co-op housing; semis in the $400,000 to $500,000 range closer to Woodbine; and new luxury townhouses. The sold-out townhouse complex Upper Beach Manors (above), near Main and Gerrard, invigorated real-estate activity in the area and inspired a doppelgänger, the new Upper Beach Townes, a collection of 32 houses split into two-level condos.

ADDRESS: 2012 Queen St. E., Suite 305

NEIGHBOURHOOD: The Beach

AGENT: MaryAnne Runnalls, Chestnut Park Real Estate

PRICE: $795,000

THE PLACE: A three-storey penthouse loft in the Beaches that’s steps away from Kew Gardens. The tiered shape of the building means each floor sits further back than the floor below, so although it’s right on busy Queen Street East, it’s still removed from the hustle and bustle.

BRAGGING RIGHTS: A good story: the current owner is a marketing executive at Universal Music Canada and an accomplished pianist who has accompanied renowned classical stars the likes of Andrea Bocelli and Hayley Westenra.

BIG SELLING POINT: Music lovers will not only delight in imagining the sweet sounds that once emanated from their new digs, they’ll also enjoy sipping a glass of wine on the balcony while watching the Beaches International Jazz Festival play out below.

POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: No gym, no pool, no squash court—if you’re in the market for a trendy condo with all the freshest amenities, look elsewhere.

BY THE NUMBERS:
• $795,000
• $475 in monthly maintenance fees
• 563-square-foot third level
• 408-square-foot main level
• 332-square-foot second floor
• 170-square-foot terrace
• 20-foot atrium
• 3 floors
• 3 skylights
• 2 fireplaces
• 1 chromatherapy spa tub with 24 air jets

ADDRESS: 1832 Lake Shore Boulevard East

NEIGHBOURHOOD: The Beach

AGENT: Jeffrey Lyons, Sage Real Estate Limited, Brokerage.

PRICE: $999,000

THE PLACE: Situated on a unique stretch of Lake Shore Boulevard East, near Woodbine, and looking out onto Ashbridges Bay Park, this home is the ideal setting for a young family.

BRAGGING RIGHTS: Even parking your car is fun—the two-car garage features a Klaus hydraulic lift for added storage space.

BIG SELLING POINT: Known around the neighbourhood as one of the “painted ladies,” the home’s exterior is more San Francisco than Toronto, with arched window coverings, butter yellow siding and a narrow four-storey frame.

POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: The proximity to the Port Lands may engender more highly charged political conversations than you’d like. Better brush up on the whole Toronto Port Lands Co. versus Waterfront TO debate.

BY THE NUMBERS:
$999,000
$6,168.93 in 2011 property taxes
4 storeys
3 bedrooms
3 bathrooms
2-car parking

The reasons to abandon the overcrowded, overpriced, not-so-livable city are beginning to outnumber the reasons to stay. More and more of us are tempted by the 905 and beyond. Screw Jane Jacobs. We’re outta here
By Philip Preville | Photography by Stephanie Noritz

Brian Porter and Carrie Low thought they’d hatched the perfect plan to avoid the eight-lane gridlock they faced every week on their drive to the family cottage in the Kawarthas. Porter, a soft-spoken 41-year-old Toronto firefighter, would arrange his work schedule to be home on Friday. He’d pack the car at noon and pick up his daughters, Lily and Amelia, from daycare shortly after lunch. Then, rather than head from their home in the Beach to pick up Low downtown, he’d drive to a strategic pit stop in Oshawa. Low, a slim 41-year-old redhead, works as a lawyer with RBC in the financial district, her days and nights packed, respectively, with meetings and paperwork. Her role in the escape plan was to get off work early and catch the GO train to Oshawa Station. Often, she’d end up working a pressure-packed day until 5 p.m. anyway, leaving Porter and the girls waiting at the station for hours. In the end they never gained that much time—it could still be a challenge to get to the cottage before nightfall. But at least they’d avoided the worst hours on the DVP and the 401.

Porter and Low’s weekend escape strategy was symptomatic of their over-engineered city lives. To juggle all their needs and obligations—two careers, mortgage payments, bills, kid drop-offs and pickups, groceries, meals—they had built a life that resembled a Rube Goldberg machine, and any misstep threatened to collapse the entire contraption. Grandparents were often called in to shuttle the kids to lessons and play dates and birthday parties. “My mother-in-law would phone me at work and ask, ‘Where is Amelia’s dance outfit?’ and my stress level would go through the roof, ” recalls Low. “I’d say, ‘Why are you calling me at work for this? It’s in the house somewhere. Don’t ask me, ask Brian.’ ”

Porter’s more flexible hours allowed him to handle most of the household duties (he typically works seven 24-hour shifts every four weeks), while Low would often leave the house at 7 a.m. and return 12 hours later. When Porter was on shift Low would pick up the slack, but the moment he returned she’d play catch-up at work. They didn’t realize, at first, that the routine was taking a toll on their marriage. “Sometimes I’d come home from a shift and she’d hand me the baton and head out the door,” Porter recalls. “I’d barely be able to stand up, but I’d feed the girls and send them off on their day. Carrie and I were like two ships passing in the night.” You might even say they were behaving like an already-divorced couple sharing care of the kids. “If we kept it up, I could not be sure that we would still care about one another five or 10 years down the road,” says Low.

The problem, they decided, was not each other or their careers or their kids, but the city itself—a surprising diagnosis given that they had both grown up in Toronto, happily, in the Beach. They bought their 1,600-square-foot detached home on Benlamond because they wanted to raise their family there, too. “The Beach tends to keep people,” says Porter. “I can walk along Queen East any day of the week and meet friends from high school who run businesses on that street.” But living in the city required too many contortions. They decided to divorce it.

They spent months searching for a new home, pushing the outer boundaries of the GTA as they went. Low was adamant: “I didn’t want a suburban house.” In the end they moved as far away from Toronto as they possibly could for a couple whose livelihoods still depended upon the city: Cobourg, the Lake Ontario town with its own lovely beach and boardwalk, just this side of Prince Edward County. The only thing separating the gigantic walkout basement of their new, 2,700-square-foot detached house from the Lake Ontario waterfront is a municipal park. And the cottage run is a one-hour scenic drive along quiet secondary highways.

Okay, not all Toronto beaches are underused (Image: jethros_tale from the Torontolife.com Flickr pool)

As we mentioned last week during hotpocalypse, the Globe and Mail’s Marcus Gee spent Thursday touring Toronto’s beaches and (gasp!) swimming in them, too—something the city has had not had much luck encouraging. This reticence, Gee points out, means that Torontonians have some pretty odd ideas about enjoyable ways to spend a summer day.

From Gee’s column:

On Friday, Toronto highways were packed with people fighting their way through traffic to plunge into a lake. Which is odd, because we live by one. Maybe you’ve heard of it: Lake Ontario.

Even though hundreds of thousands live within easy striking distance of this magnificent body of water, most would not dream of taking a dip in it. Far too polluted, they think. Not really fit for bathing.

This is one of the city’s most enduring myths. In truth, Toronto beaches offer beautiful swimming in clean, clear water. To prove it, I set out to swim all eight central Toronto beaches in a single day, moving from west to east along the lakefront.

Actually, we’re not sure that pollution plays as big a role in people’s aversion to Toronto’s beaches as Gee might think (although the commenters on the Globe’s article do bring it up, in a “we prefer our preconceptions to Gee’s evidence” kind of way). Gee hints at another factor that’s keeping Torontonians away from the best beaches in the city in another part of his column, where he describes Woodbine as by far the busiest beach he saw on his day trip. While parking is a joke in the Beach, Woodbine Beach is easily accessible from the Queen streetcar’s eastern end. The beaches on the Island, on the other hand, require ferry fares, and further west, the forbidding Gardiner cuts off comfortable pedestrian and cyclist access to the lakeshore.

So while we’re sure that Toronto’s industrial past skeeves out its post-industrial residents, it might also help if more of our beaches were easily accessible without cars. Just a thought.

• I swam eight Toronto beaches in one day, and lived [Globe and Mail]

Carmen For this show, artistic director Simon Sylvain Lalonde has turned to opera and to performers better known as figure skaters (2011 Canadian ice dancing champion Paul Poirier, for one), for his take on Bizet’s fiery, ill-fated gypsy. Find out more »

Keith Cole and Andrew Harwood Keith Cole’s Three Bad Words is loosely based on the story of Colonel Russell Williams and features transvestite scientists scouring the gallery (and gallery goers) for traces of sperm. Find out more »

The Kreutzer Sonata Ted Dykstra’s terrific adaptation of Tolstoy’s novella about the not-so-blissfully wed moves to Soulpepper, building on last year’s SummerWorks show. Find out more »

ADDRESS: 248 Scarborough Road

NEIGHBOURHOOD: East End–Danforth

AGENT: Audrey Azad, Re/Max Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage.

PRICE: $999,000

THE PLACE: Just north of the Beach, this four-bedroom house blends retro mod and a contemporary aesthetic: sleek glass walls and a whole lot of beige, with ’60s-style lamps and a Brady Bunch–esque open-riser staircase.

BRAGGING RIGHTS: The baddest bathroom on the block. The master ensuite has two sinks, an etched-glass door separating the toilet from the rest of the room and a shower big enough to host a party in.

BIG SELLING POINT: The main floor is an entertainer’s dream. Traffic flows from the front living room through the kitchen (with tall bar stools perfect for nibbling hors d’oeuvre or sipping martinis) to the dining room (with space for an eight-person table) and then finally out to the expansive backyard.

POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: The backyard is perfect for a pool. But there’s no pool.

BY THE NUMBERS:
• $999,000
• 4 bedrooms
• 4-burner stainless-steel Wolf stove
• 3 bathrooms
• 1 wine fridge

(Image: James Lourenço)

Toronto’s ravines have long been a hospitable home for wildlife. Now we’re seeing all manner of strange beast roaming our city: peregrine falcons roost atop downtown towers; chinook salmon jump the weir only steps from the Old Mill subway station as they make their way to the headwaters of the Humber; and coyote and fox counts continue to climb, as does the city’s Virginia possum population. The elusive white squirrel—or squirrels, no one knows for sure—of Trinity Bellwoods Park is thought by some to bring good fortune and lauded with a namesake café. Across town in the Beach, visitors to a garage sale were recently surprised to see a white-tailed deer trotting down the street.

There are a handful of explanations for this growing menagerie: our natural shoreline, our place on ancient migratory routes, and, of course, those vast and sheltered ravines. Add to these an environmental mindset that embraces rooftop gardens, naturalized school yards and tree planting as civic duty. The city has become a luscious habitat, and it’s a thrill to spot the wild beasts that share it with us.

Coyote spotted in Neville Park (Image: George Socka)

As the sun’s warmth returns, so to does the Sun’s coverage of varmints. Toronto’s dog owners might want to be on the lookout for two species that are returning to the city’s parks: coyotes, and reporters writing stories about coyotes. Today, the Sun got in its first entry of 2011, warning of the danger that the coyotes pose to dogs of the twee variety.

Coyotes — like the one seen Sunday in the Beach area — are pleasing animal lovers and spreading fear among pet-owners.

One living in the Neville Park Ave. ravine recently brought howls of protest from an owner who scared it into dropping her dog, residents said.

The poodle-mix is back roaming its yard with a stitched-up neck, but is watched more carefully by his owner, who does not want to be named.

Residents have called the coyote Neville for years, but others roam Toronto parks and wooded ravines.

Since 2007 or so, the media have been covering coyotes in Toronto more and more (if the results of a Google News search can be trusted). Whether that’s because there have been more incidents, or simply disproportionate attention since coyotes started nabbing poodles and chihuahuas, is a question that we might pose to a conservation-minded biologist. Or, we could just declare open season on the critters as Progressive Conservative Liberal MPP Linda Jeffrey has proposed.

Then there’s the point of view noted by some rational individual quoted in the Sun, who points out that cars are probably a bigger danger to pets than coyotes. Next week’s story: Does such sanity have a place in our alarmist newspapers?

• Beach-area residents split on coyotes [Toronto Sun]

UPDATED (March 28, 1.19 p.m.)

ADDRESS: 67 Blantyre Avenue

NEIGHBOURHOOD: Birchcliffe-Cliffside

AGENT: Paul Sabiston, Royal LePage Estate Realty

PRICE: $1,795,000

THE PLACE: Located just a block from The Beach proper, this large five-bedroom, four-bathroom house has great bone structure, complemented by a renovated kitchen and living room. The huge master bathroom and impressive curb appeal make this place stand out in an area full of post-war standards. With the lake and the Toronto Hunt Club within walking distance, having a beautiful summer has never been simpler.

BRAGGING RIGHTS: The private outdoor hot tub could make this the most popular backyard in town.

BIG SELLING POINT: Heaven’s in the details here, with small upgrades that nudge this home from “comfortable” to “awesome”: Wolf dual stove, massive windows, cathedral ceilings, heated bathroom floors, Miele dishwasher, oversized water heater, customized multi-area sound system, and walk-in rain shower.

POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: The insufferable debate over calling the area “The Beach” or “The Beaches.”

BY THE NUMBERS:
• 50-foot lot
• 48-inch fridge
• 5 bedrooms
• 4 bathrooms
• 2 storeys
• 1 fireplace
• 1 hot tub

A gravy boat around City Hall

Who’s the awesomest of them all? According to the Toronto branch of the Awesome Foundation, it’s Stephanie Avery, who was named the recipient of its first grant last night. A self-described “totally rad” artist, Avery was awarded $1,000 for her Connect the T-Dots pitch, a project that aims to turn aerial satellite views of Toronto into a giant connect-the-dots number puzzle.

As we reported in January, the Awesome Foundation made its Toronto debut with the goal of awarding a grand to particularly brilliant projects that improve the city through fun and, well, awesomeness. While the short list for the prize included a Rob Ford Batman signal and a Jesus Machine, the trustees of Awesome chose Avery’s proposal because of its potential for wide-scale participation and international recognition through Google Maps.

The project itself involves placing white numbered dots, three to four metres in diameter, on various rooftops across Toronto. When connected, the dots will form shapes particular to each city neighbourhood—a cabbage in Cabbagetown, say. Avery’s implementation strategy is simple enough: ask nicely and, hopefully, people will respond well. She told the Star:

I think at first people might think it’s a bit of a joke. But once they see how much fun it will be, hopefully they’ll be offering up their rooftops.

Since Avery plans to solicit shape suggestions from the community, we decided to offer up a few of our own: a rose in Rosedale and a boot shape in Little Italy are obvious, but cute. A heart in the downtown core, a beer mug in the Annex, a giant sun in the Beach and a koi fish in Chinatown are fun options as well. Is a big gravy boat at Queen and Bay too obvious?

• Awesome Foundation’s first Toronto winner will turn the city into a number puzzle [Toronto Star]

(Image: Gravy boat, Naval History & Heritage Command)

For Luxury Labels
Venture a few blocks north of York­ville to Haute Classics for immaculate second-hand pieces sourced from very tony closets. Chanel, Chloé, Dior and Christian Louboutin (patent sapphire pumps for $270 instead of $700-plus) are priced in the hundreds, rather than the thousands.
946 Yonge St., 416-922-7900.

For Menswear
Parkdale’s House of Vintage has outstanding men’s garb—a rarity on the old-is-new circuit. Dudes can put together a Michael Caine Alfie look with ankle boots ($60) and a Pierre Cardin blazer ($50).
1239 Queen St. W., 416-535-2142.

For LITTLE KIDS
Bumbleberry Kids in the Beach is as well curated as a downtown boutique but as cheap as a suburban outlet. Sizes run from newborn to 6, and everything—one-piece snowsuits ($20–$50), boots (Uggs are $6) and precious little peacoats ($30)—is in top condition.
1908 Queen St. E., 416-691-5556.

For Accessories
Of Ossington’s thrift shops, I Miss You is the best for belts, bags, baubles and shoes. The glam (but not costumey) array includes pumps that could’ve walked off the feet of Rita Hayworth (around $30), fur stoles from the pre–paint protest days ($100 and up) and Hermès scarves for $235.
63 Ossington Ave., 416-916-7021.

For Reconstructed Duds
Among the old-school gems at chic Tabula Rasa: Katharine Hepburn-esque silken blouses ($40) and high-waisted pencil skirts ($35–$45); also, grandpa cardigans ($35–$50) and mini-berets ($50–$60) made of reworked old fabrics.
745 Broadview Ave., 416-465-4450.

(Image: John Burgoyne)

ADDRESS: 271 Glen Manor Drive East

NEIGHBOURHOOD: The Beach

AGENTS: Sue Mills and Sarah O’Neill, Royal LePage Signature Realty

PRICE: $1,649,000

THE PLACE: This red-brick Toronto classic would be perfect on any edition of MTV’s Teen Cribs. Appropriate for any upwardly mobile east-enders who have (or are planning to have) a large family, the eight-bedroom possesses elegant charm and understated class on its corner lot facing Glen Stewart Park. Kew Gardens, Queen Street East and, of course, various beaches, are nearby to keep the children entertained. The house was built in the ’20s and now balances classic elements (original stained glass, hardwood) with modern amenities (reno’d kitchen, sauna). The current owners have been in the house for 40 years and are only the third family to ever occupy the property.

BRAGGING RIGHTS: The massive black lacquered safe, supposedly named for the original owner of the house (William Howell, a church elder and butcher), is so huge that no burglars could ever get in. The owners had a break-in when they first moved in, and everything in the safe remained, well, safe.

BIG SELLING POINT: Five—count ’em, five—washrooms will eliminate any morning dust-ups over shower time.

POSSIBLE DEAL BREAKER: Re-enactments of Eight Is Enough, The Cosby Show or The Brady Bunch could happen at any minute.

BY THE NUMBERS:

$10,270 in property taxes
5,450-square-foot lot
4,780-square-foot interior (including basement)
8 bedrooms
5 washrooms
1 enormous safe
1 sauna
1 park view
1 fireplace

No doubt the anti-Bussin seeds were sown last year when the four-term councillor—a.k.a. “Sandra from Toronto” (see video, at left)—made her ill-advised phone call to Tory’s CFRB radio show. Her calling David Miller “the most brilliant municipal politician in the country” was just slightly less hysterical than her claim that she didn’t work at city hall and her calling Tory “a three-time loser.” For Bussin, who’s already under fire for her involvement in the Boardwalk Pub licensing affair, this can’t be good news.

• John Tory to endorse Bussin rival McMahon in Beaches-East York [Toronto Star]

According to the Globe and Mail:

The statement of claim alleges that Mr. Ford libelled or slandered Mr. Foulidis in two instances.

The mayoral candidate suggested during an interview on Newstalk 1010 on July 29 that illicit cash fuelled the deal.

“Is someone getting money under the table?” host Jerry Agar asked Mr. Ford.

“I truly believe they are and that’s my personal opinion,” Mr. Ford replied, according to the statement of claim.

The idea of trying to silence Ford with the courts, much less pry a retraction from him, is the kind of thing that must give the city’s reporters fits of the giggles. This is a councillor who’s been disciplined about half a dozen times by the city’s own integrity commissioner with no sign of letting up. A court of law has a few more options at its disposal (jail time for contempt would be the extreme), but frankly, even if Foulidis wins, it’s going to be a short victory lap.

Meanwhile, the fight against Sandra Bussin is now on the same anyone-but track that the mayor’s race has been on for weeks, as Bussin’s two main opponents agreed not to split the vote: Martin Gladstone, last seen getting into a shouting match with Foulidis himself, has dropped out of the race to support Mary Margaret McMahon. According to a poll reported in the Toronto Sun, this puts Bussin on the vulnerable list.

• Rob Ford sued by Beaches pub owner [Globe and Mail]
• Ford sued for $6 million by Boardwalk Pub owner [Toronto Star]
• Boardwalk Pub owner suing Rob Ford for libel [National Post]
• Boardwalk Pub suit haunts Ford [Toronto Sun]