The Real Estate section is sponsored by:
Nobody’s Home
Vacant Reichmann homes rankle the residents of Lytton Park By Bert Archer
Abraham Reichmann purchased
395 Glengrove Avenue for
$827,500 in 1988
Image credit: Carmen Cheung
Maps call it Lytton Park—the area south of Lawrence and west of Avenue Road. Real estate agents call it Upper Avenue, or “the Pusateri’s Neighbourhood,” after the nearby gourmet grocery with white-gloved valet parking. This is an upwardly mobile ’hood full of white-picket-fence perfection: the best in professional landscaping, Maseratis and BMWs in the driveways, and sky-high property values to protect.
It’s no surprise, then, that neighbours are unimpressed with two unoccupied and shabby side-by-side Colonial Revival homes on Glengrove Avenue with broken windowpanes, doors that swing open, missing shingles, overgrown lawns, peeling paint, a busted chain-link fence and detached drainpipes.
The eyesores, it turns out, are owned by Abraham and Bella Reichmann, members of the 28th richest family in Canada. The family name was made in the ’80s with Olympia and York, the international property development empire then headed by Paul Reichmann, Abraham’s uncle. Various other Reichmanns own at least 15 nearby houses, on such streets as Glencairn, Forest Wood, Alexandra Wood and Strathallan Wood.
In 2001, the Reichmanns
purchased 397 Glengrove Avenue
for $549,000
Image credit: Carmen Cheung
Abraham and Bella, who live a few blocks away, on Hillhurst, have never lived at 395 or 397. The two addresses had been occupied by rental tenants until 2005 and 2007, respectively, when neighbours noticed they were vacant.
Members of nearby households called the mayor’s office; their MPs; their city councillor, Karen Stintz; the office of licensing and standards; even the public health department to complain. A city inspector finally arrived last spring and ordered the Reichmanns to start making repairs, pronto. The couple agreed to tidy up and mow the lawn but contested other portions of the order; they contend that the two properties are slated for demolition, and additional upkeep and fix-it projects are not necessary. Their appeal was delayed by the civic workers’ strike this summer, and a new date for the hearing has not been set. As of press time, both houses remain empty, and the neighbours were still crying NIMBY. The Reichmanns did not return our calls.
Comments
Comment on this story
Neither Bert Archer nor Toronto Life necessarily agree with the comments posted here. Editors will not correct spelling or grammar. Toronto Life reserves the right to edit or delete comments entirely. Read our full policy
Some articles on this site require that you have a Torontolife.com account in order to comment, and this is one of them. If you do not have an account, you can register now.
Follow Toronto Life on Twitter, Facebook and via RSS