I drive by this “FOR SALE” sign every single day on my way to the office, and everyday I think, “Who would ever buy that house?  That thing will never sell!”

Well, as of last week it seems there is somebody out there willing to prove me wrong!

This real estate story deals with the truly unique…

That’s a nice row of houses, isn’t it?

Those are some nice, pretty, row-houses from “Old Toronto,” aren’t they?

Well, photos can be quite deceiving, which is why I’ll zoom out with this photo below…

Ha!

Right across from those eleven quaint row-houses is a large plot of land which will, presumably, be built upon in the near future.

Percy Street is one of the oldest streets in Toronto, dating back as far as 1885 when workers from the local industries (steel mills, distilleries, slaughterhouses) in the West Don area called it “home.”

Today, Percy Street is more like Percy Alleyway as you can see from this photo below:

Streetcar Developments first had the idea to build on the plot of land on the Southeast corner of King Street & Parliament back in early 2006.  The project was going to include some 44 townhouse condominiums, but somewhere along the way, the project stalled.

This brings me to the house that I say is “un-sellable.”

One of the eleven townhouses (I can’t say which one, for fear of “unauthorized advertising of a competitor’s listing), was first listed for sale in August of 2008 for $375,000.  The price was steadily reduced over the course of the next seven months until it settled at a paltry $315,000, and is currently sold but I can’t release the sale price until the deal closes.

Assuming that this classic, original Victorian house was had for around $300,000 you have to weigh the upside versus that of the down.

The area itself, although rich with Toronto’s history and full of pleasant signs reading “Corktown,” has become very run-down over the last two decades and this particular street defines the term “living under a bridge.”

If you don’t believe me, look at this photo of the site with TWO overpasses from the Gardiner and DVP shown in the background.

The only thing worse than living under a bridge would be living under two overpasses, and next to a construction site.

I showed a condo on Everson Drive to a client of mine this past week, and when we looked out the back window and saw a massive plot of land with nothing but a crane sitting on the site, I told him, “Not a chance.  Let’s pass on this one.”

Under no circumstances would I advise my client to buy a condo next to a construction site and deal with three years of jackhammering.

Likewise, I can’t understand why somebody would purchase one of these row-houses on Percy Street and deal with the (eventual) construction of Streetcar Developments’ new townhouse complex.

The listing agent tried to market this as “below entry level” for the area, citing the fact that the new townhouses will be offered for $700,000, yet the original, Victorian row-houses can be had for only $300,000.

It’s like comparing a plate of sliced kiwi to a rotting crab-apple that you found on the ground next to the tree itself…

Not only that, living on Percy Street comes with some serious caveats.

Residents have to maintain their own water main, sewer connections, pavement, and sidewalks.  And there is no snow-plowing by the City of Toronto, no matter how deep the snow gets.

Personally, I don’t know how to maintain a sewer connection, and I don’t want to know, under any circumstances!

I’d love to own a 100-year-old house in downtown Toronto but not if I have to live like it’s 1909!

But back to the construction of the townhouses for a moment.  I’m wondering what is worse: dealing with two years of construction, or staring at a vacant plot of land for three years, and then dealing with two years of construction?

You know it’s going to happen, so isn’t it better to get it out of the way now?

Once the townhouses are built, assuming this project ever gets off the ground, the old row-houses on Percy Street will be staring at the back of three-storey brick walls, and the claustrophobia will undoubtedly set in.

But after seven months on the market, somebody finally bought one of these old row-houses on Percy Street, so it’s obvious that somebody sees some value in the area, the street, and/or the house itself.

From my perspective, and this is only my opinion, I work far too hard to have to come home at night and on weekends and listen to the noise of a construction site right outside my door.  My neighbor was hanging a photo last night at about 1AM and I had to listen to five minutes of hammering (how many tries did it take her to hang that damn photo?) as I tried to sleep.  That alone bothered me to no end, so I can’t imagine listening to something 10,000 times as bad for a period of two years.

Add in the fact that Percy Street/Alleyway will be boxed in by the new development, and the highway overpasses, and I politely say, “No Thanks.”

One day, I will own a house in downtown Toronto, and I’d love for it to be a house that is rich with Toronto’s history and original charm.

But there are some compromises I just won’t make.

Even if eleven residents of Percy Street beg to differ…