Dear reader,

Visiting East York is like travelling through a time warp: pre-amalgamation signs, small-town main streets and plenty of post-war architecture. Of the city’s six former municipalities, the stretch of land above Greektown and below the Science Centre is, for me, the quirkiest—an impression of former Toronto as a pre-pubescent teen en route to world-city adulthood.

But things are changing. Dozens of shiny new builds are coming to the district in preparation for the Ontario Line, which will glide underneath Pape and over the Don on its way to Flemingdon Park. Curb Appeal’s top post this week is a signal of the new East York: a modern box just off O’Connor that’s equipped with a marble kitchen, floating storage and a backyard shed with garden suite potential. And still, it stands in harmony with its neighbourhood. How Torontonian. 

Also in today’s newsletter: a Broadview North oddity with a glass sunroom on its roof. Plus, a condo at Yonge and Bloor with a view of both uptown and downtown. Visit torontolife.com or subscribe to our print edition for all of our real estate coverage and more. 

Here’s a $2.4-million, four-bedroom, four-bathroom detached in Old East York. The home comes with five parking spots, a finished basement and a landscaped backyard with a nifty shed. Facing west, it’s within walking distance of Coxwell Ravine Park, Taylor Creek Trail and the future Ontario Line station at Pape and Cosburn. And motorists are a short drive from both the DVP and Danforth Avenue. Take the tour now.

What house by the Don would be complete without a glass elevator, motorized cabinets, a bar with a glass roof, a 12-metre chandelier and a 30,000-litre aquarium designed to house tropical fish?

This two-bedroom unit at Yonge and Bloor has a 700-square-foot balcony, two gold pillars, a laundry room and a bunch of luxurious amenities. And it’s currently going for $2.2 million.

In the latest issue: the perilous lives of international students. Plus, the professor, the caregiver and the case of the missing $30 million; a Q&A with drag legend Priyanka; the best secret supper clubs; and more. Still not receiving Toronto Life at home? Subscribe today.