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After more than 50 years, the iconic “Leslieville Dollhouse” will soon have a new owner.
On Thursday, one of Toronto’s most famous and photographed properties — a semi-detached three-bedroom home at 37 Bertmount Ave., near Queen Street East and Jones Avenue — will officially hit the market.
The asking price for the unique home, which has a front yard and porch adorned with hundreds, if not thousands, of dolls, toys and teddy bears, has not yet been disclosed.
Real estate agent Nadine Comeau said only that properties on the street sell for as much as $1.5 million to $2 million, depending on the property’s condition and renovations that have been done or need to be done.
Comeau called 37 Bertmount an “amazing landmark” with an “overall atmosphere of happiness, joy and love.” She said the house is in good mechanical condition, with a new roof and oil furnace, and an additional new bathroom and laundry facilities on the open main floor.
“This home is in very good condition and is a great opportunity for any potential homebuyer,” she said, while acknowledging that it’s “not your typical home.”
Cuomo said that when preparing the property, many people asked if the knickknacks out front would be removed, but ultimately, the family decided to keep them because they “represent something” and are “historically significant.”
“So, this is different than anything I’ve done before, and I find it very interesting and exciting, and we want the best outcome for the family that lives here,” Comeau said. “This house represents their vibe, if you will,” Comeau said.
The current owner was an avid collector and has many items in the home, including several Royal Doulton porcelain dolls and “many decorative items throughout the house” that reflect her “creative spirit,” Mr. Comeau said.
She said since the “coming soon” sign went up earlier this week, many people have come up to her asking what will happen to all the stuff outside the house.
She said the owners were considering allowing a few days for the public to come and “take away treasures.” They would keep the things they valued and would agree with the new buyer to move everything else in a “reasonable time frame for everyone,” she said.
Tom Sumaisar, whose mother, Shirley, has owned the house for about 50 years, said the task will likely fall to the buyer.
“I think whoever bought the house would have made that decision,” he said.
“Maybe at some point we’ll start taking it down and offering the contents to people who want to come and take a trinket as a souvenir.”
He said selling the family home was a “very sad” thing for his mother to do, but it had to be done.
“This was her life. … She’s very sad to be leaving, but it’s for her health, it’s for her safety, and it’s so she can be closer to her family,” Sumaisar told CTV News Toronto on Wednesday afternoon.
“It’s a sad time for us. My mom loves her house. She wishes she could stay here, but it’s so big it’s difficult to maintain.”
Sumaisar, who moved out of the house, which has since been informally known as the Leslieville Dollhouse, about 20 years ago, said selling his mother’s house would allow them to spend more time together and take care of her.
He said initially his mother kept a large garden in front of the house and planted several flower beds, but it was difficult to maintain.
He shared that she then started placing toys and signs in front of her home and things just kind of grew from there.
“Things were going better and better and suddenly people started liking it. The next thing I knew, they were all donating things to the house to decorate it,” Sumaisar said.
“And it’s becoming more and more popular. It’s all over social media. People are coming from all over the world.”
He said his mother particularly enjoyed creating themed displays with music and lights for holidays such as Halloween and Christmas.
Everything she did, he said, was to “make people happy.”
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