$3.85M 'opulent McMansion' sits on the market in Toronto as longtime tenants displaced
CTV
The transformation of a house in downtown Toronto – from a multi-unit with below market rent to a luxury single-family home – is not an anomaly. But rather, housing and legal experts say it is emblematic of why a housing crisis continues to grip the city.
In the decade Maria Bui lived in her downtown Toronto apartment, her rent rose a total of $70.
For 12 years, Bui lived at 140 Harrison St. in the city’s Trinity Bellwoods neighbourhood. Then, in 2020, her longtime tenancy came to an end – the house of four-units would soon be converted into an opulent single-family home and placed on the market for $3.85 million.
“The renters on the street just all started disappearing, the class level started changing, they were no longer young artists and musicians,” Bui told CTV News Toronto. “Business professionals were moving into the neighbourhood.”
At its highest, Bui’s monthly rent came to $870 – almost $2,000 less than the current average in Toronto.
“By the time we left two years ago, we were just like, ‘We’re done with the neighbourhood. We can’t afford it, they don’t want us here, we’re out,’” Bui said.
“That whole sense of community has really shifted and disappeared.”
The house’s transformation – from a multi-unit with below market rent to a luxury single-family home – is not an anomaly in Toronto. But rather, housing and legal experts say that what happened at 140 Harrison is emblematic of why a housing crisis continues to grip the city.
