35 MANITOU. CRESCENT EAST - $659,000
The Essentials
A grand old side split right on Manitou’s bend. Four bedrooms above grade, if you need them, as well as a family room, and two sets of sliding doors out to the biggest, best, and most mature garden I know in that part of the world.
The Bigger Picture
I didn’t expect to have to compete for this listing. It’s my dad’s house, after all, and he’s moved into a retirement home; dementia tightens its grip a little more every week. I have power of attorney over his affairs. But even knowing all of that, someone down the hall still thought it would be clever to invent a crack and then try to squeeze through it, wrestle the listing away. I’m still shaking my head and filing my complaints. It’s an odd business, sure enough.
That doesn’t change in the slightest my opinion that it’s a highlight of this summer’s real estate scene out in Amherstview. The house sits on the big curve at the eastern end of Manitou. The huge pie-shaped lot sprawls roadside like a sun-struck hound, and is studded with mature beech and lilac; the terraced gardens are abuzz with an indecent number of tiger lilies and roses. The old climbing hydrangea wrestles more successfully each summer with the deck. There is something ancient and untamed about the outdoor space, despite the well-tended lawns and flower beds. There is a fish pond, and even a little bridge over what used to be a seasonal stream until the municipality re-worked drainage in these parts a good thirty years ago. A pool would make sense and you’d still have room for some five-on-five soccer. The curb appeal is second-to-none.
You’ve seen similar floor plans before: The oak floored formal living and dining room wrap around the kitchen and it’s down a few steps to the main floor family room with a gas fireplace, and the fourth bedroom (or office) with its two-piece ensuite. There are two sets of sliding doors out to the well-built decks. There are three bedrooms upstairs and a rec room in the basement, next to the laundry. The house is bright and spotless, and people have been dropping notes in the mailbox for some forty-five years now. “If you ever sell ..” they mostly begin and, well, that time has come. I will be both slightly sad and mighty relieved to see it gone.
The Virtual Tour
The Gallery
The Floor Plans
