Funky U-Shaped Toronto House Once Toured by David Bowie Lists for C$14 Million

An award-winning architectural home in Toronto that once got the attention of David Bowie is on the market for nearly C$14 million (US$9.79 million) in one of Canada’s most exclusive neighborhoods.

After seeing a 2002 news story about the home’s design, by Toronto architects Shim-Sutcliffe, Bowie reached out to the firm in 2004 for a tour.

The owners, Toronto financial executive David Fleck and wife, Yvonne Domerchie-Fleck, rushed home from an Ottawa trip to meet the star and his wife, model Iman. The Flecks, who had commissioned the home in 2001, are also the sellers.

“I took Bowie and Iman around” the 7,500-square-foot house in Toronto’s exclusive Bridle Path neighborhood, David Fleck said. “He was one of those icons who was beyond fame, so he was easy to talk to and open-minded.”

According to Fleck, Bowie and Iman were scouting architects to build a summer home in Woodstock, New York, where they owned land.

“They were fascinated by the architects and the materials,” including wood and steel, Fleck said. The couple never followed through on the plan, however; Bowie died in 2016 at age 69.

The Flecks once shopped the Highland Crescent home around in 2012, asking C$6.85 million. More than a decade later, it just hit the market for C$13.99 million.

The Flecks have listed it again as they are downsizing now that their two children have grown up and moved out, according to co-listing agent Jimmy Molloy.

“The house won the Governor-General’s Medal in Architecture for 2004. Modern residential architecture can be cold, sterile, and austere.

Shim-Sutcliffe makes everything seem organic, and made the house seem like it’s part of its location,” said Molloy, an agent with Chestnut Park Real Estate Brokerage/Christie’s International Real Estate who is co-listing the home with Lindsay Van Wert.

The home’s exterior, built as a series of vertical panels, is clad in mahogany and Corten steel.

“It’s timeless, warm, and seems to have sprung out of nature―even using steel, the most manufactured of products,” Molloy said. “The house is more than 20 years old, and still looks new. If you visit in a hundred years, it won’t feel dated. Great architecture is about creating something timeless.”

Shim told the Globe and Mail in 2012 that steel “is interactive with the environment. … We think of the steel not as hard and cold, but warm and rich.”

The home has four bedrooms, six bathrooms, two garage spaces and parking for five cars. The sellers are “major art collectors in Toronto who curated and built this house with” the architects, Molloy said.

“We have such mixed feelings about selling the house,” David Fleck said. “It’s an entire environment. Howard [Sutcliffe] shifts ceiling heights, so there is movement in the house to create spaces that are unique. And almost every room looks out onto nature.”

To renovate the kitchen and bathrooms, the sellers retained Kelly Buffey of Toronto’s Akb Architects, “but in conjunction with Shim-Sutcliffe, Molloy said.

The kitchen features a Thermador induction cooktop, Wolf wall oven, Fisher & Paykel refrigerator, and Miele dishwasher.

Upstairs, a skylit landing connects three bedrooms, including a primary suite with a study, custom closet and a balcony overlooking the backyard pool.

The lower level features a media room, bedroom suite, second kitchen and gym. All rooms on the lower level open to a garden courtyard.

The U-shaped house surrounds a lap pool and lily pond. “The house is all about how it responds to its setting and to natural light, with walls of glass,” Molloy said.

Overlooking a ravine, the house also has views of the Rosedale Golf Club, which was founded in 1893.

According to Canadian data site Realosophy, the median sales price for the Bridle Path in February was C$16.2 million, based on three sales. The neighborhood’s highest-price listing is a 13-bedroom estate that’s on the market for C$23.98 million.

Neighbors in its affluent enclave north of downtown Toronto include Drake ; and residents have included Prince, Celine Dion, Elton John and Gordon Lightfoot.

Toronto’s downtown core is about 7 miles south of the neighborhood. Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport is about 9.5 miles south.

A grand old dame who has stood the test of time, Marika is a slice of Hunters Hill heritage transformed for modern-day living.

Meticulously renovated between 1981 and 1983, with several updates since, Marika made it onto the heritage register in 1999 just in time to signal a new millennium. Today, the modernised mansion is on the market with an auction price guide of $7.5 million, marketed through BresicWhitney’s Nicholas McEvoy.

“The home is a fantastic opportunity for a discerning buyer to get a grand family estate-style property, with a pool, tennis court and grounds, for a price that’s much more affordable than expected,” McEvoy says.

Sitting pretty on the corner of Augustine St and Ryde Rd, the stately Federation residence occupies a sprawling 2472sq m block, which was once part of a 30-acre land grant handed to Frederick Augustus Hayne in 1835. In 1902, he sold it to Dr Leopold Augustus Carter, a local dentist. Two years later, Marika, then known as “Ryde”, appeared in the famed Sands Directory – the social media of its era – a symbol of its architectural significance.

Surrounded by manicured gardens with sculpted hedges, a pool and full tennis court, Marika is a prime example of Federation style with contemporary elements.

Inside, the single-level five-bedroom home showcases intricate craftsmanship, from its decorative gables, period archways and bay windows to the coloured glass panels on multiple doors and windows. Elegant formal rooms have high ornate ceilings that are a preserved nod to Marika’s past, while the more modern spaces are relaxed family-friendly zones.

Thanks to a pavilion-style addition, the L-shaped layout measures 450sq m internally and wraps around a central courtyard that plays host to the alfresco dining terrace and pool, while a wide veranda frames the original front rooms of the house.

Primary living spaces, including the dining area with integrated bar, open to the great outdoors via stacker doors and the 21st century kitchen has a large island bench and a butler’s pantry with hidden access to the triple lock up garage. There is also a dedicated media room, a library or home office, plus a separate family room with a beautiful bay window.

All bedrooms feature built-ins while the main retreat, and a second bedroom, have shower ensuites. The shared bathroom houses convenient twin vanities and a freestanding bathtub.

Beyond the interiors, Marika delivers resort amenities with a full-sized, floodlit tennis court, the pool, barbecue terrace and a self-contained studio apartment with the added bonus of Harbour Bridge glimpses.

Added extras include a converted loft storage space, a large laundry with side yard access, ducted air conditioning, multiple fireplaces, solar panels with a battery backup and modern insulation.

Accessed via Augustine St, Marika is close to St Joseph’s College, Boronia Park shops, local ovals and city transport.

Marika at 59 Augustine St, Hunters Hill is set to go under the hammer on April 26, on site at 9am with a price guide of $7.5 million. The listing is with Nicholas McEvoy and Narelle Scott of BresicWhitney Hunters Hill.

Funky U-Shaped Toronto House Once Toured by David Bowie Lists for C$14 Million

The late rock star and his wife, model Iman, visited the house after seeing a news story about its unusual design by local architects Shim-Sutcliffe.

A heritage-listed Federation estate with tennis court, pool and studio, Marika offers timeless elegance and modern family living in the heart of Hunters Hill.