<img class="webfeedsFeaturedVisual" src="https://display.blogto.com/articles/20250403-227riverstreet-toronto-3.jpg?w=1200&amp;cmd=resize_then_crop&amp;height=630&amp;quality=70" width="100%" /><p>In November 2023, a row of historic houses in Toronto's Cabbagetown neighbourhood&nbsp;<a href="https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-toronto/2023/11/historic-toronto-cottage-sale-fire-locals-suspicious/">mysteriously went up in flames</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>Toronto Fire confirmed to blogTO back in 2023 that the primary addresses for the incident were 225 through 229 River St.</p><p><span style="background-color: white; font-family: merriweatherregular, Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 300;">229 River St. had been sitting on the market, boarded up for a while, and then, on the day of the fire, it </span><a href="https://strata.ca/toronto/229-river-street-m5a3p9" style="font-family: merriweatherregular, Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 300;" target="_blank">sold</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: merriweatherregular, Georgia, serif; font-size: 18px; font-weight: 300;">.</span>&nbsp;</p><p>229 River St. had also <a href="https://strata.ca/mls/c6707210">been listed as a "multi-unit development" possibility</a>, though the wording was removed from the listing.</p><p><img alt="227 River Street Toronto" id="content-image-116284" src="https://display.blogto.com/uploads/2025/04/15/1744748769-20250403-227riverstreet-toronto-4.jpg?w=1400&amp;cmd=resize&amp;quality=70" /></p><p class="caption">The front of the house.&nbsp;</p><p>This made some people suspicious, with some speculating that the fire may have been started to get out of having to replicate the heritage attributes of the house.</p><p>According to the <a href="http:// https://www.ontario.ca/page/heritage-properties-and-insurance#:~:text=Destroyed%20by%20fire%20or%20accident,amount%20stated%20in%20the%20policy.">Ontario government webiste</a>,&nbsp;if a heritage property is destroyed by fire or accident, "the designation by-law does not require the owner to replicate any lost heritage attributes. A replacement building can be of a different design," as the "intent of designation is to preserve the historic, physical, contextual or other heritage value of a property."</p><p>Now, another one of the houses that was affected by the&nbsp;fire is on the market.&nbsp;</p><p>227 River St. has just been <a href="https://strata.ca/toronto/227-river-street-m5a3p9">listed for&nbsp;$499,000</a>.&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="227 River Street Toronto" id="content-image-116288" src="https://display.blogto.com/uploads/2025/04/15/1744748878-20250403-227riverstreet-toronto-2.jpg?w=1400&amp;cmd=resize&amp;quality=70" /></p><p class="caption">The back of the house.&nbsp;</p><p>According to the listing, the house was "gutted" by the fire and is not allowed to be entered.&nbsp;So, of course, it is being sold "as is" for "land value only".&nbsp;</p><p>Although before it was a shell of a home, it apparently did have two bedrooms and one bathroom.&nbsp;</p><p>As far as land value goes, it's on a decent-sized&nbsp;lot (16 x 100 feet) and backs onto Riverdale Park.&nbsp;</p><p>But the fact that it is a heritage property, does bring into question what you can actually do with the property.&nbsp;</p><p>If you have to rebuild the house exactly as it once was &ndash;&nbsp;replicating and restoring all its historical elements &ndash; you're likely&nbsp;in for a money pit-type situation.</p><p>However, if you can just demolish and rebuild,with the only restriction of keeping in the style and character of&nbsp;Cabbagetown South, this could be the deal of the year.</p><p><img alt="227 River Street Toronto" id="content-image-116285" src="https://display.blogto.com/uploads/2025/04/15/1744748769-20250403-227riverstreet-toronto-1.jpg?w=1400&amp;cmd=resize&amp;quality=70" /></p><p class="caption">The backyard.&nbsp;</p><p>Semi-detached homes can sell anywhere <a href="https://strata.ca/toronto/227-river-street-m5a3p9">between&nbsp;$999,900 and$2,350,000</a>&nbsp;in this neighbourhood, meaning you could double or triple your investment.</p><p>But since the listing advises speaking to a lawyer about what you can and can't do with this property, our guess is that the options are limited.&nbsp;</p><p>Either way, this is probably the cheapest house you'll ever see in Cabbagetown, and that's something worth talking about.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p>