A block of residential buildings in Toronto has mysteriously erupted into flames —  flames that licked at least one heritage-designated site, which has coincidentally been sitting empty on the market and was even deceptively billed as a development opportunity.

This latest blaze is far from the only time a heritage building has burned down in recent memory.

According to reports, fire crews responded to a three-alarm blaze on River Street near Gerrard Street East early on Wednesday morning, and as they worked to quench the inferno over multiple hours, it spread to multiple buildings.

Among the addresses ignited was 229 River Street, a single-family row house currently listed with Accsell Realty for $707,000 in its dilapidated and boarded-up state.

Pictures from the fire on River St. this morning
byu/Oliver_Salathiel intoronto

The listing for the property originally described it as "lot value only," noting that the lot backs onto a park and is close to public transit, grocery stores, and all amenities needed for life in the city, though the two-bedroom, one-bathroom home itself may be in disrepair.

It also erroneously stated that there was "multi-unit development possible," though the wording has since been removed from the ad.

As heritage advocate and researcher Adam Wynne notes of the address on the Architectural Conservancy Ontario (ACO) website, the 1.5-storey Gothic Revival cottage, circa 1870s, is within the Cabbagetown Heritage Conservation District.

707 River Street after a fire this morning. This is property in a conservation district (Part V). Is it worth more or less as a result of the damage? pic.twitter.com/VIB9iamR62

— Fabian Gilchrist (@CabbagetownX) November 15, 2023

When the home was put up for sale in August 2023, Wynne added an update on its ACO page noting that it had been listed as a development opportunity despite this designation, which he tells blogTO via email is definitely cause for alarm.

"While the house is boarded up, it seems the realtor is entirely unaware of the heritage designation," he writes.

But, as noted on the Ontario website, 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."

An earlier version of the listing for the heritage property read "lot value only" and "multi unit development possible." Photo submitted by Adam Wynne.

While the cause fire is still under investigation, the updated listing for 229 River Street now warns would-be buyers that "this property is in a heritage district known as Cabbagetown. This is a PART V property" before directing them to a City document on the Cabbagetown South District Plan.

Thankfully, no injuries were reported in this morning's fire, which was put out around 8:30 a.m. Toronto Fire confirmed to blogTO that the primary address for the incident was 225 River St. with 227 River St. and 229 River St. also affected.

According to the listing agent, the property has already been sold, and the buyer is still interested after the fire, though he adds that he's "not sure how this will sit with the insurance company."