What a west-end property has lost in character and history, it’s gained in marketability.

An eccentric terracotta-tiled house on Jerome St. near High Park was demolished last year — despite its heritage status — after its new owners found it “dangerously unlivable,” said real-estate agent Vesna Kolenc.

Land registry documents show the owners bought it for $700,000 in April 2018. Kolenc is handling the sale of a new home built on the property, up for $2,248,800.

“It’s a brand-new house ... and looks completely out of this world,” Kolenc said in an interview Thursday. “The owners really went overboard with the renovation and didn’t spare any expenses. The price really reflects that.”

The original home — covered in elaborate engravings, including rows of leaves, flowers and cherubs — was erected in 1905 by west-end builder John Shelley Turner from Hartfield, England. Neighbours called it beautiful and unique, saying they would fight the demolition. However, the city said there was no other option, as the structure had deteriorated and was no longer safe.

“If you sneeze too hard, it’s going to fall down,” Councillor Gord Perks (Ward 14 Parkdale-High Park) said in May.

The modernized house that replaced it boasts four bedrooms and four bathrooms, a private driveway, heated floors, glass railings and new appliances, according to its online listing. There’s even a “nanny’s quarter” in the basement, a custom kitchen with a breakfast bar and a patio in the back.

A number of terracotta tiles were preserved and embedded in the new facade. City staff were keen on saving the tiles during talks last year.

“It was important that some of that be maintained,” said Kolenc, adding the city included it in the redevelopment package for the owners.

Kolenc said not all of the tiles have been used in the reconstruction, however.

“Some of them are being stored by the owners, and the city even asked if they could have them,” she added. “And they said, ‘Well, not for free.’ People can certainly buy them if they want.”

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Buyers are showing lots of interest in the house, she added, “and none of them are because of what it was, but what it’s become. It’s all about the new house.”

A public viewing has been arranged for Saturday.

With files from Vjosa Isai