Andy Byford, Toronto’s departing transit chief, just sold his Summerhill house

Andy Byford, Toronto’s departing transit chief, just sold his Summerhill house

Toronto Transit Commission CEO Andy Byford announced last week that he’ll be leaving Toronto for a new job, as president and CEO of New York City Transit, the agency that operates New York City’s transit system. It’s not clear how long the move has been in the works, but at least this much is true: Byford put his Toronto home, located near Avenue Road and Roxborough Street West, on the market at the end of October. It sold three weeks ago.

According to information on Toronto’s Multiple Listing Service, the sale price was $2.1 million. That’s $150,000 less than Byford’s $2.25-million asking price. The transaction is set to close in mid-December, around the same time Byford is expected to step down from his TTC post.

Although Byford didn’t get the price he was looking for, it appears he’ll still come out ahead. He and his wife, Alison, closed on the home in 2011, shortly after the TTC hired Byford away from his previous job as chief operating officer of Transport for NSW, a transit agency in Australia. The Byfords paid $1.24 million, meaning they likely stand to bank a healthy profit on the sale. Both Byford and his real estate agent, Boris Kholodov, declined to comment on the property.

The house is a three-storey, four-bedroom semi with a private drive and approximately 2,800 square feet of living space. The front door opens into a finished lower level with a foyer and a rec room. The main floor is completely open from back to front, with a renovated kitchen (the walls are lined with subway tile, naturally) and French doors to the backyard. The master bedroom sprawls across the entire third floor. It has two skylights and a large ensuite bathroom with sliding doors that lead to a private, rear-facing balcony. Unsurprisingly, much of the home’s decor is transit themed: there’s a framed subway map in the foyer, a TTC shower curtain in one of the bathrooms and a massive TTC poster in the kitchen pantry. The listing, with photos of the interior, is still online for the time being.