The site of one of Toronto's most notorious murders has been quietly put back on the market under a new address.
The vacant North York property where the now-demolished home of billionaire couple Honey and Barry Sherman once stood is listed for sale with an asking price of $6.5M. The infamous address of the gruesome double-murder — 50 Old Colony Road — has been slightly tweaked, however, with the listing displaying a new address of 48 Old Colony.
The somber site has sat empty since the Sherman's house was demolished back in May 2019 — a year and a half after the bodies of the Apotex founder and his wife were discovered beside their indoor pool in a puzzling seated position. A letter sent by an agent for the Sherman Family to the North York Community Council three months before the demolition said the family wished to level the home and put it up for sale as "it pains them to have it sit there," noting "no one will purchase the home as it presently stands."
The property did eventually sell in 2020 for $4.25M, the Toronto Starreported at the time, to a 28-year-old woman who lived nearby with family.
Now up for sale again, this interestingly isn't the first time the property has been listed in recent months. It was first brought on the market in December 2022, with a price tag of $6,998,000 — eerily similar to the $6,988,000 price the Shermans listed the property for just days before their death. The home was then taken off the market in March of this year and re-listed just four days later at the same price point. By the end of March, it was removed again but brought back in April at its now-reduced price. All of the listings have been under the new 48 Old Colony Road address.
The process of changing a municipal address number in Toronto is simple enough — it requires filling out an application, submitting it to the City, and paying a $460 service charge. Although it's unclear when exactly the address change was made -- at some point between February 2021, when development plans for the site were submitted to North York's Committee of Adjustment under the 50 Old Colony Road address, and December 2022, when the property was initially listed — the City's own maps now reflect the new numbering.
The City was unable to comment on any address change application.
The City of Toronto Application Information Centre map reflecting the new address. (City of Toronto)
The latest listing highlights an approved building permit for the 0.6-acre lot that would allow for the construction of a 12,000-sq.-ft home with — perhaps somewhat morbidly — another indoor poor.
Plans for the "luxury dream home," as the listing describes it, went before the North York Committee of Adjustment back in early 2021. At the time, an agent for the owner said the owner was a professional swimmer, thus necessitating not just an indoor pool, but a large indoor pool measuring over 60 ft in length.
The now-approved building plans detail a two-storey home, plus a finished basement, with a four-car underground parking garage, six bedrooms (including a nanny suite and a multi-room primary suite), two kitchens, a gym with a sauna, a theatre room, a great room, and home office space.
A drawing of the proposed house. (City of Toronto)
At the time, neighbours who lived next door and across the street from the property took issues with the proposed home's design, namely with the size of the pool and the height of the house. With shorter houses on either side of the property, they raised concerns about the new build casting unwanted shadows.
Now up for sale, the future of the infamous property remains in flux, and with such a storied past — and significant price tag — it's not hard to imagine the property will take some time to sell, even in today's hot market.
The listing agent for the property did not respond to requests for comment.
