Every once in a while, an MLS listing includes something that makes us wonder whether we’ve had too much coffee.
At 385 Centennial Road in Scarborough, it isn’t the number of bedrooms. There are none. It isn’t the renovated kitchen either, because there is no kitchen. It’s the seller, which is listed as follows.
His Majesty the King in right of Ontario as represented by the Minister of Infrastructure
Apparently, the King owns an acre of vacant land in Port Union.
Before picturing him reviewing offers at Buckingham Palace, let’s explain what is actually going on—and whether anyone could build something there.
Long live the legal entity!
Let’s start with the disappointing news. The King does not personally own this property. “His Majesty the King in right of Ontario” is the legal name used when the Province of Ontario owns real estate. The words “in right of Ontario” mean the Crown is acting as the provincial government, not as the monarch’s private real estate holding company.
The Minister of Infrastructure represents Ontario in the sale, Infrastructure Ontario manages the provincial real estate process, and a real estate brokerage (CBRE) is marketing the property.
The land registry actually still uses the former wording, “Her Majesty the Queen in right of Ontario.” That doesn’t mean the property was recently transferred between members of the Royal Family. The Crown continues when the monarch changes, so the wording around ownership simply changes along with it.
This also helps explain why the MLS listing shows annual property taxes of one cent. The Province is tax-exempt. Sadly, the buyer does not inherit the royal tax plan.
Why does Ontario own it?
The property is a wooded, irregularly shaped parcel of approximately 1.08 acres beside Highway 2A and close to Highway 401. Governments regularly buy land for highways, road widening, drainage, utilities and other infrastructure.
Once the work is finished, they can be left with oddly shaped pieces that are no longer needed. That is very much what happened here given the shape of the property and its location beside a highway corridor.
I know times are tough, but why’s the government selling it?
When Ontario no longer needs a property, it can declare the land surplus. The property is generally offered through government and public-sector channels first. If nobody there buys it, Ontario can put it on the open market.
That’s how a provincial property eventually appears on MLS with the King as seller and a commercial real estate brokerage handling the listing. The land is now listed for $445,000, down from its original asking price of $750,000. More than an acre in Toronto for less than the price of a condominium sounds like a tremendous deal, but there’s a catch – the zoning.
Can you build a house on it?
Not under the current zoning.
The property is zoned “Open Space–Natural”, which is intended mainly for natural and open-space uses. A detached house is not currently permitted. Neither are townhouses, condominiums or a conventional subdivision. As such, this isn’t a matter of buying the land, choosing a floor plan and asking the King where to send the deposit.
The zoning is more supportive of uses such as parks, natural areas, agriculture, community gardens, certain outdoor recreation or education uses, public utilities and transportation-related uses.
A neighbouring owner might also buy it for additional privacy, outdoor space or control over what happens next door. That would not automatically turn the land into a residential building lot, but it could still have value to the right person.
Sure, sure, but everything eventually has housing built on it, right?
While the current zoning doesn’t allow it, it is true that a buyer could try to change the zoning and other planning permissions. It isn’t going to be easy, however. That process would require environmental, transportation, servicing and natural-heritage studies. The property is beside a highway, heavily wooded and irregularly shaped, so even if some development were eventually approved, the entire acre might not be usable.
As such, we’d say that rather than approved development land, this is land with a possible development theory.
The difference is several years, a collection of consultants, a substantial amount of money and no guarantee the City will say yes.
Is anyone actually going to buy it?
With a public listing history going back to November, 2023, this clearly isn’t a piece of land that’s moving quickly. The most likely buyer is someone who sees value beyond building a house tomorrow. That could be a neighbouring owner, a conservation organization, a public agency, a utility, an urban agricultural operator or a developer comfortable taking on significant planning risk.
For everyone else, it could become a $445,000 place to admire squirrels.
The King’s name makes the listing entertaining, but it doesn’t determine the property’s value – the zoning does. Vacant land is not valuable simply because there is a lot of it and its value depends on what can legally, physically and economically be done with it. In real estate we sometimes refer to that as the highest, best use. In this case, the highest, best use is quite limited, so the price reflects that reality.
At the end of the day, the Crown ownership tells us who is selling, the land registry gives us clues about where the property came from and the zoning explains why an acre of Toronto land is available for $445,000. Despite the name on the listing, calling the King probably won’t help you build a house there anytime soon.
If you’re curious about the idea of buying vacant land and building a home on it, then understanding what is possible is a crucial part of the process. We love working with clients who are exploring this idea and if that sounds like you, get in touch with us to discuss working together!
