LIVING ON THE LAKE
Port Colborne
111 Oakridge Cres (Highway 3 and Main Street West) Asking price: $3.5 million
Taxes: $21,012 (2018) Bedrooms: 3+1 Bathrooms: 4
MLS# 30682601
The best feature of 111 Oakridge Cres. is its incredible lake views, say homeowners Art and Frieda Vanderlaan. It has “beautiful sunrises, and clear and always-moving scenery of pleasure craft, commercial ‘lakers’ and ocean-going vessels.”
New buyers, mainly coming from the Toronto, Oakville and Hamilton areas, are looking to move to Port Colborne, says listing agent Nicole Marsh-Burke of McGarr Realty. “The average sale price is up 67 per cent from 2015 to 2018. Sales for homes in the $1-million-and-up price range were at six in 2017 and are at 10 as of October 2018. So, it’s quite a change overall.”
The homeowners bought the property in 2001 and decided to demolish the cottage and build new rather than renovating the original building, which is believed to have been built in the early 1900s. Completed in 2003, the new 5,088-square-foot home has a 2,596-sq.-ft lower level. The house sits on a more than two-acre lot with 230 feet of frontage on Lake Erie, MarshBurke says.
The main-floor master suite has a 23-ft.-high ceiling and floor-to-ceiling windows with water views. The chef ’s kitchen has a large island with a granite counter, two sinks, double ovens and extensive cabinetry. It overlooks the great room and the lake.
A separate sheltered patio overlooking the terraced gardens is off the dining room. The main-floor office has woodwork and glass doors from Wisconsin. The mainfloor laundry has an elevator to the lower level, which also has a great room, a bedroom and a three-piece en-suite bathroom.
The upper-level landing is large enough to accommodate a grand piano. Two bedrooms and a five-piece en-suite bathroom are also on the second floor.
“The house has incredible flow and is full of light. There are many indoor and outdoor entertaining spaces, and the outdoor dining areas are covered. The lakefront dining area has an enclosure to protect it from the elements and allow almost year-round dining,” she says.
The Vanderlaans have done their share of entertaining, including hosting the local tennis club and a garden tour that brought in many “garden spectators,” MarshBurke says.
They also had an unveiling of their sculpture garden, she says. “There were about 80 people invited along with some local politicians. The garden has extensive stone patios, walkways and wooded areas.”
Tennis, fishing, boating, golfing, white sandy beaches and the historic Welland Canal are nearby.