Bizarre cubed apartment in the sky hits the market for more than $3million

  • A cubed apartment building in Toronto modeled after the famous Piet Blom homes in Rotterdam has hit the market 
  • The owner is not sharing the price but the sales agent said the price was in the 'high three millions' 
  • The structure is broken into three self-contained apartments
  • Tenants and fans alike fear for the future of the apartment if the new owners decide to knock the building down 

By Ashley Collman For Dailymail.com

Published: | Updated:

A unique cubed apartment building in Toronto has hit the market, creating fears that whoever buys the landmark could tear it down. 

The structure at 1 Sumach Street consists of three green cubes suspended above ground by a pole, on a small pie-shaped piece of land right below a freeway. Each cube contains a 1,300-square-feet self-contained, multi-story, apartment.

The Picasso-esque building was created in 1996 by architect Ben Kutner, who modeled it after the famous Piet Blom homes in the Netherlands.

A cubed apartment building in Toronto is currently up for sale and tenants are afraid the new owners will tear it down 
A cubed apartment building in Toronto is currently up for sale and tenants are afraid the new owners will tear it down 

A cubed apartment building in Toronto is currently up for sale and tenants are afraid the new owners will tear it down 

The building was constructed in 1996, modeled after the Piet Blom cubed apartments in Rotterdam
The building was constructed in 1996, modeled after the Piet Blom cubed apartments in Rotterdam

The building was constructed in 1996, modeled after the Piet Blom cubed apartments in Rotterdam

Above, a look inside one of the building three self-contained apartments, with measure in at 1,300 square feet 
Above, a look inside one of the building three self-contained apartments, with measure in at 1,300 square feet 

Above, a look inside one of the building three self-contained apartments, with measure in at 1,300 square feet 

Kutner never owned the land, so he got into a legal battle when the land owner tried to sell it. He originally argued that the building was chattel that could be moved in his fight to keep the construction, but the land owner eventually won the rights to both the land and the building. 

In 2002, the owner sold it to Coffee Time founder Tom Michaelopoulus for $265,000, who is the current landlord at the building. 

He put the building up for sale a few months ago, marketing it to a few investors but so far no one has snapped the building up. 

The sales agent could not give the exact price of the building, but said it was in the high three millions 
The sales agent could not give the exact price of the building, but said it was in the high three millions 

The sales agent could not give the exact price of the building, but said it was in the high three millions 

Tenants hope that the building can be saved, either by staying on the property or being moved to another plot of land
Tenants hope that the building can be saved, either by staying on the property or being moved to another plot of land

Tenants hope that the building can be saved, either by staying on the property or being moved to another plot of land

And that means that the exact asking price has not been published, but sales representatives Arthur Carpopoulos told CBC that it's in the 'high three millions'. 

'Properties like this don't get purchased as quickly as a condo or a single home for a single family,' he told the Toronto Star. 'That is a whole different type of real estate.'  

Martin Trainor, a producer at the CBC, has lived in one of the apartments for the last 15 years. 

Trainor said he's concerned that whoever buys the property will tear his home down, and hopes that it will at least be spared by being moved to another location. 

'I actually have another property that I could live in. It's a regular house. But I choose to live here because it's unique,' Trainor told the Star. 'It's a great architectural masterpiece, if you ask me.'

Though it would mean a move for him, Trainor said he would even love to see the building turn into one big single-family apartments.

'I'm afraid it's going to go the way of Captain John's boat and Honest Ed's or the Sam the Record Man sign, unless this was preserved and saved — or at least targeted to go somewhere else,' Trainor told CBC. 'I think it'd be a real shame for Toronto to lose this landmark.' 

Pictured above is the inspiration for the building - the Piet Blom cube homes in Rotterdam
Pictured above is the inspiration for the building - the Piet Blom cube homes in Rotterdam

Pictured above is the inspiration for the building - the Piet Blom cube homes in Rotterdam

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