This house is located in a large metropolitan area, tucked away in a small forested pocket off of a highway. The house is barely visible from the road.
The house was constructed in 1967.
It was last occupied by a family from Syria. The family came to Canada as refugees from the war torn country of Syria. The four children were not able to attend school or go outside in their homeland. Seven family members lived in a small bachelor sized apartment.
Perhaps you’ve seen the news coverage of Syria, particularly overwhelmed hospitals where small children have been seriously injured in the conflict. After ten years of war, many of the buildings are now shells, and over 12,000 children have died or been injured since 2011 (source: Unicef).
They family sought better living conditions and knew that Canada was a safe haven. They made a three-week trek to Canada. The children are now in school and learning English (they spoke only Arabic). The father went to school in Ontario and is now working at a car dealership.
This house was donated to the family. This makes me appreciate what a great country Canada is. 
Don’t ever take for granted your freedom.
A development company purchased the property for $16,400,000 and the occupants found new housing. The family left behind several child’s toys, bedding and large television sets.
The developer plans to build a new subdivision on the property. The community has been outspoken in their opposition to eradicating green space to create new housing. Several years ago, the city council had agreed that the land was not for development.
Video
Just heard yesterday that they tore it down… What a shame. Hope it somehow haunts these developers
Hello… Just saw a story about this house on YouTube. I live in the States and just a working class type of person. So, perhaps my opinion does not matter much in Canada, but is there any way this home could be spared? Seems almost a sin to tear it down, because it’s still in pretty good condition and all it would need is some renovations. In my opinion, it should be integrated into the new development and maybe serve as an office / multiple purpose place for the planned development. Would be different if the walls were falling down and the roof caved in, but it’s still a beautiful house. Down here in the States we have saved historic, venerable structures and remodeled them. For example, comedic actress Lucille Ball’s home in Beverly Hills. It was purchased and renovated in such a way that you can tell it was once her house without totally demolishing it. The same with a historic Sears department store building in Compton, California USA that was converted to a Walmart. Is there any way to appeal to this developer?