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In the 1960s, Etobicoke and North York defined the promise of suburban living in Toronto.
At the time, farming was the prime economic pursuit north of Steeles Avenue, now ubiquitously known as the 905. The established communities that were there — such as Brampton, Richmond Hill and Whitchurh-Stouffville — were quaint reminders of what life in Upper Canada must have been like.
The vast tracts of new housing that once stretched along Islington Avenue in Etobicoke and Bathurst Street in North York have been replaced by condominium towers and townhouse developments. squeezed into an ever-dwindling supply of infill sites.
Right now, there is exactly one house available in a newly built development in Etobicoke — a semi-detached home at Queenston Gates, a small infill community on The Queensway just east of Islington by Regal Crest Homes.
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This stretch of Etobicoke is not known for its beauty or quiet tree-lined neighbourhoods. It's located within a traffic-heavy quadrant bordered by strip malls, big-box stores and a multiscreen cinema complex.
It is, however, located near the Gardiner Expressway and Highway 427, and the neighbourhood is transforming into one that's more friendly to residential development, with an array of new restaurants and pedestrian-friendly shops.
The three-storey, 1,935-square-foot brick semi is on the market at a very decent price — $404,000 — considering its location and size. That includes a single-car garage, finished basement and extensive backyard features.
The only other new low-rise options currently available in Etobicoke are at Brownstone Lane, a townhouse development by Berkley Homes southeast of Queenston Gates, just east of Royal York Road.
There are nine freehold townhouses currently available in the infill site just north of the Gardiner Expressway. There's a wide variety of models there, all of which boast attractive facades and pitched roofs evoking the Georgian style with some Tudor features. Choices for exteriors include brick, stone or stucco.
The freehold townhouses there (there are condo-ownership models available) range from $520,000 to $599,000 for between 2,060 and 2,370 square feet. The three-storey, three-bedroom models feature private third-floor master suites and spacious great rooms off the main-floor kitchen, along with a double garage.
In North York, high-rise condominiums have strongly dominated new-home construction trends for the better part of the decade, with highly intensive corridors taking root along Yonge Street, Finch Avenue, and, most recently, Sheppard Avenue.
Like Etobicoke, new low-rise developments tend to spring up only in areas where there is infill space, usually in redundant strip malls or former hydro-tower corridors.
The Conservatory Group's Oakdale Village is perhaps the last of the traditional subdivision-style, low-rise developments, located along the western side of Highway 400 south of Sheppard Avenue West. The homes there — which are on 43-foot-wide lots — were launched in 2004, and 54 remain for sale.
They range from $620,000 to $725,000 in price for between 2,197 and 4,530 square feet, and include models with classical facades as well as some featuring a more pastoral, graceful look with dormer windows. All come with double garages and four-bedroom layouts. (The two-bedroom bungalows are sold out.)
The western side of North York has the largest supply of prime infill houses in residential settings, and there seems to be a fair bit of interest in the area around York University at Finch Avenue and Keele Street.
At Tribute Homes' Village at York University, about 13 detached homes remain for sale out of 231 lots launched beginning in 2003. These models have a lot more appeal to younger, more urban-oriented buyers than those at Oakdale Village.
These houses are set close together on 24-foot-wide lots, and have tall front elevations that would not be out of place in some of the older Victorian neighbourhoods around Toronto. Prices range from $229,000 to $574,000 for between 2,082 and 2,937 square feet. Just over 100 semi-detached houses also are available for sale.
At Beaverbrook Homes' University Square in the same neighbourhood, similarly Victorian brick houses are on the market as semis, ranging from $390,000 to $440,000 for between 1,437 and 2,140 square feet on 25-foot-wide lots.
These models are tall and imposing three-storey semis with up to four bedrooms.
