Waterfront Communities C01

Around the Neighbourhood

Cultural landmarks: the TIFF Bell Lightbox on King West, Roy Thomson Hall, and David Mirvish’s Royal Alexandra and Princess of Wales theatres, with the Rogers Centre, Scotiabank Arena and the CN Tower all inside the boundaries.

Hot local spots: Patria for Spanish small plates on King West, Lee for Susur Lee’s Southeast Asian cooking, and Alder, the Michelin-listed room in the Ace Hotel on Camden.

Parks & green space: Canoe Landing Park in CityPlace is the big open green, with Clarence Square, Victoria Memorial Square, HTO Park on the water and The Bentway under the Gardiner filling in the gaps.

Your Typical Neighbour

Working-age and on the move. This is one of the most adult neighbourhoods in Toronto… the City’s profile counted roughly 66,000 residents, the vast majority of them aged 25 to 54, with children and seniors each sitting well below half the city average. The area has grown sharply since with new towers. Most people rent, a large share of the condos are investor-owned, and a lot of residents work in finance, law, tech and marketing a few blocks east. Couples and singles, far more than families.

Source: City of Toronto Neighbourhood Profile, Waterfront Communities-The Island, 2016 Census

What We Love

Convenience, full stop. Almost everything you need is within a five to ten minute walk: groceries, the gym, a drink, a show, hundreds of takeout options. You can run your whole life without a car, and there is always something happening just outside the door. For people who actually want downtown living, this is about as downtown as it gets, and the lake and the island ferry are closer than newcomers expect.

What We Don’t Love

Greenspace is thin and hard-won, so it is a tough sell for dog owners despite the many dogs you will see. It is rarely quiet… there is a brief calm on weekend mornings before the city wakes up, and then it is busy again. Add constant construction, small floor plans, and buildings where half your neighbours are tenants and turnover is high. The good, well-priced condos still go to bidding wars, so move quickly when one lands.

Real Estate

This is one of the best condo selections in the city: conversion and purpose-built lofts, boutique mid-rises, glass towers and the odd townhome for people who need a little more room. Stroll Draper Street or around Clarence Square and you will also find a tucked-away collection of historic row houses. Most of the stock runs 400 to 800 square feet, built for first-time buyers and investors rather than growing families. Demand outpaces supply, the better units sell fast and at a premium, and you will pay for the location. New to all this? Start with our First-Time Buyer guide, or browse current listings on the Toronto property search.

(Current prices and days on market appear in the live statistics block below, updated quarterly.)

Schools

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Ogden Junior Public School

SENIOR SCHOOLS

Oasis Alternative Secondary School
City School

For school rankings and Fraser Institute scores, see our interactive Toronto school map

Transit

One of the most walkable neighbourhoods in the country, with everything reachable in five to ten minutes on foot. St. Andrew and Osgoode subway stations sit at the northeast edge, the Bathurst and Spadina streetcars run north-south, and the King and Queen streetcars run east-west, with the permanent King Street transit priority corridor keeping the 504 moving. Drivers reach the Gardiner in minutes via the Spadina on-ramp, though owning a car here is more habit than necessity.