Toronto Real Estate with the Julie Kinnear Team

Parkdale Real Estate

Top rated restaurants »

(3) Bacchus Roti

Toronto's best jamaican food. Fresh made, fresh ingredients, you can see into the kitchen. These are rotis like no other. Vegetarian versions as well. If you want it hot, you can have it as spicy as you like. Delicious and inexpensive. Sometimes closed for long periods over the holidays but more than worth the trip when it's open.

SEE BELOW FOR UP-TO-DATE NEIGHBOURHOOD PRICE AND SALES STATS
AND FOR RESTAURANT REVIEW ENTRY FORM.

PARKDALE's history began in the late 1800's when it was an elite residential suburb that rivaled Rosedale as Toronto's most desirable address. Parkdale's popularity led to its amalgamation with the City of Toronto in 1889.

Queen Street Parkdale

Parkdale became Toronto's ‘playground by the lake' in 1922, when the Sunnyside Amusement Park and Bathing Pavilion opened for business on Parkdale's beaches. Sunnyside Beach was the place to be and be seen for a generation of Torontonians.

In 1956, Sunnyside was shut down by the city in order to make room for the Gardiner Expressway and a revamped Lake Shore Boulevard. Unfortunately, these new expressways cut Parkdale off from the lake and its glorious past. Parkdale still has some 'big city' social problems to contend with. However these concerns are being addressed as the neighbourhood revitalization has been well under way for decades, helping the area to recover its poise. A local residents group known as the Parkdale Community Watch, dedicated to the safety and well-being of the neighbourhood, recently received an award as the best neighbourhood watch group from the International Society of Crime Prevention. Nearby in the Junction (Dundas just east of Keele) a determined public relations campaign by the local BIA, combined with such well-attended creative events like the annual Junction Arts Festival, is also helping the area gain a cool, funky image.

Many young families are moving into the area, buying well-preserved character homes from retirees or condos such as the new development in the former Canadian Tire building at Keele & Dundas, due to be completed in spring 2009. The new West Toronto Railpath, a pedestrian/cycle path along the former rail lines that give the Junction its name, is also due for completion in summer 2008.

Parkdale homes 1

The Parkdale neighbourhood possesses many positive attributes. It has some of Toronto's most vibrant shopping districts, wonderful tree lined streets, affordable Victorian homes, and impressive mansions that remind onlookers that Parkdale was once Toronto's wealthiest district. Parkdale is also within walking distance of Toronto's waterfront parks and other greenspaces, including:

• Marilyn Bell Park
• Sunnyside Park
• Sorauren Park
• Trinity Bellwoods Park
• High Park

South Parkdale's grandiose mansions were built between 1875 and 1895, and those in the north end above Queen Street were mainly built between 1900 and 1910. Some of the bay-and-gables mansions and homes that had been converted into rooming houses are now being immaculately restored to single family use and mix elements of Queen Anne and Richardson Romanesque styles.

Parkdale homes 2

The main commercial shopping area in Parkdale has historically been on Queen Street. This vibrant, creative shopping district seems to be in a state of perpetual activity; it includes an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants, many cafes, chic bars, boutiques and galleries. The liveliest stretch of Queen West, including the Gladstone Hotel, has some of the best archiecture west of the Annex.

The Roncesvalles Village shopping district, north of Queen Street, is the cultural centre of Toronto's Polish community. There are many outstanding food markets, delis, and restaurants along this route.

Parkdale homes 3

Four community centres serve the residents of this neighbourhood: Holy Family Community Centre at 141 Close Avenue, Masryk-Cowan Community Recreation Centre at 220 Cowan Avenue, McCormick Recreation Centre at 66 Sheridan Avenue, and the Parkdale Community Recreation Centre at 75 Lansdowne Avenue. The Parkdale Public Library at 1303 Queen Street West and the High Park Public Library at 228 Roncesvalles both provide programming for Parkdale residents.

Parkdale is also home to well regarded public schools such as:

• Parkdale Jr. & Sr. School
• Fern Ave. Public School
• Shirley St. Jr. School
• Garden Ave. Jr. School
• Alexander Muir & Gladstone Ave. Public School
• Central Commerce Collegiate Institute
• Kent Sr. School
• Bloor Collegiate Institute
• West Toronto Collegiate Institute
• Harbord Collegiate Institute

Streetcar service on Queen Street, King Street, Dundas Street, Roncesvalles Avenue, and Macdonell Avenue, connect passengers to the downtown core and business district, or to subway stations on the Bloor-Danforth subway line. Motorists are just minutes from downtown. There is direct access to both the Gardiner Expressway and Lake Shore Boulevard, at the south end of Parkdale.