From New Dream Homes and Condos Mag­a­zine

In the 1850s, the area now known as Bloor West Vil­lage was the prop­erty of Lieu­tenant Colonel William Smith Durie, the first com­mand­ing offi­cer of the Queens Own Rifles. The street that ran through his estate is now known as Durie Street. The present day neigh­bour­hood began to be devel­oped in 1909, when this dis­trict became part of the City of Toronto. Soon after amal­ga­ma­tion with Toronto, Bloor West‘s roads were paved and city ser­vices were made available.

Bloor West‘s first res­i­dents were immi­grants of East­ern Euro­pean back­ground. These are the res­i­dents who helped found the Bloor West Vil­lage Busi­ness Improve­ment Area, the first of its kind in Canada. This shop­ping dis­trict has helped make Bloor West Vil­lage one of Toronto’s most pop­u­lar neighbourhoods.

This is also a pop­u­lar neigh­bour­hood for fam­i­lies since it is home to many excel­lent schools and is within walk­ing dis­tance of High Park—Toronto’s biggest and best-known park. Cov­er­ing 399-acres, this Toronto land­mark con­tains pic­nic areas, flower gar­dens, ani­mal pad­docks, a restau­rant, an out­door amphithe­atre, sports facil­i­ties, a track­less train, an adven­ture play­ground, and a large pond.

Other local attrac­tions include the Annette Recre­ation Cen­tre, which is attached to the Annette Street pub­lic school. This cen­tre has an indoor pool, a small gym­na­sium, and a base­ball dia­mond. A lit­tle bit east of the Annette Cen­tre is the Annette Street Pub­lic Library, which offers pro­grams for adults, chil­dren, and preschoolers.

Bloor West Vil­lage is also home to The Hum­ber, a movie the­atre that is con­ve­niently located on Bloor Street, just west of Jane Street.

Homes in the area are all fairly sim­i­lar in size and style—having been built in a rel­a­tively short period of time between 1912 and 1923. Most houses fea­ture deep front porches that are well shaded by the majes­tic oak and maple trees that line the streets of this neighbourhood.

Although known for it’s great selec­tion of stores, the Bloor West Vil­lage shop­ping dis­trict is as much about eat­ing as it is about shop­ping. It’s a vir­tual smor­gas­bord of bak­eries, del­i­catessens, spe­cialty food shops, cafes, and restaurants.

Con­ve­nience stores, fruit and veg­etable mar­kets, dry clean­ers, video stores, and other shops cater­ing to every­day house­hold needs, can also be found on Jane and Annette streets.

The Jane and Run­nymede sub­way sta­tions are part of the Bloor-Danforth sub­way line and are both within walk­ing dis­tance of the homes in Bloor West Vil­lage. The Annette Street bus con­nects pas­sen­gers to the Dupont sub­way sta­tion on the Yonge-University-Spadina sub­way line and there are addi­tional bus routes on Jane Street and Run­nymede Road.

Com­muters are only about ten min­utes from the Gar­diner Express­way and Lake Shore Boule­vard—pro­vid­ing quick access into and out of the city.

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Con­tact the Jef­frey Team for more infor­ma­tion

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