Relocating to yorkville?
Many Canadian and global homebuyers alike choose Toronto as their home. And why not? Toronto is Canada’s largest and most vibrant urban centre, and the hub of the nation’s commercial, financial, industrial and cultural life. From an employment perspective, Toronto is home to more nationally and internationally top-ranked companies than any other Canadian city. More than 90 per cent of the world’s international banks, 85 per cent of the world’s mutual fund companies, and half of Canada’s venture capital firms operate in Canada.
When it comes to higher education, Toronto is also home to first-class post-secondary institutions offering a wide variety of courses and programs. A degree from a Canadian university is recognized as being equivalent to degrees from other Commonwealth countries as well as from the United States.
Many international rating agencies consider Toronto one of the best cities in the world to live. Indeed, Toronto was recently ranked “Best Overall” in The Economist’s Safe Cities Index 2015 report that aggregated the world's cities’ performance across a range of indexes, which include safety, livability and cost of living.
Yorkville Neighbourhood. Choosing the City of Toronto as your new home is the easy part. What neighbourhood you decide to live in is a lot more challenging, especially in Toronto, nicknamed the ‘City of Neighbourhoods’. Choosing the right community is a critical decision: you will never love your home if you do not like your neighbourhood and if it does not offer you those options that meet the needs of your everyday life.
Apart from celebrating sightings, here are some of the many reasons why you might want to consider Yorkville as your new neighbourhood, including a brief historical overview.
About Yorkville
A Rich History. In the 1830s, Yorkville began as a residential suburb, home to the working class, Victorian-style homes, brick manufacturing, beer breweries and picturesque gardens. By 1883, the Village of Yorkville was annexed to Toronto and became St. Paul’s ward, though the character of the suburb with its quiet residential streets did not change.
By the 1960s, Yorkville became the home of the Canadian hippie movement and to Toronto’s first ‘café culture’ with European style cafes and large patios. There were as many as 40 clubs and coffeehouses offering live entertainment every night in a seemingly endless number of acts. Literary and musical talents flourished. Its thriving music scene was followed by a culture of drugs, sex and motorcycle gangs.
An Era of New Development. The construction of the Bloor-Danforth subway (opened in 1966) led to an increase in the value of land nearby. Office towers, the Hudson’s Bay and the Holt Renfrew department stores displaced the local retail along Bloor St. The famed developer Ian Wookey began purchasing residential homes along Cumberland St and Yorkville Ave, which were converted into high-end and exclusive retail. His goal was to have Yorkville resemble the European-style buildings along Carnaby St. in London, England that he often visited. He also transformed a cluster of houses at Avenue Road and Yorkville Avenue into the York Square retail complex in 1968 (soon to become the site of another condo development) and developed the toney Hazelton Lanes and condominiums, today known as Yorkville Village. Today, the remains of the Victorian homes that line the side streets are owned by the wealthy and Yorkville is classified as one of the ‘most expensive’ residential and retail districts in North America.
Charming Village Feel. Despite new development that continues until today, Yorkville has maintained its Village charm. Residential houses continue to line the streets of Hazelton Ave, Scollard St, and other interior streets. Many new condominium developments are more ‘human-scaled’ mid-rise buildings up to 12 stories high, whereas the luxury condo towers are situated along select stretches of Yonge, Bloor, and Bay Streets, and Davenport and Avenue Roads, thereby creating pockets of higher density. The retail and restaurants along Cumberland St, Yorkville Ave, and beyond, continue to depict Despite the increasing population of this area, when looking out onto the Yorkville neighbourhood, it continues to retain its village feel.
Shopping & Dining. Today, Yorkville continues to known for its swankiness - elegant boutiques, haute couture fashion, and fine dining. The small boutique shops and international name brands is unrivalled in any other Toronto neighbourhood. Toronto Life has ranked the following restaurants as some of the best in Yorkville in 2016: Buca Yorkville, Mideastro Yorkville, NAO Steakhouse, Café Boulud, and Chabrol. Or for an array of amazing prepared foods and groceries, visit Pusateri's.
Spas, Salons, and Health and Wellness. There is no shortage of self-care offerings in Yorkville to help you look and feel your best! Local favorites for fitness include Equinox, and YKV Crossfit. Pampering yourself is easy with the 133 spas and hair salons scattered throughout. For a bit of cosmetic dermatology, DLK on Avenue Road is one of the best in Canada and a local favorite. The health and wellness theme continues with the many health practitioners, naturopaths, physiotherapists, acupuncturists, chiropractors, physicians, dentists, and surgeons with a wide range of practices in the Yorkville area.
Tourism, Culture & Entertainment. One of the best features of Yorkville is the proximity to some Toronto’s most important cultural and tourist destinations. Guests visiting you will delight in the range of options. Some of these attractions include the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM), the Gardiner Museum, and, just 2 km away, the Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO), to name a few. The Roof Lounge at the Park Hyatt hotel has been a favorite for decades thanks to its cocktails and city views. Catch a movie at the Varsity Theatre in the Manulife Centre, or stroll along the beautiful grounds around Queens Park and the University of Toronto.
Schools, Colleges and Universities. Whether you have children or not, neighbourhoods that are well served by schools have higher property values than areas that are not. As it turns out, Yorkville has a wide range of educational options, all within striking distance from Yorkville. Explore the various schools using the interactive map below. Two of the most notable are the world-famous University of Toronto Schools that offers world class education to high-achieving students in grades 7 to 12, and the University of Toronto, which is Canada’s highest ranking university.
Connected to the rest of Toronto and beyond. Another very important driver of property values is the ability to move in and out of Yorkville with ease. Despite being an exclusive downtown enclave in Toronto central, Yorkville is highly connected to the rest of the city and beyond in so many ways.
- By Car: If you need to drive across the city, Yorkville is only a short car ride away from the Don Valley Parkway, a 15-km expressway on the east side of the city that connects the Gardiner Expressway to the south with Highway 401 to the north.
- By public transportation: To avoid traffic delays, Yorkville is also served by three (3) TTC subway stations all conveniently located within walking distance that serve the three most popular subway lines. Once in the TTC subway, one is also connected to the rest of the city via streetcars and beyond the GTA through GO Transit.
Yorkville is also close to Union Station, which provides access to VIA Rail or the UP Express, which takes you from Union Station right to the Toronto Pearson International Airport. Alternatively, Yorkville is also close to Billy Bishop Airport in downtown Toronto, which is perfect for short-hall flights across Canada and the USA.
Complimentary Yorkville Consultation
While Yorkville might be known for luxury condominiums, elegant boutiques, haute couture fashion, fine dining and an endless parade of high-end exotic cars, as you can see, there is so much more to this enchanting part of the city. As you plan your relocation, if you want first hand experience of what Yorkville has to offer, we would be happy to schedule a consultative tour of Yorkville where we can visit the neighbourhood, view select properties that are for rent and/or for sale, as well as review today’s market trends and property sales data. This consultation will help you determine whether Yorkville is the right move for you. We would be happy to meet with you at any time.
Useful Links If Immigrating to Toronto, Canada.
City of Toronto Immigration Guide
