The Vibe

This is the great white north of Toronto where luxury condos, gleaming office towers and shady streets with exclusive homes live together in harmony. It’s one of the GTA’s most affluent areas surrounded by high-end, small scale shopping plazas, lush parkland and tranquil side streets that immediately state, we are privileged. Excellent planning has preserved the rich natural beauty of the area, while allowing progress to touch its lofty boundaries without interfering with its exclusivity.

The Story

This was once home to the saw and grist mills of the former Town of York, now known as Toronto. From 1804 until 1926 there were many businesses and mills in operation in this rural area. This self-contained rural valley was snuggled along the Don River and included a distillery, a tannery, a blacksmith shop, churches, a school, a post office and a toll gate. One of the original businesses, the Jolly Miller Tavern is still standing on Yonge Street just south of York Mills Road.

This area is also known as Hoggs Hollow, named after one of the original settlers, James Hogg, who owned and operated the mill.

The original area log church, St. John's Anglican was built in 1816 and is now the white brick church which was completed back in 1844. The church bells ring every day at noon, adding to the charm of the area, helping to drowned out the dull drone of traffic from the 401 and Yonge Street.

The area began its transition into a residential neighbourhood in the 1930's. Homes were built close to St. John's Church, along Hedgewood south of York Mills Road. In 1924 the renowned St. Andrew's College grounds located east of Old Yonge Street over to Bayview Avenue were purchased by St. Andrew's Estates when the school moved to Aurora. This became a famed championship golf course until it was sold in the 1950's to developers. The street names in the area are an homage to the golf course including Foursome and Lower Links.

In 1952, as the area continued to grow, famed millionaire E.P. Taylor oversaw the development of York Mills Plaza. He also subdivided much of the property located at York Mills east of Bayview Avenue.

The Convenience

York Mills is conveniently located with easy access to public transit as well as major routes and highways if you are driving. Bus lines run along York Mills Road, Yonge Street and Bayview Avenue and the York Mills subway station will take you directly to the city on the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line. The subway station also offers a Go Transit station and an express service to the Pearson International Airport.

It’s very close by the high-end shopping and dining of Yonge, as well as York Mills Plaza, a posh outdoor shopping plaza where you will find restaurants, specialty retail stores and gourmet food shops. The upscale Bayview Village Shopping Centre is minutes away where you will find the affluent York Mills market home to designer clothing and accessory stores, indulgent gift shops, jewellery stores, and finer dining.

The quaint St. Andrew's Square on Tournament Drive is yet another high-end plaza with a charming courtyard layout featuring more shopping, services and medical offices.

The Residents

This is where the successful professionals and business owners of Toronto live. From lawyers and doctors to CEO’s and politicians, this area is tres exclusive with the average income soaring far above the national average. We’re also talking 65 per cent university grads and 84 per cent owners to their extremely expensive homes. As a side note, it’s still home to many of the original settlers’ families who first came to the area from Europe and Asia.

The Best Part

The lush park-like surroundings of the area keep it feeling like an exclusive hideaway while the trademark outdoor plazas speak to the neighbourly feel of this upscale neighbourhood.

The Worst Part

It’s highly desirable and therefore mucho expensive. It’s exclusive to a fault making it close to impossible to afford a home here.

The Real Estate

The average housing price is around $3.3 million in this uber exclusive area. Most of the homes are detached with some condos and townhomes getting thrown into the mix. Houses are large, with nice sized properties and an historic flair. You will also see luxury townhomes and condos that are tastefully designed so as not take away from the heritage feel to the properties here.

The Schools

As with all distinguished neighbourhoods, York Mills boasts some of the highest ranked schools in the GTA including:

Elementary

Owen Public School

111 Owen Boulevard

(JK to Grade 6)

Armour Heights Public School

148 Wilson Avenue

Senior

Loretta Abbey Catholic Secondary School

101 Mason Boulevard

(Grade 9 to 12)

St. Andrew’s Junior High School

131 Fenn Avenue

(Grade 6 to 9)

York Mills Collegiate

490 York Mills Road

(Grade 9 to 12)