Don Valley Village is distinctly suburban,<br />with an abundance of parkland
Don Valley Village is distinctly suburban,
with an abundance of parkland

Real Estate Guide › Central

Don Valley Village

Median 2007 sale price:
$739,000
Property crime:
average
Crime against people:
very low
Neighbourhood map:
See map

Though home to one of the nation’s biggest shopping malls (Fairview), this suburban neighbourhood’s heart is The Peanut, a legume-shaped bit of property between the north- and southbound lanes of Don Mills Road, north of Sheppard. Along with Georges Vanier Secondary School and the Oriole Community Resource Centre, it is home to Peanut Plaza, a 40-year-old strip mall full of independent businesses. The density of high-rise apartments creates a T shape along Finch and down Don Mills, discouraging street life, though the houses off the main strip are comely and most are detached. With a dozen or so small parks and streets that wind in that planned community kind of way, the general feel is of somnolence in the shadow of the towers that house much of the area’s immigrant population.

HOUSING STOCK: The land remaining after the vigorous verticality of the housing at Finch and Don Mills is given over to bungalows and two-storey homes with a distinct predilection for Tudor detailing. There are a few ’80s-style mini-McMansions on Pleasantview Drive, and some split-levels on Old Sheppard.

BARGAIN ZONES: There’s not much variation in price here, though the bungalows around Muirhead and Edmonton are a little less than the semis and townhouses on Brian Drive.

THE VERDICT: The restaurants are largely takeout, and most of the commercial and social life is lived in strip malls, but this is no soulless development hangover from the ’60s. Shopkeepers are friendly and lawns are well kept, giving the whole place a sense of urban community.

NEIGHBOURHOOD HOT SPOTS:
Tone Tai Supermarket This full-service Chinese grocery store carries such rare items as peanut soup in a can. 3030 Don Mills Rd., 416-756-1668.

Nearby Shopping and Services
Please Mum

Originating on the west coast, this chain now boasts 80 stores across the country; the ... (0.64 km away)

Commuting
King and Bay:
14.8 km
401 and 400:
15.4 km
Gardiner and 427:
24.5 km
Subways:
Don Mills Station 0.6 km
Leslie Station 1.9 km
Bessarion Station 2.8 km

Commuting and subway distances measured from neighbourhood centre.

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Today in Toronto: July 4, 2009

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