Draper Street’s beautifully preserved
heritage homes are an anomaly in this
condo-heavy neighbourhood

Real Estate Guide › Central

Waterfront Communities - The Island

Average 2008 sale price:

$355,141

Property crime:

very high

Crime against people:

high

Neighbourhood map:

See map

This sprawling neighbourhood is impossible to think of as a unit. From the eastern Port Lands to Queen and Bathurst, what the city refers to as the “Waterfront Communities” ranges through the Distillery District, St. Lawrence, The Esplanade, Harbourfront, the King Street theatre district, the Draper Street heritage district, the Air Canada Centre, the Rogers Centre and CN Tower, Queen and John, the club district and the Toronto Islands. The handful of houses that exist are scattered and mostly the remnants of all this development; though there are occasional dramatic holdouts, such as the half-dozen houses on Widmer Street just north of the King West restaurant strip. Condos, however, have been going up steadily, with the City Place series being one of Toronto’s biggest, and the Soho and 550 Wellington being two of the most glamorous. All that can be said of the waterfront itself is that it has been a mess ever since Simcoe died in 1806 and his plans for garden walkways fell victim to a cycle of short-sighted management, fiefdom squabbles and rank profiteering that continues to this day. In the middle of all this are, as the above list attests, some of Toronto’s most vital and distinctive cultural and institutional assets. Houses seldom come up for sale on the island; when they do, there’s a lottery.

HOUSING STOCK: No matter what potential buyers are looking for—from bargain to luxury condos, from run-down row houses (in the east and on Portland) to beautifully preserved heritage homes on Draper Street (just east of Bathurst) it’s here somewhere.

BARGAIN ZONES: With the exception of Draper Street, whatever houses are left in this zone are going to be less expensive and probably in fairly rough shape, so TLC will be required.

THE VERDICT: Local services are slowly catching up with the influx of condo owners, but the streetcars are still packed during rush hour.

NEIGHBOURHOOD HOT SPOTS:
C’est What? With a large and eclectic selection of microbrews and knowledgeable staff members who’ve been there upwards of a decade, this underground warren is one of the city’s great beer bars. The juicy lamb burgers aren’t bad, either. 67 Front St. E., 416-867-9499.
Distillery District Balzac’s Café is good, the Boiler House impressive and the Soulpepper performances essential, but it’s the area as a whole that draws people. 55 Mill St.
The Rectory Café A drink here is like a visit to a tiny rural village in the middle of the city. 102 Lakeshore Ave., Ward’s Island, 416-203-2152.
St. Lawrence Market Rich pierogies, fresh produce, veal sandwiches, gourmet cheeses, top-drawer meat and gregarious butchers are in abundance at the various stalls of this venerable Toronto institution. The bounty gets even bigger during the Saturday morning market, when some 40 local farmers and food vendors set up shop. 92 Front St. E., 416-392-7120.