Yonge–St. Clair is one of the most
well-rounded areas in the city

Real Estate Guide › Central

Yonge - St. Clair

Average 2008 sale price:

$802,146

Property crime:

average

Crime against people:

very low

Neighbourhood map:

See map

Originally known as the Third Concession Line (with what is now Queen being the First and Bloor the Second), St. Clair started getting some traction when a water-powered gristmill opened in the mid-1830s to join the already established market gardens. In 1839, the balance shifted in favour of the residential when Agnes Heath and her children moved onto a 40-acre plot of land, noticed a lot of deer milling about and called it Deer Park. As transportation to the wild north started to improve in the 1890s, more and more people began settling here. The tide shifted again in 1954, when the subway brought businesses north, and office towers, such as the Imperial Oil and Mutual Life buildings, started sprouting up. We’re now seeing a return to the way things were, as just last year the Mutual Life building reopened as One12 St. Clair, a high-end condo with two $3.5-million penthouses. The Avenue and Churchill Park are following close behind. The architecturally acclaimed Imperial Oil building across the street from One12 is empty and forlorn, waiting for its condo prince to come and give aging Forest Hillers a nice place to move into for their final acts. There’s more to Yonge– St. Clair than Yonge and St. Clair: 150 Balmoral, at the corner of Avenue and Balmoral, was built in 1929 by S. B. Coon and Son, and stands as one of the stateliest Gothic rental buildings this side of the Atlantic. The Algiers apartments to the north are the very picture of swinging 1960s cocktail party pads.

HOUSING STOCK: Dignified brick homes on Chaplin and Oriole Parkway facing Upper Canada College are on the more ambitious end of the price scale and set the architectural tone for the smaller homes, all of which are now being joined by an increasing number of high- and ultra-high-end condos.

BARGAIN ZONES: Older townhouses on such streets as Alcorn and Walker Avenues and two-storey brick boxes on Hillsdale Avenue West and Lawton Boulevard are in the (still comfortably high) lower end.

THE VERDICT: This narrow strip of city has been on the rise, both commercially and residentially, for upwards of a decade, and it shows no sign of slowing down. If you can afford it, it’s one of the most well-rounded neighbourhoods in the city, with plenty of amenities.

NEIGHBOURHOOD HOT SPOTS:
Cava Tucked away at the end of an arcade, Chris McDonald and Doug Penfold’s Spanish tapas restaurant is a place of pilgrimage for food lovers. Servers are smooth and well-informed. 1560 Yonge St., 416-979-9918.
Didier Much of Didier Leroy’s classically conceived, meticulously presented French food is admirably simple. For example, the tender roasted Cornish hen that’s wrapped in flavourful prosciutto. 1496 Yonge St., 416-925-8588.