Real Estate Guide › East

Bendale

Average 2008 sale price:

$265,769

Property crime:

high

Crime against people:

very high

Neighbourhood map:

See map

The heart of Scarborough is home to Raymond Moriyama’s Scarborough Civic Centre and the Scarborough Town Centre; it’s also criss-crossed by hydro fields and the seven lanes of Lawrence Avenue. Strip malls big and small serve the enormous number of immigrants in this part of the city. Each mall forms, in effect, its own main street, with independent businesses becoming gathering places for its respective micro-localities. Obviously planned with a light heart, winding streets such as Benleigh, Benadair, Ben Stanton, Ben Nevis, Benfrisco, Benorama and, inevitably, Benhur discourage anything but local traffic.

HOUSING STOCK: Though this is an old part of town, the majority of houses are post-1950. Big residential towers and small brick bungalows are standard, while well-maintained split-level dream homes back onto West Highland Creek.

BARGAIN ZONES: The streets between Barrymore Road and Sancrest Crescent in the Lawrence and Brimley vicinity are filled with tidy, affordable, and update-ready bungalows.

THE VERDICT: Bendale—sometimes called the cradle of Scarborough—deserves credit for giving waves of immigrants room to establish pleasant communities with convenient access to transit and large commercial centres.

NEIGHBOURHOOD HOT SPOTS:
Bendale Restaurant A classic, ’50s-style diner, that offers fairly good and inexpensive breakfasts, along with better souvlaki and ribs. 3264 Lawrence Ave. E., 416-438-4949.
Fish Joy The loyal clientele declare this tiny 40-year-old takeout place in Neote’s Plaza to be the best fish and chips joint in the GTA. 1179 Brimley Rd., 416-438-9998.