Living in Victoria Park Village
Victoria Park Village is a quiet, middle-income neighbourhood that is bordered by the East Don River Valley, the Canadian Pacific Railway line, and light industry. Victoria Park Village is a community in transition as a steady stream of young families from a myriad of cultural backgrounds have begun moving into this affordable neighbourhood. Many of Victoria Park Village’s new residents have become active members of the Victoria Park Village Ratepayers Association. This association has been involved in shaping recent developments on the periphery of the neighbourhood as well as working on traffic calming issues and the improvement of local parks.
History of Victoria Park Village
Victoria Park Village was prime Don Valley farmland until 1952 when a syndicate of investors, led by Conservative M.P. R.H. McGregor purchased the six hundred acres that now comprise this neighbourhood. In total, seven local farms were purchased for the assembly of this neighbourhood. The largest individual deal involved the Fitzpatrick family, who had farmed this area for one hundred and twenty years. Bob and Martin Fitzpatrick sold their 175 acre farm to the developers of this neighbourhood for the then princely sum of $279,000.00. The inspiration for Victoria Park Village came from the tremendously popular Don Mills subdivision which was being developed on the west side of the Don Valley Parkway just prior to the creation of Victoria Park Village. Following Don Mills lead, Victoria Park Village was planned as a self contained community with its own schools, shops, parks and industry. Victoria Park Village began welcoming its first residents in 1953. The Victoria Park Village name was chosen in reference to Victoria Park Avenue, the major street that borders this neighbourhood.
Homes in Victoria Park Village
Victoria Park Village houses are located on gently sloping curvi-linear streets. These houses were built in the 1950’s and early 1960’s and include detached and semi-detached two-storey brick homes, split-level houses and bungalows. Many Victoria Park Village homes back onto park or valley land that offers beautiful views and extra privacy. The periphery of this neighbourhood is ringed by apartment buildings. Plans for a new condominium apartment building on Eglinton Avenue are underway.
Lifestyle in Victoria Park Village
Victoria Park Village is handy to a number of different shopping centres, including Golden Mile, Eglinton Square and Victoria Terrace. These shopping centres are located at the main intersections bordering this neighbourhood and feature large supermarkets, national department stores and small retailers. Additional shopping is available on Eglinton and Victoria Park Avenues, which together contain a handful of shopping plazas.
Recreation in Victoria Park Village
Victoria Park Village is handy to a number of different shopping centres, including Golden Mile, Eglinton Square and Victoria Terrace. These shopping centres are located at the main intersections bordering this neighbourhood and feature large supermarkets, national department stores and small retailers. Additional shopping is available on Eglinton and Victoria Park Avenues, which together contain a handful of shopping plazas.
Transportation in Victoria Park Village
Many of the interior streets in this neighbourhood including Carnforth Road, Sweeney Drive, and Sloane Avenue have their own bus service that runs south to the Woodbine station on the Bloor-Danforth subway line. The Victoria Park bus also connects passengers to the Bloor-Danforth subway. The Eglinton and Lawrence Avenue buses connect passengers to stations on the Yonge-University-Spadina subway line. Eglinton and Lawrence Avenue provide motorists with immediate access to the Don Valley Parkway, which ushers motorists downtown as well as providing a connecting route to other commuter highways.