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East York-Old East York

Ex-Montreal Girl

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Alrighty then, a thread for that which is not Riverdale, not Leaside, not East Danforth, not Danforth Village but which encompasses Broadview North, Todmorden, Pape Village, Woodbine Heights, etc. as outlined here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_East_York


I will kick it off by reposting this from the Riverdale thread:

I swear there was a church on Westwood near Carlaw. Now there's just giant hole in the ground.
 
And here I am replying to my own question:

https://lostanglicanchurches.wordpress.com/category/st-andrews-todmorden/

Interesting history. Here's a snip:

In 1971, St. Luke’s was amalgamated with the Church of the Comforter on Cosburn Avenue, the building sold, and the name “St Luke’s” being adopted for the amalgamated parish. Until early 2012 the Westwood Avenue site was the home of the Toronto East Seventh Day Adventist Church. At the moment, the building is still standing but is unused. I suspect that it will, sooner or later, be demolished.

I wish they hadn't done that. Couldn't they have preserved part of it?
 
Thanks for starting the thread, Ex-Montreal.

Pape Village is a strip that seems prime for regeneration. The community reminds me a lot of Weston, but on a smaller scale. A lot of second generation Greeks and Italians, but many first generation Eastern Europeans - especially from the Balkans - and a smattering of Caribbean and South East Asian families, particularly in the mid-rise apartments. There are some hints of gentrification on the residential side streets near the East York Community Centre and William Burgess Public School.

Just north of Pape Village is a hidden gem, the "Golden Triangle," bordered by O'Connor, Pape and Donlands. Many of the homes are comparable to early twentieth century detached Leaside homes but far less expensive.
 
Thanks for starting the thread, Ex-Montreal.

Pape Village is a strip that seems prime for regeneration. The community reminds me a lot of Weston, but on a smaller scale. A lot of second generation Greeks and Italians, but many first generation Eastern Europeans - especially from the Balkans - and a smattering of Caribbean and South East Asian families, particularly in the mid-rise apartments. There are some hints of gentrification on the residential side streets near the East York Community Centre and William Burgess Public School.

Just north of Pape Village is a hidden gem, the "Golden Triangle," bordered by O'Connor, Pape and Donlands. Many of the homes are comparable to early twentieth century detached Leaside homes but far less expensive.

I don't know Weston so I can't comment but I do know that Pape is ripe for big changes considering it is slated as one of the "avenues" and has great transit and walkability. I have already noticed many changes, probably due to all the teardowns and added second storeys on the old bungalows. It's like, if you can't afford Riverdale, but want schools and the TTC, go here as it is still relatively affordable for a detached house.

True, the Cosburn strip of highrises is limiting but they are well-maintained and rents remain relatively high. And, if the evning coffee crowd at the Pape McD's is any indication, those apartments are filled with older Greek couples who may have sold property in the area and now want to stick around.

And yes, the triangle is terrific, especially Beechwood Drive which has both history and some truly spectacular houses. Another area is south east of that, two streets that run off Broadview, Hillside Dr and Don Valley Dr.
 
I live in this area (in the triangle) and I think it's a long time to gentrification. The apartments on Cosburn are actually fairly rundown and need to be renovated or rebuilt. If the TTC improves service through the area, the potential will really pick up but as with all things TTC, that's at least 30 years down the road.

The restaurant selection is dismal, our coffee choices top out at 7-11 or McDonalds and it's too far to walk to a nice shopping district. The Food Basics is one of the worst grocery stores that I have ever been in and I will only buy packaged items there such a diary. The area is exactly halfway between the Danforth and Leaside (Bayview) business areas so I do walk on occasion to both but you need to have the time. One of my neighbours calls the area "the 905", haha, because it is so suburban that you need to drive everywhere. There are a few nicer stores at Donlands & O'Connor but the businesses along Pape are not in this category.
 
Interesting thread, I moved from Winnipeg to Toronto in 1942 at the tender age of 7. After a brief stay at Gerrard and Carlaw our family moved into 20 Beechwood Crescent, 7 years later we moved into 48 Wiley Ave and a year or two later Cosburn Ave a few doors west of the Fire Hall at Donlands. I attended Wm. Burgess P.S. and East York Collegiate. I married an East York girl, our first home was an apartment on Hillside Drive.
 
I live in this area (in the triangle) and I think it's a long time to gentrification. The apartments on Cosburn are actually fairly rundown and need to be renovated or rebuilt. If the TTC improves service through the area, the potential will really pick up but as with all things TTC, that's at least 30 years down the road.

The restaurant selection is dismal, our coffee choices top out at 7-11 or McDonalds and it's too far to walk to a nice shopping district. The Food Basics is one of the worst grocery stores that I have ever been in and I will only buy packaged items there such a diary. The area is exactly halfway between the Danforth and Leaside (Bayview) business areas so I do walk on occasion to both but you need to have the time. One of my neighbours calls the area "the 905", haha, because it is so suburban that you need to drive everywhere. There are a few nicer stores at Donlands & O'Connor but the businesses along Pape are not in this category.

Don't be so discouraged. It's moving forward faster than you may realize. There's a nice little produce place a few doors away from Shopper's (which could be modernized, I admit.) Sobey's is not that far. Serrano Bakery is a treasure. Folia Grill is great but small. Just up at O'Connor is O'Connor Station which, despite its old-fashioned appearance, has great food.

As more of those bungalows get sold by the people who have occupied them for decades, they will be snapped up by the kids who can't afford Leslieville and Riverdale. Then the additions and new second floors will happen, just like the reno boom happened in Riverdale in the 80s and Leslieville in the 90s. Retail and restaurants will follow.

I think the area is very well served by transit BTW, despite the fact that when it was all built up, it was a sort of postwar little boxes on the hillside subdivision. The original 905, I guess you could say. I think the Dairy Queen at Pottery Road was the first in Toronto. I count four buses running up Broadview and across Mortimer, Cosburn, O'Connor and to Don Mills and a couple more from Pape Station.

I think the Donlands area works because, if you look at it carefully, you can see it was built as a planned shopping district, probably postwar. So there's a high concentration of retail -- but nothing between that and Danforth.

I think Broadview North is a bit of a retail dead zone too, much worse than Pape.

As for Pape, I suspect that many of the retail establishments are owned by people who may still live upstairs. I have noticed an entire corner somewhere along Pape, can't remember the intersection, which consist of three or four empty storefronts. I bet there's an estate in dispute there and, pretty soon, a proposal for development sign will go up.

Don't forget, Keesmaat has designated it an "avenue."
 
Don't be so discouraged. It's moving forward faster than you may realize. There's a nice little produce place a few doors away from Shopper's (which could be modernized, I admit.) Sobey's is not that far. Serrano Bakery is a treasure. Folia Grill is great but small. Just up at O'Connor is O'Connor Station which, despite its old-fashioned appearance, has great food.
I'm not really discouraged because I knew when I bought that it was a middle-class pocket in a low-income area. It's just sort of suburban because it's too far to walk anywhere. I'll have to check out the "nice little produce" place but Sobey's is actually too far to walk to although I usually bus from Broadview so can hop on/off if I need something. I know everyone loves O'Connor Station but personally, I find the food pretty average. There is a Greek grill on the NE corner of Pape and O'Connor which is getting really good reviews from the neighbourhood but I haven't tried it yet.

As more of those bungalows get sold by the people who have occupied them for decades, they will be snapped up by the kids who can't afford Leslieville and Riverdale. Then the additions and new second floors will happen, just like the reno boom happened in Riverdale in the 80s and Leslieville in the 90s. Retail and restaurants will follow.
The Golden Triangle was actually built in the late 20s/early 30s so is mostly 2 storey already with very few bungalows. It's a lot harder to reno a 2 storey unless you build on the back and decrease your lawn space so they're mostly left as is but only are about 1100 square feet. This keeps the neighbourhood affordable though!

I think the area is very well served by transit BTW, despite the fact that when it was all built up, it was a sort of postwar little boxes on the hillside subdivision. The original 905, I guess you could say. I think the Dairy Queen at Pottery Road was the first in Toronto. I count four buses running up Broadview and across Mortimer, Cosburn, O'Connor and to Don Mills and a couple more from Pape Station.
Except for the 8, which is a lovely neighbourhood bus which the TTC keeps threatening to cancel, all the buses that go through Pape and O'Connor have gone through either Flemingdon Park or Thorncliffe Park. This makes the trip home hell as you are waiting on the platform at either Broadview or Pape with what seems like a million other people. I'm hoping that once the Eglinton cross-town starts up, that the Flemingdon residents will go west on Eglinton and this will ease up the congestion at Broadview station. Getting on the Danforth subway line is also hell during rush hour and I used to take the 504 King car instead which added 10 minutes to the commute. Currently the 504 route is under construction so it takes too long although a number of my neighbours still use it. It takes me 12 minutes to drive downtown and at least 45 on the TTC; unfortunately, I don't like the $32 per day that I have to pay to park in my building, haha.

Thanks for your comments! I love the neighbourhood overall but just wish that it was more walkable and the daily commute downtown on the TTC drives. me. crazy.
 
There is a Greek grill on the NE corner of Pape and O'Connor which is getting really good reviews from the neighbourhood but I haven't tried it yet...

Thanks for your comments! I love the neighbourhood overall but just wish that it was more walkable and the daily commute downtown on the TTC drives. me. crazy.

The Greek Grill has an open kitchen, with a lot of saucy meats and such. Last week I had a stuffed chicken breast (feta and veg) which was coated with garlic, thyme and oregano that was delish. Totally non-greasy moussaka in my experience. Excellent home made grilled sausages. It's a little erratic in that some menu items are "sold out" or "not available" on any particular day but I do enjoy the place, especially the patio which reminds me of joints on the Greek islands.

As for the TTC, have you tried what I used to call the "Magic Bus" back when I lived in Riverdale? The 72.
 
Crow Cleaners on the NW corner at Pape and Cosburn have will be closing in Sept after 30 years at that location
 
Here's an interesting historical read. I especially found the section on the golden triangle area fascinating. I had heard conflicting stories on the Rivercourt pillars (that they were original to the estate) but this story makes the most sense (put there by the developer).

http://29bikes.ca/files/2012/01/EY-History-Bike-Ride-2011-letter-size.pdf

I have often admired many of the houses on Rivercourt -- much more interesting than those on neighbouring streets -- and wondered about the pillars. So thanks. There's something there about a dance hall, now a residence. I had noticed that one as well and just thought it some sort of modernist 1950s ranch style thing. Now I know. So thanks again.

http://www.zolo.ca/toronto-real-estate/39-rivercourt-boulevard
 
Okay then, the former "Cash for Gold" spot a couple of blocks south of Mortimer on Pape is soon to be Goat Coffee Company.

@GoatCoffeeCo
http://www.happygoatcoffee.com/
And that Tzatziki I noticed under construction a few weeks ago is now open.
http://www.dine.to/tzatziki

Have you tried Tzatziki yet? Curious to see how it compares to Folia and the Greek Grill.

Also, good to see a roaster open nearby. There's really a shortage of them in East York, other than Pilot, and de Mello Palheta is a bit out of the way for me.
 

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