Bayview Village
Encyclopedia
Bayview Village is an affluent neighbourhood in Toronto
, Ontario
, Canada
, formerly in North York before it was amalgamated
into Toronto in 1998. It is part of the federal
and provincial
electoral district Willowdale, and Toronto electoral wards 24: Willowdale (East) and 33: Don Valley North (East). In 2006, it had a population of 15,370.
The area is bordered on the north by Finch Avenue East
, on the west by Bayview Avenue
, on the east by Leslie Street, and on the south by Highway 401, and also including the grounds of North York General Hospital, east of Leslie in the neighbourhood's southeast corner, according to the City of Toronto's definition. The Bayview Village Association regards the east boundary as the Don River (east branch) and the south boundary as Sheppard Avenue East
, thereby excluding land between the Don River and Leslie, Sheppard and Highway 401.
, cedar, willow
, spruce
, pine
and maple
trees. Some of the Bayview Village houses are situated on ravine lots that feature views of the East Don River Valley Parklands. Several of the street names in Bayview Village recall that the area was a racehorse training stable and grounds before being developed.
In the Bayview Village area, there are United
, Greek Orthodox
, Catholic
, and Anglican
churches, the latter is located just outside the area's southwest boundary.
The main shopping centre located in Bayview Village and serving the community is an upscale shopping mall called Bayview Village Shopping Centre
, located at the northeast corner of Sheppard Avenue and Bayview Avenue.
housing (newly built houses replacing the older ones) within the Bayview Village area. New developments include condominium
s on the north and south side of Sheppard Avenue.
is a community tennis
club serving Bayview Village since 1975. The courts at Bayview Village Tennis Club were completely rebuilt at the end of the 2008 tennis season. Today, Bayview Village Tennis Club continues to be looked upon as the premier tennis club of North York.
The North York YMCA
, located at the southeast corner of Bayview Avenue
and Sheppard Avenue
, is the largest recreational facility serving this neighbourhood. Some of the programs being offered at this YMCA include playgym and swim lessons for preschoolers, gymnastics, karate, swimming and basketball programs for children, and aerobics, yoga and aquafit for adults. Facilities at this centre include a gymnasium, a dance studio, a conditioning room, a main swimming pool with lanes and a training swimming pool.
, located west of Bayview. There is also a Catholic Elementary
school located on the west side of Bayview Avenue, called St. Gabriel Catholic School.
(TTC) Sheppard subway line passes through the neighbourhood, including Bayview
and Bessarion
stations.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, formerly in North York before it was amalgamated
Metropolitan Toronto
The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was a senior level of municipal government in the Toronto, Ontario, Canada area from 1954 to 1998. It was created out of York County and was a precursor to the later concept of a regional municipality, being formed of smaller municipalities but having more...
into Toronto in 1998. It is part of the federal
Willowdale (electoral district)
Willowdale is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1979.The riding was created in 1976 from part of Eglinton....
and provincial
Willowdale (provincial electoral district)
Willowdale is a provincial electoral district in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It elects one member to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario. It was created in 1987.-History:...
electoral district Willowdale, and Toronto electoral wards 24: Willowdale (East) and 33: Don Valley North (East). In 2006, it had a population of 15,370.
The area is bordered on the north by Finch Avenue East
Finch Avenue
Finch Avenue is an arterial thoroughfare and concession road which travels east–west through the city of Toronto. The road also has short extensions into Peel and Durham Regions as Peel Regional Road 2 and Durham Regional Road 37.-History:...
, on the west by Bayview Avenue
Bayview Avenue
Bayview Avenue is a major north-south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in York Region, Bayview is also designated as York Regional Road 34.-History:...
, on the east by Leslie Street, and on the south by Highway 401, and also including the grounds of North York General Hospital, east of Leslie in the neighbourhood's southeast corner, according to the City of Toronto's definition. The Bayview Village Association regards the east boundary as the Don River (east branch) and the south boundary as Sheppard Avenue East
Sheppard Avenue
Sheppard Avenue is an east-west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A small portion of a continuation of the road in Pickering, Ontario is also called Sheppard Avenue.-History:...
, thereby excluding land between the Don River and Leslie, Sheppard and Highway 401.
Community
The present day Bayview Village neighbourhood was planned in 1954 by a group of developers led by Farlinger Development Ltd. Bayview Village was hailed as "contemporary living in the countryside, at the doorstep of the urban concentration of Metropolitan Toronto." The design and layout of Bayview Village is very much influenced by the East Don Valley Parklands. Dr E.G. Faludi, the town planner who designed Bayview Village, recognized the importance of the East Don Valley Parklands when he said "We will fit the community into the landscape and not the landscape into the community." Faludi's trademark curvilinear street pattern that follows the natural contours of the land was designed to highlight the natural beauty of the neighbourhood. Nearly a quarter of the space in Bayview Village is green. Bayview Village's winding streets and culs-de-sac are planted with mature birchBirch
Birch is a tree or shrub of the genus Betula , in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. The Betula genus contains 30–60 known taxa...
, cedar, willow
Willow
Willows, sallows, and osiers form the genus Salix, around 400 species of deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist soils in cold and temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere...
, spruce
Spruce
A spruce is a tree of the genus Picea , a genus of about 35 species of coniferous evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae, found in the northern temperate and boreal regions of the earth. Spruces are large trees, from tall when mature, and can be distinguished by their whorled branches and conical...
, pine
Pine
Pines are trees in the genus Pinus ,in the family Pinaceae. They make up the monotypic subfamily Pinoideae. There are about 115 species of pine, although different authorities accept between 105 and 125 species.-Etymology:...
and maple
Maple
Acer is a genus of trees or shrubs commonly known as maple.Maples are variously classified in a family of their own, the Aceraceae, or together with the Hippocastanaceae included in the family Sapindaceae. Modern classifications, including the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system, favour inclusion in...
trees. Some of the Bayview Village houses are situated on ravine lots that feature views of the East Don River Valley Parklands. Several of the street names in Bayview Village recall that the area was a racehorse training stable and grounds before being developed.
In the Bayview Village area, there are United
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada is a Protestant Christian denomination in Canada. It is the largest Protestant church and, after the Roman Catholic Church, the second-largest Christian church in Canada...
, Greek Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
, Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, and Anglican
Anglican Church of Canada
The Anglican Church of Canada is the Province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French name is l'Église Anglicane du Canada. The ACC is the third largest church in Canada after the Roman Catholic Church and the United Church of Canada, consisting of 800,000 registered members...
churches, the latter is located just outside the area's southwest boundary.
The main shopping centre located in Bayview Village and serving the community is an upscale shopping mall called Bayview Village Shopping Centre
Bayview Village Shopping Centre
Bayview Village Shopping Centre is an upscale shopping mall in the North York area of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, catering to affluent customers and containing over 110 stores. The shopping mall is located at Bayview Avenue and Sheppard Avenue in the community of Willowdale, and neighbourhood of...
, located at the northeast corner of Sheppard Avenue and Bayview Avenue.
Community Associations
Homeowners are actively represented by the Bayview Village Association. Established in 1956, this is a volunteer group of residents who work to monitor city and provincial initiatives on a wide range of topics including traffic, local development, parks, and safety. In addition, they produce a regular newsletter distributed to all homes covering a wide range of topical issues. The Bayview Village Association also hosts a number of events throughout the year including clean-up days, all-candidates meetings, community fairs, annual perennial swaps, etc. Over 50% of Bayview Village residents are members of the Association.Homes
Most Bayview Village homes were built between 1954 and 1964. The mix of housing here includes raised and executive ranch style bungalows, split-level houses, and Georgian Revival-style homes. Most of the houses are original. Many homes have undergone renovation and landscaping to fit the park-like neighbourhood. There has been some infillInfill
Infill in its broadest meaning is material that fills in an otherwise unoccupied space. The term is commonly used in association with construction techniques such as wattle and daub, and civil engineering activities such as land reclamation.-Construction:...
housing (newly built houses replacing the older ones) within the Bayview Village area. New developments include condominium
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s on the north and south side of Sheppard Avenue.
Parks
The western edge of the East Don Parklands winds its way through the centre of Bayview Village and is a vast and expansive green haven with various trails, walkways and bicycle paths. The park’s naturalization and preservation programs have made the space a habitat for wildlife and a number of rare plant species. There are many smaller parks and parkettes in Bayview Village. Blue Ridge Park and Bayview Village Park are kid-focused, with baseball diamonds, splash pads and playgrounds.Recreation
The Bayview Village Tennis Club, home of "tennis ace" Daniel NestorDaniel Nestor
Daniel Mark Nestor, CM , born Danijel Nestorović September 4, 1972, in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, is a Serbian-born Canadian professional tennis player from Toronto, Ontario, Canada....
is a community tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
club serving Bayview Village since 1975. The courts at Bayview Village Tennis Club were completely rebuilt at the end of the 2008 tennis season. Today, Bayview Village Tennis Club continues to be looked upon as the premier tennis club of North York.
The North York YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
, located at the southeast corner of Bayview Avenue
Bayview Avenue
Bayview Avenue is a major north-south route in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario. North of Toronto, in York Region, Bayview is also designated as York Regional Road 34.-History:...
and Sheppard Avenue
Sheppard Avenue
Sheppard Avenue is an east-west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A small portion of a continuation of the road in Pickering, Ontario is also called Sheppard Avenue.-History:...
, is the largest recreational facility serving this neighbourhood. Some of the programs being offered at this YMCA include playgym and swim lessons for preschoolers, gymnastics, karate, swimming and basketball programs for children, and aerobics, yoga and aquafit for adults. Facilities at this centre include a gymnasium, a dance studio, a conditioning room, a main swimming pool with lanes and a training swimming pool.
Education
There are two public schools in the Bayview Village community, Elkhorn Public School and Bayview Middle School. Most high school students who live in Bayview Village attend Earl Haig Secondary SchoolEarl Haig Secondary School
Earl Haig Secondary School is a public high school with a student body of about 2,300 students in Willowdale, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The school's principal is Renata Gonsalves.-History:...
, located west of Bayview. There is also a Catholic Elementary
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
school located on the west side of Bayview Avenue, called St. Gabriel Catholic School.
Transportation
The recently built Toronto Transit CommissionToronto Transit Commission
-Island Ferry:The ferry service to the Toronto Islands was operated by the TTC from 1927 until 1962, when it was transferred to the Metro Parks and Culture department. Since 1998, the ferry service is run by Toronto Parks and Recreation.-Gray Coach:...
(TTC) Sheppard subway line passes through the neighbourhood, including Bayview
Bayview (TTC)
Bayview is a station on the Sheppard line of the subway system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 550 Sheppard Avenue East, at Bayview Avenue. It opened in 2002.- Architecture and art :Stevens Group Architects designed the station...
and Bessarion
Bessarion (TTC)
Bessarion is a station on the Sheppard line of the subway/RT system in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located at 701 Sheppard Avenue East at Bessarion Road and Burbank Drive, and was opened in 2002. The station is, , the second least-used in the TTC’s subway network...
stations.