A neighbourhood where most of Toronto comes to play sports, Downsview is also a place to enjoy some peace and quiet after the game.
Located between Sheppard Avenue and the 401 and bordered by Allen Road and the 400, Downsview is imminently accessible and well located despite its relatively small size.
Most of the homes in Downsview were built after the Second World War though years have seen new condo and home developments in the area as well. Originally a predominantly Caucasian neighbourhood, Downsview today contains a vibrant mix of cultures and backgrounds, particularly Italian, Black and Latino populations.
From the sports complexes peppered throughout the heart of Downsview Park in the east to the residential oasis of quiet streets in the west, Downsview offers some surprisingly robust options for living.
The area is dominated by the ubiquitous Downsview Park, an expansive former Canadian Forces Base and airport now repurposed as an urban park, though the old airport lands are still used as a manufacturing and testing site by Bombardier.
Some of Toronto’s biggest events have taken place at the park, including a visit by Pope John Paul II in 2002 and the 2003 SARS Concert, both of which drew between 500,000 and one million people to the city. The Canadian rock festival Edgefest has taken place at the park for several years in a row as well.
While concrete play-lands set the tone in the commercial east side of Downsview, green spaces abound in the residential west with a long green belt of parks starting at the large Downsview Dells Park and encircling Jane Street south of Sheppard.
Downsview’s outstanding accessibility to two major highways and several subway stations has brought plenty of shopping to the area as well, with Yorkdale Shopping Centre nearby just below the 401 and two other major malls at the Jane and Wilson and Lawrence and Wilson intersections.
