LOCATION:
North of Bloor and west of Dundas as it bends toward Keele.
EPICENTRE:
Humberside Ave and Indian Grove.
DISTINGUISHING FEATURES:
historic, dog-friendly, lawn bowling, curving streets, mostly historic, century homes.
DID YOU KNOW?:
Though there are many new restaurants, condos and businesses popping up along the commercial streets, the longest standing institution in the West Bend has to be the West Toronto Bowling Club. Established in 1912, it is still going strong and openly welcomes new members at a reasonable price during the green grass season.
West Bend is a hybrid of sorts. In some ways, it’s a more affordable High Park, with large historical homes and big lots, but it also has some of the grittiness and cool factor of the nearby Junction neighbourhood as well.
The housing stock is fantastic. Big brick century homes on curving streets. There are some businesses on Bloor West. Not bad, and getting better. The place to watch is along Dundas West. Going north past Bloor, this was once a hopeless stretch with train tracks on one side and drab businesses on the other. Now, there’s Hula Girl, a just a short walk up from the Dundas West subway. Dundas Street bends to the west toward Keele, there is a number of great options popping up in this portion of the strip as well. There’s Channel Zero, an indie Canadian broadcaster, Honest Weight Fish Market, the classy Cajun restaurant, Roux, a vegan bakery, an non-vegan bakery (Mable’s), and some delicious non-healthy options like Chica’s Nashville Hot Chicken.
Location-wise, it’s pretty good. Depending on where you are, you’re not too far from the practical Bloor subway line or the bohemian chic of the Junction.
Developers have expressed more and more interest in the area including a proposed high rise just north of Bloor, on the east side. It’s also a favourite place for boutique condo buildings. The Duke, a mid-size boutique-style condo is one of the best new condos of last few years to emerge, as far as I’m concerned. It’s designed by Tas Designs at Indian Grove and Dundas West. Coming soon just down the street toward the bend, we’ll also see Junction House and the much-praised and award-winning, Junction Point.
All and all, this neighourhood is still transforming in many ways, particularly along its commercial strip. The houses are little less expensive than High Park and Roncey. So, you will get more bang for your buck here, but with a similar feel to those neighbourhoods. West Bend flies under the radar a little because it’s famous neighbours – Roncesvalles, High Park, The Junction and the Junction Triangle – get more press. But don’t be fooled, the West Bend neighbhourhood embodies a lot of what the more famous neighbours so brazenly show off.