Rockcliffe-Smythe

Your Typical Neighbour

There are few neighbourhoods in the city that are more diversely Canadian than Rockliffe-Smythe. Here you’ll find an almost equal blend of immigrant and non-immigrant working-class families from Europe and Latin America. Even as the area slowly gentrifies, it still attracts people drawn by its more traditional appeal and values in addition to its more accessible home prices.

What We Love

It’s the perfect neighbourhood for those that love both the city and the outdoors with ‘too many to mention’ parks and ravine walking, running and biking trails all through the Black Creek area. And for the golfer, Rockliffe-Smythe is home to the Lambton Golf and Country Club which curls around the Humber River. Jane Street and Scarlett Road make great north/south arteries providing easy access to the 401. And when the Eglinton Crosstown LRT opens it will connect the community to the city’s transit system, making it more accessible.

What We Don’t Love

The neighbourhood was famously once a gravel pit, and parts of it still retain some of that industrial look and feel. It’s not uncommon for residential streets to have mixed-use industrial properties around the corner. Lot sizes are also small and, in some cases, a bit oddly shaped. Many of the original homes have DIY additions, and not all were done with permits and/or to code.

The Real Estate Scoop

Many of Smythe’s brick bungalows still line the curvy streets along with some two-story homes, many with gabled roofs. Many of the original homes have been renovated. Some of the renovations and additions are very well done. Some are not. For every bungalow with a thoughtfully-designed and well-built addition on the back, there is a do-it-yourself reno with rooms and hallways added in willy-nilly fashion. There are some newly-built homes here too; however, there are fewer infill homes here than you see in other neighbourhoods. 

This is starter-home territory where the average two-bed, two-bath bungalow sells for quite a bit less than the city average. Prices range from bargain tear-down homes to newly-built detached homes for well into the million++ category.

Who are the people in your neighbourhood? It’s an almost equal mix of immigrant (46%) and non-immigrant (56%) working-class families, most of whom own rather than rent. That said, the neighbourhood is starting to gentrify as young singles, couples and families look for a more affordable entry to the housing market than nearby Bloor West or Junction.

When the Eglinton Crosstown LRT opens, likely in 2023, it will connect the community to the city’s transit system, making it more accessible–and likely driving up property values. 

Schools

ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS

Rockcliffe Middle School
George Syme Community School
Harwood Public school
Cordella Junior Public School
St. Oscar Romero Catholic Secondary School
Roselands Public School
Lambton Park Community School

SENIOR SCHOOLS

Frank Oke Secondary School
George Harvey Collegiate Institute

Transit

The main bus routes include route 35 along Jane to the Jane subway station, routes 71 and 79 Scarlett along Runnymede, and route 89 that runs along Weston to the Keele subway station. For commuters, Keele street has easy access to Lakeshore and the Gardiner.