- North York Centre
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This article is about the city district. For the TTC subway stop, see North York Centre (TTC).
North York Centre — Neighbourhood — Photograph of downtown North York taken in September 2005 from the west side of Yonge Street, facing north, outside the Toronto Centre for the Arts.
North York Centre is a town centre in North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Prior to the Amalgamation of Toronto in 1998, it was considered the central business district of the former city of North York. It is located along Yonge Street and surrounds the Toronto subway station of the same name.
History
The Yonge corridor between Finch and Sheppard Avenues grew extensively after the opening of the subway station. To relieve pressure on downtown Toronto, the Official Plan for Metropolitan Toronto encouraged high-density redevelopment at North York Centre (and other suburban centres) permitting high rise condominium towers and office buildings. In the past decade over 20,000 units of new housing have been approved, with over 16,000 of these presently built or under construction. [1] Condominiums pack this strip now growing northward past Finch and extending south from Sheppard toward Highway 401. The area has become an increasingly vibrant part of Toronto due to the dense residential population and numerous commercial and entertainment destinations. Growth has become so rapid that on new condominium projects, the Toronto District School Board and Toronto Catholic District School Board have posted notices stating that they are unable to accommodate new students in local schools.
Landmarks
North York Centre at night. 43°46′14″N 79°24′45″W / 43.770550°N 79.412398°W
The North York Centre subway station is accessed through the basement levels of the two shopping malls at the intersection of Yonge Street and Empress Avenue; Empress Walk and North York Centre.
The North York Civic Centre (formerly North York City Hall) contains City of Toronto offices, and faces onto Mel Lastman Square on the west side of Yonge Street.
The station serves Earl Haig Secondary School (two blocks east), the adjacent North York Central Library, as well as the Empress Walk shopping centre with a movie theatre (above) and a stage theatre (the Toronto Centre for the Arts, three blocks south).
A 2001 Census showed that the average household income is approximately $78 000, with a disposable income of $48 000. It is projected that by the year 2011, the average household income will reach $97 000, with a disposable income of $62 000. http://riocan.creedsolutions.com/demographics/223B.pdf
External links
The Downtown that Mel Built (James Bow)
Coordinates: 43°46′08″N 79°24′47″W / 43.769°N 79.413°W
Categories:- Neighbourhoods in Toronto
- Transit-oriented developments
- Toronto geography stubs
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