Character
The neighbourhood contains a mixture of land-uses. The main thoroughfare of Bloor Street consists almost exclusively of mixed-use residential and commercial buildings. The Bloorcourt Village BIA posts its streetlamp banners on Bloor between Dufferin and Montrose.
The buildings along Bloor Street are typically two or three stories tall, with retail commercial on the main floor, and offices or rental housing on the remainder. These converted residential structures are the oldest in the district and are often in poor repair. Pigeon infestation remains an issue for tenants. At Dovercourt Road, a large, high-rise apartment complex houses lower-middle-income tenants on the southwest corner.
Businesses on Dovercourt and Hallam, centred around the intersection of Dovercourt Road and Hallam Street have formed their own BIA, the 'Dovercourt Village'. The boundaries stretch from Dupont south to Shanley and east-west from Salem to Ossington Avenue.
The residential area north of Bloor Street is primarily single-family dwellings. Many of these structures have been converted into apartments, housing up to eight separate units. Side-streets increase in zoned density as they approach Bloor. Low and medium-rise apartments occupy the majority of these zones.
To the north, between Dupont and Davenport, is mainly post-industrial development. Limited manufacturing remains, although some warehouse and light automotive industries still exist. While the Canadian Pacific Railway operates a main line between the two thoroughfares, a large amount of former industrial space has been converted to loft condominiums. Some single-family rowhouses and low-income rental space has also been created.
The Bloor-Gladstone branch of the Toronto Public Library, dating from 1912, is situated at Bloor and Gladstone Avenue, one block east of Dufferin Avenue. From 2006 to 2009 the library was closed for renovation. It reopened to the public on July 23, 2009.
Read more about this topic: Dovercourt Park
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