Bayview Village - Community

Community

The present day Bayview Village neighbourhood was planned in 1954 by a group of developers led by Farlinger Development Ltd. Bayview Village was hailed as "contemporary living in the countryside, at the doorstep of the urban concentration of Metropolitan Toronto." The design and layout of Bayview Village is very much influenced by the East Don Valley Parklands. Dr E.G. Faludi, the town planner who designed Bayview Village, recognized the importance of the East Don Valley Parklands when he said "We will fit the community into the landscape and not the landscape into the community." Faludi's trademark curvilinear street pattern that follows the natural contours of the land was designed to highlight the natural beauty of the neighbourhood. Nearly a quarter of the space in Bayview Village is green. Bayview Village's winding streets and culs-de-sac are planted with mature birch, cedar, willow, spruce, pine and maple trees. Some of the Bayview Village houses are situated on ravine lots that feature views of the East Don River Valley Parklands. Several of the street names in Bayview Village, such as Citation Drive, recall that the area was a racehorse training stable and grounds before being developed. In the Bayview Village area, there are United, Greek Orthodox, Catholic, and Anglican churches, the latter is located just outside the area's southwest boundary.

The main shopping centre located in Bayview Village and serving the community is an upscale shopping mall called Bayview Village Shopping Centre, located at the northeast corner of Sheppard Avenue and Bayview Avenue.