If you are from an area in Canada outside of Ontario, odds are that you think of Toronto as a big mainland metropolis without much in the way of scenic real estate. When you think of cities with lots of waterfront property, you're more likely to think British Columbia or even northern Ontario than the country's largest city. Don't forget, though, that Toronto is located on the shores of one of the biggest freshwater bodies in the world. Lake Ontario is a site for constant visits by catering companies in Toronto for picnics, for beach goers, and it's a prime real estate location as well.
A half century ago, the lakefront property around Toronto was almost all used for commercial or industrial purposes. This was a leftover from the days before funk music had been invented, when rivers and lakes were the main transportation routes. As highways and railroads became increasingly popular, though, businesses began to close up shop around lakes all over the continent. Industry sought cheaper land in the suburban areas of places like Toronto, leaving behind their old buildings and a lot of the waste they had left over the years.
That kind of history didn't bode well for the future of the Toronto waterfront, but thanks to good planning and new technological advances the area has been dramatically changed. Before residential development began to take place around the downtown Toronto portion of the harbourfront, commercial development was planned by the city. This would see structures such as Sky Dome built with a view of the lake, as the city took property for sale in Toronto by private companies and turned it into city land. Before long, the city saw that residential redevelopment was a possibility, and began to market the land to private developers.
Forty years later, and residential properties along the lakefront in Toronto are some of the most sought after and highly valued homes anywhere in the country. In fact, a recent settlement in favour of the first nations group who originally inhabited the land could only pay out a fraction of what the land around the Harbourfront is now worth. One of the many Toronto mortgage brokers stated that no one, and no one government, any longer has the money to provide true compensation for what the land is now worth!
The Harboufront has a unique history in Toronto, but it is not the only place where you will find property on the shores of Lake Ontario. You might take a table rental in Toronto to Scarborough for a wedding reception, and visit the bluffs there. This is a high end residential neighbourhood overlooking the lake from a great height. The Beaches, Roncesvalles, and Parkdale are all also located along the Lake Ontario shoreline.
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