Canada’s first planned community - and the neighbourhood Rose calls home. Mid-century streets that curve for a reason, ravines that were designed in rather than left over, a town square that actually works, and - as of this year - rapid transit. Established, green, and quietly better connected than it has ever been.
The homes.
In 1953, E.P. Taylor and planner Macklin Hancock set out to build a complete community on two thousand acres at Don Mills and Lawrence - four residential quadrants, each with its own school, church and park, mixed housing on curving streets, and walkways tying it all to the Don River greenbelt. It worked well enough that the Ontario Heritage Foundation designated Don Mills a heritage site in 1997. The original bungalows, splits and low-rises are still here - many lovingly kept, many being renewed.
The new chapter is happening at the edges: condos rising at the Shops at Don Mills and the 60-acre Crosstown Community at Don Mills & Eglinton - roughly 4,900 homes planned on the former Celestica lands, with a new recreation centre and park. Translation: mid-century calm in the middle, first-condo options at the corners.
For live pricing, read the board data directly: TRREB Market Watch - or ask Rose what the last three months looked like on the streets you’re considering. She lives here; she’ll tell you street by street.
Getting around.
The big change: Line 5 Eglinton opened in February 2026 - Don Mills now has rapid transit at its doorstep, with the Don Valley, Sunnybrook Park and Aga Khan Park & Museum stops serving the neighbourhood’s south end. Next up: the Ontario Line will terminate at Don Valley Station - a future subway interchange at Don Mills & Eglinton. The 25 Don Mills bus runs all day to Pape Station, and the DVP and 401 frame the neighbourhood for drivers.
Honest note: away from the Eglinton corridor this is still a drive-mostly neighbourhood - Walk Score rates the Banbury–Don Mills area in the 60s - comfortable, not car-free. Check your exact address on their site.
The schools.
Don Mills Collegiate Institute runs the CyberARTS specialty program plus a Gifted stream - one of the east side’s distinctive public options. Norman Ingram P.S. anchors the elementary years in the neighbourhood itself, and the TDSB guarantees French Immersion placement via central application.
Check catchment for any address with the TDSB school finder - Rose will tell you how catchment actually plays into price on your shortlist.
The green.
Here’s the part that’s easy to miss: the ravines aren’t next to Don Mills - they were designed into it, with walkway links written into the 1950s plan. Edwards Gardens and the Toronto Botanical Garden sit at Lawrence & Leslie; Moccasin Trail Park hides the famous Rainbow Tunnel; Charles Sauriol Conservation Area is genuine river-valley wilderness, and the Betty Sutherland Trail gives you a paved riverside run. People buy here for the houses and stay for the green.
The table.
Don Mills has something almost no Toronto neighbourhood outside downtown can claim: a Michelin-starred restaurant of its own. Kaiseki Yu-zen Hashimoto serves formal kaiseki at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre on Sakura Way. The everyday eating orbits the Shops at Don Mills - anchored since last year by Eataly’s 10,000-square-foot marketplace. (Ratings below as retrieved September 2026 - counts drift, check current.)
The vibe.
Heritage Toronto’s audio tour of the original four quadrants, and a 4K walk through the Shops:
Who lives here.
The city calls this Banbury–Don Mills, Neighbourhood 42 - about 27,700 people, with a seniors’ share half again the city average and household incomes well above it (City profile). In practice: original owners aging happily in place, families trading up for the schools and ravines, and - new this decade - younger buyers arriving via the condos. Rose has lived and worked here for years; multi-generational moves are her specialty.
Watch this space.
Three named forces are compounding at Don Mills & Eglinton: Line 5, open since February 2026, the 60-acre Crosstown Community building out nearly 5,000 homes, and the Ontario Line’s future terminus at Don Valley Station. And one honest wildcard: the old Ontario Science Centre site - closed since 2024, its reuse now actively before city council. Quiet corners with subway interchanges don’t stay quiet.
All third-party figures above link to their sources and were retrieved September 2026 - check the linked pages for current numbers. Walkability scores courtesy of Walk Score®.
Thinking about Don Mills?
Rose lives here. She'll tell you which quadrant fits your budget, what the Crosstown build-out means for resale, and whether the mid-century house or the new condo is the smarter version of you-in-Don-Mills.