The gentrification of Cabbagetown started in the 1970s, with locals restoring the Victorian homes, and much of the green space and public areas being improved with additions such as wrought iron fences, stone paths, and new shrubbery. Come the 1980s, young professionals and real estate agents started taking advantage of the prime housing opportunities; homes were selling for about $200,000. Today, some of the Victorian homes have fetched more than $1 million.

Cabbagetown still maintains a vintage ambiance. It features many clothing boutiques, antique stores, health food stores, a weekly farmer’s market, and many festivals, including the Cabbagetown Festival, Forsythia Festival, and the Short Film & Video Festival. The boundaries of the district have also expanded and slightly shifted and slightly shifted since the neighbourhood was founded in the 1840s. Roughly speaking, the area is now outlined by Wellesley Street to the north, the Don River at the east, Dundas Street to the south, and Sherbourne Street on the west side. According to this boundary, Cabbagetown has expanded to the north and to the west, and has also shifted to the north, no longer including Queen Street.

Toronto’s condo-boom is calling for a city-wide expansion of residential construction; this means that Cabbagetown is going to see some new condos very soon. The Times Group Corporation finished their development, The 500 Condos, last year, but that’s just to get the ball rolling. The Daniels Corporation currently has two developments under construction in Cabbagetown: OnePark Place Condos and Paintbox Condominiums. Paintbox is scheduled to be completed by the end of this year. Most recently, Corktown Mews by Fieldgate Homes and 159 Wellesley Street by Kilmer Brownfield Equity Fund L.P. and Diamondcorp have just entered the preconstruction phase.

As always, we are excited to see what the future holds for Cabbagetown and the rest of Toronto. Don’t be surprised if a few more developers propose residential plans for the expanding district. Hopefully, it will grow and prosper as we expect the rest of the city to do throughout the lifespan of this condo-boom. We will be providing you with more information on the new condos in Cabbagetown as information becomes available.