Forest Hill

Forest Hill Neighbourhood History

Forest Hill was formerly known as Spading Heights. Forest Hill was settled in the 1860s and was originally incorporated as a village in 1923. Forest Hill got its name from the summer home of John Wickson which was built at the intersection of Eglinton Avenue and Old Forest Hill Road.

Prior to World War ll, Forest Hill was mostly made up of affluent Anglo-Saxon Protestants. In the 1950s and 1960s, a large number of members of the Jewish community moved to the neighbourhood of Forest Hill. Today, the neighbourhood includes many kosher restaurants, grocery stores and several synagogues.

Forest Hill Neighbourhood Today

Forest Hill is one of the most prestigious and elegant neighbourhoods in Toronto. Amongst the beautiful homes, you will find Upper Canada College for boys and Bishop Strachan School for girls, two of Canada’s most renowned private schools. From small to large properties, Forest Hill includes a wide variety of homes surrounded with mature trees. Forest Hill is located in midtown and is conveniently close to Avenue Road. Within a short drive, you can go from this quiet neighbourhood with large lavish homes to Canada’s leading financial district. Forest Hill is considered one of Toronto’s most desired neighbourhoods to live in.

The City of Toronto splits Forest Hill into two neighbourhoods: Forest Hill North and Forest Hill South. In addition, the entire area known as Forest Hill is also subdivided into two additional areas: the Upper Village and the Lower Village.
The two villages are designated based on the elevation and not the average home price.

Forest Hill Homes & Real Estate

The neighbourhood of Forest Hill is situated on prime real estate and consists of large traditional homes. In accordance to the old Forest Hill building codes which date back to the 1920s and 1930s, all homes in Forest Hill were required to be designed by an architect and at least one tree must be planted at the front of each property. The trees have grown substantially over the years and have created a beautiful scenery of large brick and stone homes surrounded by enormous lush greenery along the streets of Lower Forest Hill.

The homes located in the Upper Village were mostly built in the 1940s and 1950s. The homes located in the Upper Village of Forest Hill are typically smaller than the homes in the Lower Village. However, many of the lot sizes are similar to lots located in the Lower Village of Forest Hill.

Forest Hill also includes a number of luxury condominium apartment buildings.