Internationally ranked as one of the best places to live in the world, Toronto is a city of excellence: excellent restaurants, excellent arts venues, excellent schools, excellent festivals… all combining to form excellent neighbourhoods! But perhaps where The Six shines brightest is our extensive network of urban parks and green spaces. Preserved and cultivated across the city, these treasured slices of the natural world provide a multitude of invaluable mental, physical and social health benefits for urban dwellers! From offering outdoor recreation and community congregation, to cleaning the air and absorbing storm water run-off, parks are essential pieces of a functioning, healthy city.
From sprawl to small, each urban park has its own unique character, and serves the city and it’s immediate neighbourhood in different ways. One of downtown Toronto’s oldest city parks, is McCormick Park. Located in the southern half of Brockton Village, near the intersection of Dufferin and Dundas, it is a focal point for a community that use to be it’s own town (annexed in 1884). Check out this photo of the playground in 1916:
Courtesy of Toronto Archives
Today, it remains a hub of community activity, and was just revamped in 2014 with newer equipment and facilities! The park shares it’s plot with both the McCormick Hockey Arena and the McCormick Recreation Centre. Combined they offer the following amenities:
• Baseball Diamond
• Soccer Pitch
• Basketball Court
• Bocce Ball Court
• Bike Share Toronto
• Washrooms
• Wading Pool
• Playground
• Little Free Library
• Pool
• Gym
• Hockey Rink
In addition to these recreational facilities – in 2014 the neighbourhood introduced the McCormick Shipping Cafe – which utilizes a converted shipping container on site in the park to serve snack and nutritious meals to the community!
This feat was accomplished by the neighbourhood group, Friends Of McCormick Park (to which we owe gratitude for the use of most of these photos!) As the entire neighbourhood benefits from the park, it makes sense that the residents should share in the responsibility of its upkeep and improvement. Formed in 2012, they explore “ways, both small and large, to enhance the park and by extension, the community in which we live.” They are currently working on many improvement projects like Adopt-A-Tree and a new playground. They support fantastic community events like outdoor movies, clothing fundraisers, the annual Halloween Pumpkin Parade, Community Compost Day, and of course the annual McCormick Park Festival!
We have major respect for a community that takes such great care of Toronto’s limited resources.
No doubt he residents of Brockton Village and surrounding communities sometimes trek to High Park, Trinity Bellwoods, or Sorauren Park for a different kind of park experience, but their own unique green space is truly where the heart of the community lies.
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Check out some of the other Toronto Neighbourhoods we specialize in!
~ The Urbaneer Team
Bosley Real Estate Ltd., Brokerage
(416) 530-1100
– we’re here to earn your trust, then your business –
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