Canada’s first planned suburb, with modernist houses, green corridors and a rebuilt town centre.
Written by Nick Ntoukas, Toronto realtor · Chestnut Park Real Estate · Updated August 2026
Don Mills was the first fully planned suburban community in Canada, laid out in the fifties around a set of principles that are still legible — houses set back on curving streets, schools and shops within walking distance, and green corridors connecting the neighbourhoods to the ravine. The original housing is modernist and often architecturally significant, with flat and low-pitched roofs, carports and large windows. The old shopping centre has been replaced by the Shops at Don Mills, an open-air town centre with condominiums around it. The result is a neighbourhood with genuine design history and a modern commercial heart.
Mid-century modern detached houses and bungalows; newer condominiums around the town centre.
Families, buyers drawn to the mid-century architecture, and downsizers into the condominiums.
Don Mills station on the Sheppard line; the 25 Don Mills bus; the Ontario Line is planned to serve the area.
Original modernist houses can be costly to update sympathetically. Budget realistically for renovation.
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Straight-line distances from the centre of Don Mills. Proximity is not catchment — check the board locators or ask Nick. School locations: Statistics Canada, Open Database of Educational Facilities, adapted; contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence — Canada.
Worth a look if you like Don Mills — each has its own guide, live listings and schools.
Nick Ntoukas is a Toronto real estate agent with Chestnut Park Real Estate Limited, Brokerage — the exclusive Ontario affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate — working with buyers and sellers across the GTA, including Don Mills. A written valuation of your Don Mills home is free and arrives within 48 hours: call 647-208-8588 or request it online.