Queen East: bakeries, design shops and workers’ cottages that have been extended upward.
Written by Nick Ntoukas, Toronto realtor · Chestnut Park Real Estate · Updated August 2026
Leslieville runs along Queen Street East roughly from the Don to Coxwell, and it was market gardens and small industry long before it was a destination. The housing reflects that origin — workers cottages and narrow semis built for people who walked to work, most now renovated and a great many extended upward or at the rear to make family homes out of very small footprints. The main street has become one of the better ones in the east end, with bakeries, restaurants and design shops in the old storefronts. Change here has been steady rather than sudden, and the neighbourhood still has genuine variety in condition and price within a single block.
Workers cottages, Victorian semis and rowhouses, some newer infill and low-rise condominiums.
Young families, creative professionals, and renovators; a high share of first-time house buyers.
The 501 Queen and 502 Downtowner streetcars; the 72 Pape bus north to the Bloor line.
Small original footprints mean many houses have been extended. Confirm permits were pulled for the work.
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Straight-line distances from the centre of Leslieville. 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 Leslieville — 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 Leslieville. A written valuation of your Leslieville home is free and arrives within 48 hours: call 647-208-8588 or request it online.