Playter Estates Homes & Real Estate

As the 18th Century drew to a close, those who had remained loyal to the British Crown during the American War of Independence faced a difficult and often hostile environment in the young United States. Many chose to head north to Canada, where they received land grants to start new lives. The Playter family of Pennsylvania were part of that exodus, settling east of the Don River, in the area that still bears their name — reaching from Broadview Avenue east to Jackman Avenue and north from Danforth Avenue to Fulton Avenue.

Fast forward some 80 years, and three generations, to the mid-1870s. On the family’s farmland, grandson John Lea Playter builds the brick farmhouse that stands today at 28 Playter Crescent — still in the family’s possession, and now a frequent location for shooting movies, television shows and commercials.

In 1912, the property surrounding the farmhouse was subdivided, and development of the neighbourhood began. Almost a century later, Playter Estates is an exclusive, sought-after enclave that holds strong attraction for middle and upper-middle income home buyers — particularly young professionals with children, drawn by the proximity of highly-regarded Jackman Public School.

The neighbourhood offers a variety of home sizes and architectural styles. The majority of homes are detached and were built before the mid-1940s, with Victorians and Tudors mixed among the predominate Edwardians. Homes on the larger, grander scale are close to the old farmhouse on Playter Crescent and compare favourably with Rosedale mansions. These elegant addresses easily reach the $2-million mark.

But Playter Estates homes also include smaller detached houses, and semi-detached 2-storey gabled homes that can be found for $650,000 and up. West of Broadview, the mix includes small Ontario cottages together with handsome brick homes from the 1940s and some more modern infill homes. There are also some three-storey semis to be found on Fulton Avenue and Browning. Prices tend to be lower closer to Pape Avenue, and eagle-eyed home buyers may also be able to catch a “fixer-upper” on streets to the east of Chester or to the west of Broadview Avenue.

Overall, residents of Playter Estate homes are in an ideal urban location — with Chester and Broadview subway stations nearby, the Don Valley Parkway just minutes away, and the wonderfully eclectic Danforth Avenue shopping and dining area within walking distance.

For current information on available listings for Player Estates homes and real estate, please see the column at the right of this page. Listings are updated daily, so we recommend that you bookmark this page and check back frequently.