Woodbridge / Maple

by Sherry Hinman

In the southwest corner of the City of Vaughan and

carved out of its northeast corner are the communities

of Woodbridge and Maple, respectively.

Woodbridge is a town of about 70,000 people, which

began experiencing increased growth in the 1960s as

Toronto expanded north. Approximately 70 per cent of its

residents are of Italian ethnicity.

Maple is a smaller community, with about half the

population of Woodbridge. Maple has attracted many

young families in recent years, resulting in a population with

half its residents being under 30.

Residents of Woodbridge and Maple enjoy an ideal

location. Paolo DiPede, sales representative at Arista Ridge

Homes in Woodbridge, says "it's very central and

convenient. We're 25 minutes from everywhere. It's 25

minutes to downtown, 25 minutes to Markham, 25 minutes

to Brampton. And we're close to all the major highways:

407, 400, 427."

DiPede says there's been a significant swell in new

housing in the area over the past several years, an increase

that peaked about three years ago and has since started to

slow down. "Arista has been here for at least seven to eight

years," he says, "and there has been a lot of development

during that time, to the west almost to the Brampton

border, and to the north up to Major Mackenzie Drive and

Teston Road."

These two small Vaughan communities are close to a

couple of heavyweight tourist attractions. Just north

of Woodbridge, in the village of Kleinberg, is the

renowned McMichael Gallery, featuring its famous Group

of Seven collection, First Nations, Inuit, and contemporary

art. And Canada's Wonderland, home to over

200 attractions and Canada's largest wave pool, is

located in Maple. Maple is also home to Vaughan Mills, the

largest mall in the Greater Toronto Area.

These towns tend to attract fairly high-end homebuyers.

DiPede says it's become quite expensive, which may make it

hard for those who are looking to build their first home. But

the City of Vaughan website lists the median household

income for Woodbridge at $82,980 and for Maple, at

$78,288-figures that are considerably higher than the

GTA average of $50,500. "It's always been a prestige area,"

DiPede says.