Introduction to Angus Glen Community
Angus Glen Community forms a significant part of the north end of Markham. It is known for its golf club and is now a bustling community that is extremely popular with Markham residents.
Location
Angus Glen is situated west of Kennedy Road and just south of Major Mackenzie Dr near the Angus Glen golf club.
Angus Glen Community History
The story of the Angus Glen community begins with Arthur Stollery, a mining executive, and enthusiastic golfer. Arthur was a mining executive and farmer – much like his colleague Stephen B Roman who founded Markham’s Cathedraltown community.
If you recognise the Stollery name, it may be because you may know of Arthur’s father Frank, who owned a successful men’s clothing store in Toronto. Stollery’s had served Torontonians from 1901 and was passed onto Arthur in 1968, who remained a silent partner before closing its doors in 2015.
In 1957 Arthur purchased a farm in Markham to the west of Kennedy Road to raise Aberdeen Angus Cattle, and named the farm Angus Glen. Ten years later, he diversified into thoroughbred horses. In 1992, he started laying the foundations for a golf course. Unfortunately, Arthur passed away in 1994, but his family continued on with his vision, and the Angus Glen Golf Club opened in 1995.
A year later, Arthur’s son Gordon began building a residential area of 500 houses with detached homes and townhouses constructed next to the golf course’s southern end, which he named after the golf course.
New Urbanism Experiment
Much like Cornell, the city considered Angus Glen for the ‘new urbanism’ experiment. The city aimed to transform Angus Glen’s urban culture to allow for the construction and development of homes with an ‘old downtown’ theme for the houses. Homes are still under construction today in the West Village, a development that the city agreed in the mid-2000s on land residing west of a small creek on the East Village west border.
The East Village of Angus Glen originally had some land sold to develop a school, although the city could not support the plan, and the developer re-purchased it for the construction of 50 extra homes. However, we expect this number to increase to 600 homes.
Angus Glen Community Homes
We can describe Angus Glen as a charming neighbourhood. It possesses narrow streets with heritage-inspired homes which vary in shape and size. The styles vary from detached homes and row townhouses to bungalofts. Interestingly, there are no semi-detached homes here. The houses have brick and cladding, and feature front porch features for residents to enjoy in the summer. Some houses have detached garages at the rear, accessed via laneways. Other homes have garages attached to the house at the front.
Transport & Commuting
The Angus Glen community is near four GO stations, Mount Joy, Markham Main Street, Centennial and Unionville. The furthest of these is an 11-minute drive or 23-minute cycle. Commuting times to downtown are on average from 30 to 40mins. The community is well connected by public transport to the rest of Markham. Bus routes include Route 8 through Kennedy Road (South), Route 18 through Bur Oak Avenue (East and West), and Route 25 through Mackenzie Drive (East and West).
Parks & Recreation
The golf club remains a prominent hub of the community. In addition, there is an indoor tennis centre and the Angus Glen community centre. The community centre has a 25-metre pool, a double gymnasium, a library, meeting rooms, and two NHL sized ice rinks. The centre has large windows to afford views of the surrounding countryside to its users.
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- Gordon Stollery Park – playground, splash pad, soccer field, basketball court, skateboard park
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- Arthur Stolllery Common – open grassy area surrounded by homes
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- Eleanor Casely Park – playground with views of the ravine
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- Royal Troon Pond – nature area with walkways
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- Mattamy Pond – nature area with walkways
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- Angus Glen East Village – large park with playground, outdoor ice rink, mature trees and surrounded by homes
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- Colty’s Park – soccer field, baseball diamond, children’s playground, mature trees
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- Angus Glen East Village Baseball Park – open grassy area, baseball diamond, surrounded by homes
Shopping
On the corner of Kennedy and Major Mackenzie, there is a shopping plaza offering a dentist, pharmacy, medical centre, wellness clinic, bank, a restaurant café, coffee shop, and a Montessori school.
Schools
Angus Glen’s Montessori school is the only school in the community. The children living here travel just a little further afield to the adjacent neighbourhood – Berczy Village to attend the excellent schools there.
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- All Saints Catholic Elementary School
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- Castlemore Public School
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- Pierre Elliott Trudeau High School
Conclusion
Angus Glen is a relatively new community in Markham; however, it has some history and a heritage ambience. There are some great facilities and excellent golfing! It is easy to travel around the area without a car. There are various lovely parks and places to get out into nature, and there are excellent schools nearby. All in all – a fantastic community to live in!
