600 VICTORIA STREET SOUTH Street Unit# 15, Kitchener, N2G1H6
600 VICTORIA STREET SOUTH Street, Kitchener, Ontario N2G1H6
445 KARN Street, Kitchener, N2M2C3
445 KARN Street, Kitchener, Ontario N2M2C3
72 INGLESIDE DR, Kitchener, N2M2G8
72 Ingleside Drive, Kitchener, Ontario N2M2G8
132 ROSSFORD Crescent, Kitchener, N2M2H7
132 ROSSFORD Crescent, Kitchener, Ontario N2M2H7
24 MOOREGATE Crescent Unit# 307, Kitchener, N2M2G1
24 MOOREGATE Crescent, Kitchener, Ontario N2M2G1
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Victoria Hills Area in Kitchener
It’s that time again; time for another exciting edition of WRX Property Group’s ongoing look at the neighbourhoods of Kitchener-Waterloo. Today, we’ll be investigating another Kitchener neighbourhood centred around Victoria Street: Victoria Hills. Victoria Hills’ boundaries are approximately as follows: Belmont Avenue West in the east; Highland Road West in the south; Fischer-Hallman Road in the west; and the train tracks south of Westwood Drive and Brandon Avenue in the North.
Victoria Hills is a suburban place, through and through. Most of its homes date back to the 1970s and ’80s, making it one of Kitchener-Waterloo’s ‘middle-aged’ neighbourhoods – not one of the brand-new developments like those on the peripheries of the TriCities, but not as old as a place like Victoria Park to the east.
Streets are lined with mature trees, and numerous parks and trails offer even more green space for residents to enjoy.
Victoria Hills, on the whole, is more affordable than other parts of Kitchener-Waterloo, including the neighbourhoods surrounding it. Homes come in a mixture of detached and townhome varieties, with prices starting in the mid $200 000s and averaging under $500 000 – again, prices here are lower than other parts of Kitchener-Waterloo, making Victoria Hills a compelling option for a starter or investment home, for example.
There are some condominiums available for lower prices, still. If you’d like to find out more about any specific properties, or if you have any questions at all, please don’t hesitate to reach out to WRX Property Group; we’ll help however we can.
Location
Victoria Hills is served by several major, arterial streets (Westmount, Victoria, Highland, and Fischer-Hallman), which connect it to other parts of Kitchener (including downtown and Victoria Park) and Waterloo (including the University of Waterloo campus area).
While these streets are nice, Victoria Hills is not as close to the ever-useful Conestoga Parkway as other neighbourhoods in the city. However, a distinct benefit of Victoria Hills is that it’s quite close to the beautiful Victoria Park and the bustling streets of downtown Kitchener, but far enough to remain quietly suburban.
The Victoria Hills Neighbourhood Association (VHNA), which runs out of the Victoria Hills Community Centre (located off of Westmount Road and Chopin Drive), also ensures there are programs available for residents, particularly for families and children.
The neighbourhood is served is served by several bus routes, including two of the swift, useful iXpress lines (201 and 204).
Victoria Hills has several green areas within its borders. Perhaps the most important one is the large, fairly centrally-located Gzowski Park (off of Chopin Drive – quite a Polish connection, between its name and street). The aforementioned Victoria Hills Community Centre is located here, and the park also features extensive fields, several trails, playground equipment, a baseball diamond, and a garden.
Other special areas include Filsinger Park, with its rippling waterways; Filsinger Natural Area, with its tree-lined trails; and the interconnected Henry Strum Greenway, which leads to the Victoria Hills Community Garden (the Community Garden’s a great way to get involved in the community, learn a bit about food production, and enjoy the great outdoors – read about it here).
There are more green areas within the neighbourhood, and many more can be found nearby – including the deep, dense Monarch Woods Park, and of course, Victoria Park, Kitchener’s crown jewel.
The primary shopping areas for Victoria Hills are found in the neighbourhood’s southeast corner, on both sides of Lawrence Avenue near its intersection with Highland Road West. On the eastern side is the Highland Centre, which has several shops, including a Pet Valu; a Dollar Mart; a branch of TD Canada Trust; a Rexall Pharma Plus; a Sobeys (which boasts extensive grocery options, and a flower shop); and more, including several small restaurants.
On the west side of Lawrence Avenue is the Evergreen Mall, which has quite a few small shops, a large Food Basics, and a Tim Hortons. Much more shopping can be found as you head west along Highland Road toward Westmount Road, with multiple fast food locations, car care facilities, banks, delis, and more.
There is shopping in the centre of Victoria Hills, too, around the intersection of Victoria and Westmount, with another Tim Hortons, several dine-in restaurants, and Onkar Foods and Spices – a great place for foods and spices (and their samosas are pretty good, too).
Victoria Hills may not have the flashiest shopping opportunities – it’s not on the same scale as Downtown Kitchener or Uptown Waterloo, nor as bountiful as the larger malls like Fairview Park – but it does have a broad variety of options, both a higher-end and a thrifty option for groceries, and two local Tim Hortons (a phenomenon known as a ‘Double-Double’), so Victoria Hills residents shouldn’t ever need to travel far for the basic necessities.
Education
Zoning for students in the public school board (WRDSB) is approximately as follows: students northwest of Victoria and Westmount will attend A. R. Kaufman Public School for Kindergarten to Grade 8; students southeast of Victoria and Westmount will attend J.F. Carmichael Public School for Kindergarten to Grade 6, and Queensmount Public School for Grades 7 and 8; students in the northeast corner of Victoria Hills will attend Westmount Public School for Kindergarten to Grade 6, and MacGregor Public School for Grades 7 and 8.
Depending on the location of your home, students may be eligible for transportation by bus – particularly to MacGregor. In terms of French Immersion, it is offered by J. F. Carmichael, Westmount, and MacGregor; students interested in this program can transfer.
For secondary school, WRDSB students in Victoria Hills are zoned for Forest Heights Collegiate Institute; you can learn about this fine school in its WRX article here. Students in the Catholic school board (WCDSB) are zoned for St.
John Catholic Elementary School, a school of around 430 students that was reconstructed and re-opened in 2012; St. John serves Kindergarten to Grade 8. It’s located east of Victoria Hills, on Strange Street. Victoria Hills students living west of Westmount Road West will qualify for transportation by bus.
For high school, WCDSB students are zoned for Resurrection Catholic Secondary School, which is just a few minutes away off of University Avenue (easily accessed by Fischer-Hallman). Resurrection is the newest Catholic high school in Kitchener-Waterloo, opened in 1990 to replace St.Jerome’s.
Conclusion
Victoria Hills is a quiet suburb not too far from the bustling streets of downtown, and with enough going on within its boundaries to keep residents happy. Its more affordable properties make it a great place to consider, and its parks and Neighbourhood Association ensure there’s fun to be had.
Written by Will Kummer