Pomona Valley

The place

Pomona Valley is the stretch of Markham-side Thornhill where the East Don River comes down from Royal Orchard, passes under John Street and continues south toward the Bayview golf course. Pomona Mills Park holds the valley floor, with entrances off Henderson Avenue north of John Street, and the streets on either side of it are the neighbourhood. Yonge Street is a few minutes west, Bayview Avenue a few minutes east, and the Thornhill Markham heritage district runs along John Street at the southern edge.

The name recalls the mills. Benjamin Thorne built a grist mill and sawmill on the Don here in the 1820s, and the park’s name preserves the memory of milling on this stretch of river long after the dams and races were gone. A volunteer group, the Pomona Mills Park Conservationists, has worked since 1999 to protect the meadow and build the pathway that now connects the heritage village to the park. Thornhill straddles Yonge Street and two cities; this pocket is entirely within Markham.

The houses

The streets around the park were built in the 1950s and 1960s, before the larger subdivisions of Royal Orchard to the north. The original houses are brick bungalows, split-levels and compact two-storeys, often with single garages and generous front lawns. Lots are wider than those of later decades, and on the streets that run down to the valley they are also deep, with the back portion dropping into trees.

That combination has made the area attractive for custom construction. A new house here is usually two storeys with a walk-out lower level where the grade allows, the main living spaces oriented to the rear and the trees, and a restrained street elevation that fits between older neighbours. Transitional and modern designs both appear. Along John Street and Colborne Street, inside the heritage district, the houses are older and the approach is restoration and careful addition rather than replacement, and the district plan governs what is permitted.

Streets and lots

Henderson Avenue is the spine, running north from John Street past the park entrances toward Royal Orchard, and the short streets that branch from it hold most of the valley-backing lots. John Street itself carries the heritage houses and the tennis club, and Colborne Street just south of it continues the district. Dudley Avenue, home to Thornhill Secondary School, marks the southern side of the pocket.

The lots that matter most are those with the East Don valley at the back. They are irregular, typically wider at the street than at the rear, and shaded by a mature canopy of maple, oak and willow that the park protects. Interior lots are rectangular and still well-proportioned by current standards. What distinguishes the best addresses is a flat, usable garden before the slope begins, because the conservation authority’s setback from the top of bank decides how much of a deep lot can actually be built on.

Living here

Pomona Mills Park is the reason to live here. Its trail runs through forest, meadow and wetland along the river, and connects north toward Royal Orchard Park and the trail system of the East Don. The Pomona Valley Tennis Club on John Street has six lit courts and junior programs, and the soccer pitch and playground serve the surrounding streets. Grandview Park and the Thornhill Community Centre at Bayview and John, with twin rinks, a pool and a library, are both a short walk or drive away.

Yonge Street supplies the restaurants and shops, including the heritage storefronts of the old village between Centre Street and John Street and the Shops on Yonge further north. Viva and York Region Transit run along Yonge to Finch Station, and Highway 407 is reached from Yonge or Bayview. Steeles Avenue and the Highway 404 interchange are a few minutes south and east. The heritage churches and the Thornhill Village Library give the John Street edge a village rhythm that the newer streets to the north do not have. School boundaries change, so buyers should confirm designated schools with the board.

Buying and selling in Pomona Valley

Houses here come up in small numbers each year, and the valley lots far less often than the interior ones. Original bungalows on good lots attract builders and families planning a custom house, and they are generally sold openly. Rebuilt houses and the deepest ravine lots are a quieter market: owners tend to stay for a long time, and when they sell, a meaningful portion of those sales are arranged privately among buyers who have asked to be told first. The buyers are often families already in Thornhill who want a larger lot without leaving the area, and downsizers from the Uplands who want to stay close to Yonge.

Sellers of original houses should expect their lot to be valued on width, depth and the usable area above the top of bank. A current survey and any conservation authority correspondence are worth gathering before listing. Sellers inside the heritage district should expect buyers to ask for the district plan and any heritage permits on the first visit. Buyers weighing Pomona Valley against Royal Orchard will find the lots here older and often deeper, and the walk to the village shorter. Tell us the house you have in mind and we will send what fits, including the sales that are arranged before a sign goes up.

Pomona Valley is a small place with a long river running through it. The park gives it room, the heritage street gives it a past, and the lots give a buyer something to build on. It is the kind of pocket people find when they have already looked at the better-known names and want the quieter version.