As we established above, the north end of Guelph consists of many different neighbourhoods. The homes in these neighbourhoods vary greatly, so let’s break it down one by one.
Riverside Park aka Waverley
Riverside Park (also known as Waverley), is bordered by Woolwich on the west, Victoria Road on the east, Woodlawn on the north and Speedvale on the south.
This neighbourhood has three distinct pockets.
First, the main pocket of homes sit east of Riverside park and south of the Guelph Country Club. This area consists mostly of smaller bungalows built between the 1950s to 1960s. There are also some splits, 2-storey and 1.5 storey homes.
Next, the small pocket that surrounds Waverley Park and Waverley PS is the area’s nicest pocket with larger homes and lots. If you also drive west along Waverley Road, you’ll notice some custom infill along the way.
Finally, just west of Riverside Park is the area’s pocket of older condo apartments. This is a great spot for those looking for an affordable home as it gives you great access to not only the park, but all of the major retail along Woodlawn.
Victoria North
As you go north of Woodlawn you enter into what’s known as Victoria North. Some will consider the area west of Victoria road as part of Riverside/Waverley (for example the local neighbourhood group consists of this area plus all of Riverside). East of Victoria Road is known as Brant Avenue. This area is the north and northeast boundary of Guelph.
Brant Avenue
The north part of Brant Avenue has been completely redeveloped since around the late 2000s. Similar to Guelph’s East End, anyone that was looking for an affordable new home has had great options here. Check out the areas around Wilson Farm Park, Northview Park and Beverley Robson Playground for examples, but here’s one below:
South of Bowen Drive around Ferndale Park and all the way south to Speedvale is the original area of Brant Avenue that has a mix of styles including bungalows, bungalow-raised, splits, and 2-storeys homes. The majority of these homes were built in the 60s and 70s.
Check out the areas around Ferndale Park (east of Victoria), Golfview Playground (west of Victoria) and the area around Brant Park, Dakota Park and Brant Avenue PS. The homes here are very similar to those in West Grange Hill in neighbouring East End Guelph.
North Riverside
It can be hard to peg down exact names for sub-neighbourhoods sometimes, but we’ll go with the local neighbourhood group and call this area, that’s west of Victoria Road and north of Woodlawn, North Riverside.
The south half of the neighbourhood, built just north of the Guelph Country Club, is similar in age and home style to Brant Avenue. While the north half is newer development that took place in the 1990s.
June Avenue
Next, let’s look at June Avenue. This small pockets sits just north of Exhibition Park and west of Riverside.
Developed from the mid-1950s through until about the late 1970s, this area also has a good mix of bungalows, split-levels and two-storey homes.
This is one of the most affordable neighbourhoods in Guelph as homeowners can get generous lot sizes at much better price points than other neighbourhoods.
At the north border of June Avenue sits all of the major retail stores and power centres along Woodlawn. This makes it a super convenient area to live.
General Hospital
The final neighbourhood we’ll look at today is nicknamed General Hospital as, you might guess, is home to Guelph’s major hospital – Guelph General. I am putting this as part of the north end of Guelph as most of the homes are similar in nature to others in the area, but it is a unique neighbourhood on its own.
This is a large neighbourhood that stretches all the way from essentially downtown Guelph all the way to Speedvale to the north and Victoria Road to the east along the diagonally-shaped Eramosa Road.
There are three distinct pockets here:
Guelph General
Similar to downtown, this small pocket of century+ old homes sits southeast of the hospital and runs until the east side of the Speed River.
These are home to some of the oldest, most expensive homes in Guelph along with classic Guelph limestone heritage homes.
South Riverside
While not an official name, this area that sits just south of Riverside is very similar to homes on the other side of Speedvale. The main difference is that this part of General Hospital is older (40s and 50s-built) and has smaller homes and lots sizes. It’s also a touch less expensive too.
Edward Johnson & Holy Rosary
Finally, we have the pocket that contains top-ranked French Immersion school Edward Johnson and Holy Rosary Church and elementary school. The borders here are Stevenson to the west, Speedvale to the North, Eramosa (our diagonal shaped friend) to the south and Victoria to the east.
This pocket has larger and nicer homes compared to South Riverside that are still relatively affordable. You get good value for your money here and can choose from a variety of 70s-built splits, bungalows and 2-storey homes.
