Milliken - north Scarborough on the Markham border

Milliken (CDN 130) sits at the northern edge of Scarborough on Steeles Avenue East, bounded by Steeles to the north (Markham boundary), McNicoll Avenue to the south, Birchmount Road to the west and Kennedy Road / Brimley Road to the east. The neighbourhood developed primarily from the 1970s through the 1990s as one of the original landing communities for the wave of Chinese-Canadian immigration to the GTA, and remains one of the strongest Chinese-Canadian communities in Canada today.

Housing in Milliken is varied: 1970s-1990s detached and semi-detached two-storey homes on 30-50 ft lots, townhouse complexes, condo townhouses, and rental and condo apartments along Steeles and Kennedy. Lot sizes are more compact than older Scarborough neighbourhoods, but the streets are quiet and the neighbourhood has a strong community feel.

Milliken's defining commercial feature is the cluster of Asian-Canadian retail anchors along Steeles - Pacific Mall (just across the line in Markham), the Splendid China complex, Times Square Steeles and the Milliken Mall area. This is the densest Chinese-Canadian retail concentration in the GTA and one of the densest in North America. For Milliken residents that means world-class food, retail and services within walking distance.

Transit and access include the Milliken GO station on the Stouffville line - a 10-minute walk from much of the neighbourhood and a quick GO trip to Union. The TTC 53 Steeles East, 39 Finch East and 43 Kennedy buses serve the surface routes. Hwy 401 is a short drive south; Hwy 407 is one block north.

From a real estate perspective Milliken is one of the more interesting markets in north Scarborough because the buyer pool is unusually well-defined and loyal. The Krzewski Group works this community with the cultural awareness and proper marketing it deserves.