Townhouses For Sale in Brooklin, Whitby

A Lynde Creek mill village that kept its centre

Brooklin was settled in the 1820s and grew after 1840, when John and Robert Campbell built a flour mill on Lynde Creek. The mill building standing today dates to 1848, after lightning burned the first one. The village was first called Winchester and was renamed Brooklin in 1847.

That history is still visible. In 2008 Whitby designated downtown Brooklin a Heritage Conservation District under the Ontario Heritage Act, so the old commercial strip keeps its scale while growth happens around it. For townhouse buyers, the core is the main street you'll walk to rather than where you'll live.

Brooklin's freehold townhouse rows and what they share

Brooklin's population has grown quickly since the early 1990s, with thousands of homes added in subdivisions around the village. Townhouses in those subdivisions are mostly freehold rows on public streets, and new launches such as Madison Group's Brooklin Towns have continued that pattern.

A freehold town still shares a lot with its neighbours, and that's where older Brooklin rows need attention:

• The roof. Rows often share one continuous roof plane. Replacing only your section can leave mismatched shingles and tricky joins; ask whether neighbours have redone theirs and when.
• Party walls. Check for sound transmission and any cracks at the shared walls, especially in end units next to a garage.
• Fences and grading. Backyard fences and drainage between narrow lots are shared responsibilities that can cause disputes.
• Easements. Interior units sometimes have access easements across neighbouring yards for maintenance. Your lawyer will find them on title.

The 407 on Brooklin's doorstep

Highway 407 runs just south of Brooklin along a hydro corridor and opened here in 2016. Highway 12 ends at the 407 interchange just south of the village, which makes the trip onto the highway quick from most Brooklin streets. The 407 is a toll road, so daily use adds up.

To avoid tolls, Brooklin drivers can use the 412 down Whitby's west side, which links the 407 corridor to the 401 for free. There's no GO station in Brooklin; the nearest is Whitby GO south of the 401, a cross-town drive that most daily rail commuters here make every morning.

Brooklin or south Whitby?

Buyers who choose Brooklin usually want newer freehold rows, a small-town main street, and Luther Vipond Arena and the local parks nearby. Brooklin sits in the Lynde Creek watershed, and the creek and its valleys shape where trails and green space run.

What you give up is proximity to the GO and the lake. The town has also moved to expand Brooklin's boundaries for future growth, so expect construction on the northern edges to continue. If you value finished streets, look in the established phases; if you want the newest product, the edges are where it is.

Within Brooklin, location matters more than it first appears. The subdivisions closest to the village core let you walk to the main street, the library and the arena; later phases further out are newer but more dependent on the car, and they're further from the 407 interchange at Highway 12 if you're on the far north edge. Drive both at rush hour before choosing.