var shape = {"title":"Bloor West Village","description":"Bloor West Village is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada that is bounded by Bloor Street West to the South, Ellis Park Road to the East, Jane Street to the West, and Annette Street to the North. The centrepiece of the community is the shopping district on Bloor Street that runs the length of the neighbourhood. It is located directly North of the Swansea Village neighbourhood. It is home to excellent shopping, with retailers such as Trixie's, Max's Market, Signature Shoes and New Balance, as well as world-class restaurants such as Villa, Bloom and Yumi Sushi. Additionally, the area is known for its coffee shops, as it is home to two Starbucks, two Timothy's, a Second Cup and a local coffee enterprise called the Coffee Tree.

Bloor West Village's first residents were largely Irish and Anglo-Saxon, followed eventually by immigrants of Eastern European origin.[1] The population was largely Ukrainian. These residents helped found the Bloor West Village Business Improvement Area, the first of its kind in Canada and an idea that would soon be copied in other neighbourhoods across the city and country.

Homes in this neighbourhood are generally two story brick houses, however renovations are becoming popular and many of the traditional homes are being torn down to create larger, more modern homes. The tree-lined streets in this area, which was annexed by the city of Toronto in 1909 make this a popular residential neighbourhood. Much of its development is owed to the creation of a streetcar line along Bloor Street, which the TTC later replaced by the Bloor-Danforth subway line, built in the 1960s with stations at Runnymede and Jane Streets.

Bloor West Village is the world's first business improvement area (BIA), established in 1970. It now consists of more than 400 shops, restaurants and services. The organization promotes business activity in the area by holding several annual events and festivals. It also puts efforts into the beautification of the area. Recently, housing prices in the area have jumped significantly, and have led to the area's middle-class decline towards a more upper middle- class establishment.

The Bloor West Village used to host a Ukrainian Festival, but in 2007 moved to downtown Toronto's Harbourfront Centre.

A great furor accompanied the arrival of a Chapters-Indigo bookstore in the late 1990s. Aside from discontent about the effect of a large bookstore undermining older local businesses, many residents were upset that the local historic movie theatre was going to be gutted to make room for the new store. However, the arrival of Chapters allowed restoration of the historical Runnymede Theatre. At the time Chapters was the only company willing to make the $5 million investment to restore the building.","tags":"","points":[[43.665699, -79.499259], [43.664736, -79.497371], [43.663836, -79.495826], [43.66278, -79.494667], [43.661849, -79.494495], [43.661011, -79.494152], [43.659955, -79.494367], [43.659552, -79.494195], [43.660328, -79.489174], [43.649243, -79.484625], [43.650982, -79.476128], [43.66694, -79.482737], [43.666133, -79.498529]],"author":"Thusenth"};
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