Heron Gate

Welcome to Heron Gate, a diverse residential area centred around the Herongate Mall.

Heron Gate is one of the most densely populated neighbourhoods in the city, featuring plenty of parks, schools, a shopping mall, and a very diverse population! Learn more about the community on their website: https://herongatecommunity.com/

  • Heron Gate is a modern community with big plans for the future. The community board intends to, over the next few years, lean into the diversity of the community while creating a sustainable urban design. The vision statement for the community is that “Heron Gate is a complete, vibrant, diverse, and sustainable community that enhances the quality of life for residents, visitors, and neighbours, while harmonizing with surrounding communities.”

  • Heron Gate has a population of nearly 10,000. It is linguistically and racially diverse - a recent census shows the neighbourhood speaks 13% French, 12% Arabic, 11% Somali, 4% Nepali, and 2% Spanish, Creole, and Persian. 32% of the community is Black, 15% is Arab, and other races include 7% South Asian, 3% Filipino, and 2% Latin American, Indigenous, and Chinese.

  • There is a great number of schools in the Heron Gate neighbourhood and surrounding area.

    List of schools in the Heron Gate area:

    • Alta Vista Public School

    • St. Gemma School

    • Pleasant Park Public School

    • Featherston Drive Public School

    • Marie-Curie Public Elementary School

    • St. Patrick’s High School

    • Ridgemont High School

    • Charles H. Pulse Public School

    • Marius-Barbeau Catholic Elementary School

    • Clifford Bowey Public School

  • Heron Gate is a community-forward neighbourhood with plenty of social services and community hubs.

    A full list of Heron Gate (and nearby) Community Centres and Community Enrichment Programs:

    • Heron Road Community Centre at 1480 Heron Road

    • Heron Emergency Food Centre at 1480 Heron Road

    • EarlyON Community House at 1485 Heatherington Road

    • Heron Gate Early Learning Centre at 1620 Heatherington Road

    • Banff Avenue Community House at 2084 Banff Avenue

    • Albion Heatherington Recreation Centre at 1560 Heatherington Road

    • Somali Centre for Family Services at 1719 Bank Street

    • Fairlea Park Housing Co-op at 3019 Fairlea Crescent

  • Heron Gate is a super pet friendly area, with lots of open parks for dogs to run around, and plenty of pet stores and vets.

    Pet Stores

    PetSmart

    • 1600 Heron Road

    Pet Valu

    • 2641 Alta Vista Drive

    Pet Valu

    • 2515 Bank Street

    Vets

    Walkley Animal Hospital

    • 2679 Alta Vista Drive

    Dog-Friendly Parks

    • Heatherington Park

  • Heron Gate is a fairly kid-friendly area, with lots of community centres, daycare options, and local parks.

    Heron Gate has a fairly poor rating in terms of crime, so children should be monitored on their outings.

  • The main shopping option in Heron Gate is the Heron Gate Shopping Centre, featuring plenty of big box stores. Nearby is also the Alta Vista Plaza, Walkley Centre, and Southgate Shopping Centre.

  • Heron Gate has a great variety of chain and locally-owned grocery stores. Below is a non-exhaustive list of nearby options:

    • Food Basics at 1670 Heron Road

    • Geeland International Grocery Store at 1620 Walkley

    • Solfarmers at 2413 Holly Lane

    • Alta Juba Supermarket at 2925 Albion Road North

    • Wilson’s Independent Grocer at 2681 Alta Vista

    • New Middle East Market at 1755 Bank St

    • Loblaws at 2210 Bank St

    • Mangosteen Grocery at 1742 Bank Street

    • Ameer Grocery and Meat Shop at 1800 Bank Street

    • Alsafeer Mart at 1656 Bank Street

    • Polka Delicatessen at 1574 Walkley Road

    • Savannah Afro Caribbean Products at 1838 Bank Street

    • Al-Oumara Meat Shop and Grill at 25 Tapiola Crescent

  • Heron Gate is not particularly known for its nightlife, but it does feature a few pub/grill-type spots for evenings out, like Local Tavern at 1432 Walkley.

    For the true night-out experience, Heron Gate residents can head into The Glebe for all that Bank and Elgin have to offer, or travel to downtown.

  • Heron Gate is not a hot dining spot - but it does feature some dine-in restaurants and plenty of take-out options. For more, visit closer to the downtown area.

    Options in the area include:

    • Thai Express

    • Mermaid’s Seafood

    • Aitara Thai

    • Saytoun Pizza

    • Samar Kabab

    • Subtown

    • Little Caesars

    • Local Tavern

    • Chester’s Country Fried Chicken

    • House of Pizza

    • Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen

    • Dairy Queen

    • McDonald’s

    • Tim Hortons

    • Subway

  • Heron Gate features primarily single-family detached homes, semi-attached homes, and townhouses. More than 3/4 of the residents in the area own their homes.

  • The Heron Gate area is close to a ton of local parks:

    • Sandalwood Park

    • Heron-Walkley Park

    • Heatherington Park

    • Buchanan Island

    • Clifford J. Allen Park

    • Linton Park

    • Orlando Park

    • Alta Vista Park

    • Edgehill park

    • Heron Park

    • Reeves Park

    • Firefly Park

    • Winterwood Park