Hills of St. Andrew: What You’re Really Buying in One of Aurora’s Large-Lot Neighbourhoods
In Aurora’s established low-density pockets, “stable” does not mean frozen. Here is what the planning framework actually protects — and what money can never put back.
In an established large-lot Aurora pocket like Hills of St. Andrew, are you buying a neighbourhood that is frozen in place, or one the plan expects to evolve?
You are buying a street and a piece of land that are genuinely hard to reproduce — plus a set of rules that protect compatibility, not stasis. Aurora’s established low-density areas are governed by the Official Plan’s Stable Neighbourhoods designation, which — in writing — permits these areas “to evolve and be enhanced over time to accommodate gentle forms of intensification,” including Additional Dwelling Units. What it protects is streetscape character and compatibility, with particular attention to the frontage and size of any new lots created. Important caveat: the plan does not name individual neighbourhoods, so confirm a specific address against Schedule ‘B’ and the zoning by-law before assuming which rules apply.
Source: Town of Aurora Official Plan, s.7.5.1.1 and s.2(e) (By-law 6579-24, OLT approved 2026-04-09); TRREB Market Watch (Aurora, August 2026).
I’m Arthur Zhao, a full-time broker in the GTA for 12 years. A few weeks ago I stood at the end of a long private driveway in one of Aurora’s older large-lot pockets with a buyer who had just fallen for the property — mature trees on three sides, a house set far back from a quiet street, the kind of privacy you cannot manufacture. “Nothing here will ever change,” she said, and she meant it as the reason to pay the premium. I had to gently take that apart. The land and the street in front of us really are hard to reproduce. But “nothing will change” is not what the Town’s planning rules actually say — and the gap between what buyers assume a stable neighbourhood is and what the current plan puts in writing is exactly where a large-lot purchase gets mispriced.
“Stable” does not mean frozen
Here is the sentence that surprises buyers. According to the Town of Aurora Official Plan (s.7.5.1.1), areas designated Stable Neighbourhoods “are protected from incompatible forms of development. At the same time, these areas are permitted to evolve and be enhanced over time to accommodate gentle forms of intensification” — including additional dwelling units. The plan goes further: “Additional dwelling units shall also be promoted and encouraged.” New single-detached, semi-detached and street-townhouse dwellings are permitted uses; on the edges of these areas, along Collector and Arterial roads, even duplexes, triplexes and fourplexes are contemplated through a site-specific rezoning. Heights are capped — a maximum of 3 storeys for new development in the interior, up to 4 on those edges. So the framework is not “nothing changes.” It is “change, but on the neighbourhood’s terms.”
ℹ️These are the Town-wide Stable Neighbourhoods policies. The Official Plan does not name individual neighbourhoods, so whether a given address actually carries that designation must be confirmed on Schedule ‘B’ and in the zoning by-law — do not assume it from the neighbourhood name.
The assumption versus the written rule
Your big lot cuts both ways
This is where a large lot stops being a simple asset and becomes a question. The Official Plan is explicit about the test any new lot faces: “the frontage and size of any new lots to be created, shall maintain the character of the existing streetscape” and be compatible with the surrounding neighbourhood. Read that from a buyer’s chair and it cuts both ways. A big lot gives you privacy, room, and — potentially — the option to sever or add a unit down the road. But that same lot is exactly what the compatibility test scrutinises: could it actually be severed, and if it were, would the resulting lots still belong on that street? Two buyers can stand on the identical lot and price it completely differently — one keeping it whole, one underwriting a severance that may or may not clear the test. If you are paying for severance potential, verify it with the Town and the Committee of Adjustment first. Potential you have not confirmed is not worth paying for.
💡 My personal judgement, after twelve years of walking buyers through pockets like this: buy the street and the land first, and treat the house as the negotiable part. The geometry of the lot, the privacy, the established canopy and the street itself are the things money cannot put back. A dated kitchen is the thing money is for.
Start with the street
Read the land, not the layout
Leave the finishes for last
Why any “neighbourhood average” you see is suspect
One more piece of honesty, because it matters most in exactly this segment. There is no first-party, neighbourhood-level price series for a pocket like this — TRREB reports at the municipality level only. According to TRREB (August 2026), across all of Aurora, not this neighbourhood, detached homes recorded 25 sales at an average of $1,467,448 and a median of $1,390,000; across all home types there were 49 sales, selling at 97.0% of list price in an average of 42 days, with roughly 4.9 months of inventory. Those figures blend the entire town — condos to estate homes — so they describe Aurora, not a street within it. Anyone quoting you a “Hills of St. Andrew average” is quoting an aggregator’s small sample, and a thin luxury submarket is exactly where averages mislead most: three unusual sales can swing the number by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Value the specific street and lot, never an average.
⚠️Do not buy or price off a neighbourhood “average” pulled from an aggregator. In a thin luxury submarket a handful of sales can distort any average — a proper comparative analysis of the specific street and lot beats it every time.
Before you write an offer, confirm the rules for the actual address
Everything above is the framework, not a ruling on any specific address — and that distinction is the practical takeaway. The Official Plan does not name individual neighbourhoods anywhere in its text (a full-text search for “St. Andrew” returns nothing), so “this street is designated Stable Neighbourhoods” is something you confirm, not assume. Before you write an offer, check the actual address against Schedule ‘B’ for its land-use designation, read the zoning by-law for what it permits on that parcel, and look for any heritage listing, tree-protection or conservation constraint that sits on top of the base rules. The gap between “what buyers assume the rules are” and “what the rules say for this lot” is where large-lot purchases get mispriced — closing it is cheap diligence.
📘Complete GuideThe Aurora Home-Buying Guide →
Why Bayview Northeast Fell Faster Than Aurora — and What That Tells You Before You Buy →Aurora Heights: What the ‘Stable Neighbourhood’ Label Really Buys You →New vs. Mature in Aurora: Why the Newest Home Isn’t Automatically the One That Holds Its Value →Ontario Home Buying Guide →
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Hills of St. Andrew a protected neighbourhood that can’t be changed?
Not in the way most buyers assume. Aurora’s established low-density areas are governed by the Official Plan’s Stable Neighbourhoods designation, which the plan says are “permitted to evolve and be enhanced over time to accommodate gentle forms of intensification.” According to the Town of Aurora Official Plan (s.7.5.1.1), what is protected is compatibility with the surrounding context and the character of the existing streetscape — not the neighbourhood frozen exactly as it is today. The plan does not name individual neighbourhoods, so confirm whether a specific address carries that designation on Schedule ‘B’.
Can I sever a large Aurora lot and build a second house?
Sometimes — but it is not automatic, and it is the single most important thing to verify before paying for “severance potential.” The Official Plan directs that “the frontage and size of any new lots to be created, shall maintain the character of the existing streetscape.” In practice a severance has to clear a compatibility test, and whether your specific lot passes depends on its frontage, the surrounding lot pattern, the zoning by-law and the Committee of Adjustment. Confirm feasibility with the Town before you assume it, not after you close.
How much do homes in Hills of St. Andrew sell for?
There is no first-party price series for the neighbourhood itself — TRREB reports at the municipality level only. According to TRREB (August 2026), across all of Aurora (not this neighbourhood), detached homes recorded 25 sales at an average of $1,467,448 and a median of $1,390,000. That figure blends the entire town’s housing stock, so it is not a neighbourhood number. Any “Hills of St. Andrew average” you see online is an aggregator’s small sample, and in a thin luxury submarket a few sales can move an average by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Value the specific street and lot, not an average.
Can I add a garden suite or basement apartment (an additional dwelling unit)?
The policy direction is favourable. According to the Town of Aurora Official Plan, “Additional dwelling units shall also be promoted and encouraged within Stable Neighbourhoods,” and Additional Dwelling Units are a permitted use. That is policy support, not automatic approval — the implementing zoning by-law sets the specific size, setback and parking rules, and a large lot with room to place a unit well is very different from a constrained one. Check the by-law for the actual address.
What should I check before buying a large older luxury lot here?
Start outside the house, not inside it. Confirm the street reads as one coherent thing, then read the land — frontage, grade, privacy and the tree canopy, all of which are hard or impossible to reproduce. Only then weigh the interior, which is the part money can fix. On paper, confirm the address against Schedule ‘B’ and the zoning by-law, check for any heritage or tree-protection constraints, and — if you are paying for a future severance or an additional dwelling unit — verify feasibility with the Town before you commit.
Arthur Zhao
Real Estate Broker · FRI · ABR · SRS · PSA · MCNE · E-PRO · CLHMS & GUILD Elite · REAIS
VP & Branch Manager, Bay Street Group Inc.
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