Centennial

Centennial covers the north-west quarter of established Oshawa: Rossland Road West on the south, Taunton Road West on the north, Simcoe Street North on the east and Stevenson Road North on the west, with the main branch of the Oshawa Creek cutting a wooded valley through its eastern half. Nonquon Road and Beatrice Street West are the local connectors between the arterials. Some maps push the western edge out to Thornton Road North, taking in streets that other guides call Northglen, so treat that line as approximate.

The first phases went in during the late 1960s and 1970s close to Rossland Road West and Simcoe Street North: brick bungalows, raised bungalows, side-splits and back-splits on lots that commonly run 50 to 60 feet wide, with single garages or carports and deep back yards. Two-storey houses with attached double garages took over through the 1980s as building moved north toward Taunton Road West and west toward Stevenson Road North, and the streets closest to Taunton carry 1990s and early 2000s builder homes on tighter lots. Along Rossland and beside Simcoe there are 1970s and 1980s condominium townhouse rows and a few low-rise apartment condos, and the Taunton Road West frontage is where the newest stacked townhouse and mid-rise proposals concentrate. Streets bordering Cedar Valley Park and the Oshawa Creek back onto ravine, which brings both the best lots and Central Lake Ontario Conservation Authority permit rules. Many original houses have been renovated or expanded, so condition varies street by street.

Centennial sits inside a triangle of PULSE bus corridors: the 901 Simcoe line on the east edge links the downtown terminal and the university campus, with connections to Oshawa GO, the 916 along Rossland Road runs west to Whitby and Pickering, and the 915 on Taunton Road reaches Ajax GO. Local Durham Region Transit routes on Stevenson Road North and Nonquon Road feed those lines and the Oshawa Centre terminal. By car, Highway 401 is reached at Stevenson Road South or Simcoe Street in roughly ten to fifteen minutes depending on the hour, and Highway 407 is a short run north on Simcoe Street to its interchange above Conlin Road. Oshawa GO on Bloor Street West is about a fifteen-minute drive. The Joseph Kolodzie bike path along the Oshawa Creek passes through the valley, giving cyclists an off-road route south to the waterfront and north toward the campus.

Durham District School Board elementary schools reported to serve the community include Dr. C.F. Cannon, Coronation and Adelaide McLaughlin, and the public high school is R.S. McLaughlin Collegiate and Vocational Institute at 570 Stevenson Road North. Durham Catholic District School Board families are usually directed to St. Thomas Aquinas or Sir Albert Love for elementary and to Monsignor Paul Dwyer, the Catholic high school at 700 Stevenson Road North. French-language options are Viamonde's École Antonine-Maillet and MonAvenir's École Corpus-Christi elsewhere in Oshawa, with French immersion offered at selected public schools. Attendance areas are drawn by each board and change, so confirm the assigned school for any specific address before you buy. Ontario Tech University and Durham College are five minutes north on Simcoe Street, and their shuttle and bus links make the community popular with students.

Cedar Valley Park is the community's green spine, a wooded stretch of the Oshawa Creek with a paved section of the creek trail and footbridges, and neighbourhood parks with ball diamonds and playgrounds are spaced through the subdivisions. Camp Samac, the Scouts Canada property north of Taunton on Simcoe Street, reportedly opens its pool and trails to the public in summer. Errands are easy: grocery stores and plazas cluster at Simcoe and Rossland, at Simcoe and Taunton beside Five Points Mall, and along Taunton Road West toward Thornton Road where the big-box strip sits. The Oshawa Centre, the region's largest mall, is about ten minutes south on Stevenson Road, and the Northview branch of Oshawa Public Libraries with its community centre is just east across Simcoe on Beatrice Street. Lakeridge Health Oshawa and the Durham Regional Cancer Centre are a straight drive down Simcoe Street. The Oshawa Executive Airport lies just north-west of the community, so light aircraft pass overhead on some approaches.

Centennial suits buyers who want a lot with room for a garden, a pool or a second unit, and who would rather renovate a solid 1970s house than pay for a new subdivision far from everything. It works well for families with teenagers because both high schools are walkable from much of the community, and for anyone connected to the university or the hospital. It suits downsizers who need a bungalow and a bus at the corner. It will not suit buyers who want a brand-new house with modern finishes and no maintenance, or those bothered by aircraft noise, and streets facing Taunton, Rossland or Simcoe carry steady traffic.