Residents have started to get used to the sudden growth of buildings being erected as part of the extended Markham Centre development plan.
This includes the Downtown Markham area which covers much that is south of the Rouge River and north of Highway 407, between Kennedy and Warden.
But if a new proposal from the owners of Markham Town Square — the plaza on the north-east corner of the Warden and Highway 7 that includes a No Frills grocery store and McDonald’s— is approved, the tall towers on the south side of Highway 7 will be replicated. This is part of what the city has dubbed the Uptown development area of Markham.
That Uptown area, north of downtown with meandering boundaries roughly measured by the Rouge River on the south, Apple Creek Blvd on the North, Rodick Rd. on the west, around Markham Town Square with a long east-west sliver of land south of Highway 7, is already seeing significant densification thanks to sprouting condo towers. But the Markham Town Square looks to create even more density.
Markham officials received an official application from Unionville Square Shopping Centres Ltd to redevelop the 16-acre property that would see the current assembly of commercial stores give way to up to 10 towers in 8 buildings. The tallest of these being 48, 40 and 30 stories in height would be closest to the Warden-Highway 7 intersection.
While the bulk of the proposed space would allow for residential condominium construction, significant retail/commercial space would also be included. This would especially be true for the “Phase 1” portion (outlined in red on the map) of the plan that would see the most southerly section along Highway 7 provide 1,666 residential units and 61,709 sq ft of retail space.
There are plenty of obstacles to overcome before the plan becomes a reality, including some zoning amendments that would be required from city council as well as a series of public meetings that would incorporate the considerations of residents.
Some of the plan also runs in opposition to some of the broader planning initiatives underway in Markham including the recently presented Uptown Demonstration Plan that would see radical change for the broader area.
The Uptown area plan will itself be a matter of considerable scrutiny over the next couple of years. The accumulation of public input for Markham Square has begun.
Where am I going to buy my groceries..where am I going to get my coffee if McDonald’s goes ..why more towers ..dont we have enough ..hey scarpitti is everything that has value to the public must be torn down to make condos ..scarpitti the worst mayor ever…sells green space for developers ..etc …I want a local shopping plaza in my area not another block of concrete for 1000 residents…
Money driven, zero consideration to the people around the area, especially to the houses adjacent to the palaza. With 40-story condos in their backyards, there will be no privacy and no sunlight. Those people will literally live under the shadow forever. Noise, dirt, inconvenience during the construction, and traffic jam, high living cost, and no privacy after the construction. The only one price-friendly grocery store to be demolished, no gas station, no good roads or transit system, no community centre, no library, and no school within 2km of this intersection.Why tear down what we have and introduce 10k to 50k more people to live this area?! The planned Markham downtown is by the Enterprise Blvd! There are no houses around, just industrial or vacant land. No need to demolish anything or ruin anyone’s life. There are still enough vacant land to build 50 more condos. Also, there is huge transit hub (Go Train), a decent mall (where Cineplex is), community centres (Pan Am Centre and YMCA), lots of roads including Hwy 407. Warden and Hwy 7 doesn’t have any of these. We want to see the city development around Enterprise Blvd where it is functional, meaningful, and makes sense, not at Warden and Hwy 7 where it needs to demolish what we have, cause more inconvenience, and invade people’s privacy and ruin their lifes. I hope everyone who gets affected by this proposal can stand up and speak up. Together we build a better Markham!
Bill, I don’t think you understand the problem.
You need to contact your MP to get the federal government to raise interest rates, lower immigration and allow “gentle density” like townhouses in your neighborhood.
This is needed because cheap credit, too much population growth, too much housing speculation and overly rigid zoning are causing this problem.
Comments like yours will have little to no effect on this development because it will just be appealed to the Ontario Land Tribunal which always rules in favour of developers. In other words, you’re wasting your breath.
If you want this issue truly addressed, you need to put your efforts toward changing the federal (and some municipal/provincial) policies that caused this problem in the first place. Otherwise, your comment is neither informed nor helpful.
Bill would you know where the sales agent office is for the new condos as I am very interested but I cant locate the sales office. If you know please let me know thank you. Also, would you know exactly when they plan on ripping down the mall because I cant wait to apply for a condo there?
I wonder if the new condos will allow pets as I have a dog. Does anybody know ? because I hope to buy a condo once they rip down the no frills etc.
Several residents have shared this article with me. Here is my response:
Deputy Mayor Hamilton is taking a lead role in liaising with residents of Ward 3 on this particular file. Unfortunately, on the advice of the Integrity Commissioner, I have declared a conflict of interest on all projects involving Smart Centres (the ultimate controlling manager of the No Frills plaza) due to my longstanding friendship with a senior employee of Smart Centres. I will not be discussing the proposal and will not be voting on it.
However I can share some facts:
Smart Centres, indeed any landowner, can propose anything they want on their property. The City is then legally required to process the application. But it is not legally required to approve it. That is the situation with the No Frills proposal. We have a proposal, but nothing is approved. We are many months, perhaps years, away from that.
Smart Centres proposal does include retail shops, including a supermarket.
With respect to the Markham Centre Secondary Plan, the plan area does actually include the site of the No Frills mall. This area was added because the other three corners of the Warden and Hwy 7 intersection were always part of Markham Centre. If we did not put some stronger planning controls in place (ie the secondary plan) we would have very few tools to manage what Smart Centres might get approved if they were to appeal a city decision to the Ontario Land Tribunal. And it is almost a certainty that they will appeal. Most large developments are appealed. Our best defence at the OLT is a good plan.
For more information on the secondary plan, please visit yourvoicemarkham.ca. It is still a work in progress but should be substantially complete in early 2023. But there will be more opportunities for public input into the plan before then. (There have already been several.) The Smart Centres proposal will be considered in light of what the draft secondary plant has to say about the site.
There has already been one community information meeting on the No Frills proposal. There will be at least one more for phase 1 of the proposal, that is the Statutory Public Meeting. And you can always let any and all councillors know how you feel by mail, email or phone.
I hope this helps. If you have any other concerns or questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me or to Deputy Mayor Hamilton at [email protected] or [email protected], respectively.
Reid McAlpine
Councillor
Ward 3 Unionville
Shocked to learn that Markham Town Square (shopping plaza including NoFrills and MacDonald at Warden and Hwy 7) has been proposed to reconvert into 10 condo towers up to 48 story height. Where can we buy our groceries and get our MacDonald coffee at this major cross section? Additionally, I thought there is a bylaw restricting the max. number of building story height to 8 for skyline reasons.
p.s. Please share if you have concerns with the above plaza development. According to the City of Markham website, Markham Town Square is Ward 3 and our councillor is Mr. Reid McAphine. His email address is . Ref. https://www.markham.ca/wps/portal/home/about/city-hall/regional-ward-councillors/02-regional-ward-councillors
Well, now I know that the Town of Markham is officially gone/going. This was a beautiful place to live and enjoy. It was not just another residential place to live. It had style, class and people who enjoyed living together.
Now its another New York, New Delhi, Chicago, etc. I guess that is what we call “progress”. I am saddened by this change. I guess moving out/away is my next choice.