59-storey tower tops long list of red flags raised over Markham highrise condo development

Neighbourhood ‘cannot accept’ tower heights, nearly 2,000 vehicles and ‘pathetic’ public park space being proposed

Yorkregion.com
November 16, 2020
Heidi Riedner

Tower heights soaring to 59 storeys and increased traffic volume from nearly 2,000 vehicles are among a long list of red flags raised over a proposed highrise development slated for Royal Orchard Boulevard in Thornhill.

Greencapital Limited Partnership is seeking to rezone a roughly four-acre site on the north side of Royal Orchard Boulevard between Yonge Street and Inverlochy Boulevard to build four residential towers pegged at 25, 31, 39 and 59 storeys. Two four-storey podium buildings housing retail, service and office spaces are also part of the plan.

Conceptual floor plans submitted with the application also propose an integrated future subway entrance in the event that the Yonge North Subway Extension approves a Royal Orchard Station.

“I can say with confidence that the residents of the Royal Orchard neighbourhood would like a subway station at Royal Orchard and Yonge; that they accept for that to occur there will be some redevelopment and intensification there; and that they equally accept that even if Royal Orchard is not selected for a subway station, that intensification is occurring and will continue to occur along both sides of Yonge Street from Steeles to Langstaff Road in Richmond Hill,” said Thornhill Coun. Keith Irish regarding a preliminary report on the application tabled at the development services meeting Nov. 9.

“However, what they cannot accept is what is currently being proposed here,” he added.

Voicing his displeasure over the fact no changes have been made to the original plan submitted over a year ago, despite his own and public feedback at the time, Irish reiterated his outstanding concerns over the project.

That includes proposed building heights that are “incompatible” with the adjacent neighbourhood.

“Just imagine a 59-storey tower at the top of a hill … And it’s positioned between two existing buildings that are 15 and 13 storeys respectively.”

While existing municipal services are inadequate to accommodate the development and will require significant upgrades, that isn’t even being addressed by the applicant, he added.

Irish also raised the issue of nearly 2,000 vehicles from the units in the residential towers that will put “enormous pressure” on Royal Orchard Boulevard, which is “already plagued with volume.”

He also called the proposed .35-acre public park “not only inadequate; it’s pathetic.”

Irish’s message was “loud and clear” that a lot of work still needs to be done on the proposal, deputy mayor Don Hamilton said.

Regardless of whether there will be a subway stop or not, the development will impact existing and future services, transportation network, municipal servicing and “all the other bits and pieces” that the city has to take into account, added Hamilton.

City planning staff agreed a more comprehensive analysis of the site and surrounding area is required to determine an appropriate level of intensification, including both pre and post subway scenarios to assess impacts to community services, recreation facilities and municipal infrastructure.

According to regional staff, proceeding with the proposed heights and densities would be “premature” until the timing of the Yonge North Subway Extension and a possible Royal Orchard Station has been confirmed.

But whether there is a subway stop or not, the city’s commissioner of development services, Arvin Presad, said there is going to be “significant” development along Yonge Street on both the Markham and Vaughan sides of the border that, if done right, capitalizes not only on transportation infrastructure, but also transit specifically.

A secondary plan for the Yonge Street corridor is also “in the works,” which would also help answer some of the key issues raised, Presad added. In the meantime, the report on the Thornhill highrise development was referred to the Thornhill subcommittee for further review.

While the corridor may be pegged for development, Irish said that should not override legitimate concerns of residents who already live in the area.