'Different approach': Developer of new Newmarket community pitches vision

Developer of Shining Hill subdivision coming to southwest corner of Newmarket hosts town hall, presents ideas for mix of housing, shopping, central area, net-zero emissions

Newmarkettoday.ca
June 22, 2023
Joseph Quigley

Shining Hill developers shared with residents their vision for Newmarket’s new community that includes everything from shopping plazas and highrises to using geothermal and solar energy.

As part of the town's planning process, Shining Hill Collection Estates Inc. held a town hall last night, June 20, to highlight their plan to create a complete community that could include retail space for basic needs, parks and a variety of different housing styles, including detached dwellings and apartments. The secondary plan will iron out those details based on community feedback.

Project manager John Livey said the developers have "no agenda" and are interested in community feedback to help guide what the community becomes.

“We’re truly interested in having success by having a lot of people provide us with input and us understanding what the opportunity might be,” Livey said.

The community is being built on the formerly protected environmental lands in the southwest corner of town. Council decided in January 2022 to give zoning approval to the development in exchange for a variety of concessions, including 80 acres of donated land on the property and a new tennis facility.

Details on the project have yet to be confirmed as it undergoes the mandated secondary plan process. The developer expects that process to carry on through the rest of the year, with a draft plan ready in the fall and then approval to come sometime after that.

The meeting offered residents the chance to provide input into the initiative and share ideas about what they would like to see in the new community.

The developers offered possibilities that include different housing types, natural park areas, stores and restaurants at a potential central community area, transit connections and more. As part of the agreement with the Town of Newmarket, there will also be a leading-edge “village” of houses adhering to the highest environmental standards.

Those high standards could become a bigger part of the project. The developer is floating the possibility of using geothermal and solar energy in the development.

Sustainability consultant Michael Lio, president of the BuildABILITY Corporation, said this could be an opportunity to do something different, like creating a net-zero emission community.

“Breaking away from building code minimums is the first step,” he said. “There’s a suite of technologies that are affordable that if we deploy, we can get off the fossil fuels.”

The challenge will be to get utility companies to support that, Lio said, doing something more innovative rather than something familiar.

“It's a different approach to poles, wires and transformers,” he said. “I think we can make it all happen.”

But not everyone is happy with the project, upset by the loss of the protected green space the development represents.

Resident Marilyn Dukart said she wanted to see the land stay protected, with it being farmland in parts. She said they need to be careful where the houses go.

“Leave the trees. Do not cut down the trees,” she said.

Resident Andrew Slonetsky said he is encouraged by some ideas proposed by Shining Hill. He said more urban development is important as opposed to “monster homes” for sustainability.

He said he hopes it has good community spaces and it could be a great role model for how to build a community in the future.

“It’s more urban, and I think it’s more respectful to the planet,” he said, adding it is vital to start building communities properly now. “It will cost so much more to fix it later.”

Livey said it will take several years to build, if not many years.

Ward 6 Councillor Kelly Broome said the ideas are still in the early stages, but it is positive the developer is being transparent with everything on the table.

She said the town will work to ensure residents are heard throughout the process.

“We'll be providing as many opportunities as possible to get the feedback,” Broome said, adding that with this new community, “this is not an opportunity you see every day.”

You can find more information and project team contacts through shininghillsecondaryplan.ca.