Shoppes on Steeles: The End of an Era?

[Skarbro]

Looks like AA Thursdays could be looking for a new venue as early as 2010 if this happens. Personally, I think the proposal is insane - putting that many residents at an already over-busy intersection.

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/3641/shoppesonsteelesgb7.jpg

[MPS]

thats old new
Timmys alredy sold there shop

[Skarbro]

thats old new
Timmys alredy sold there shop
Well that article just came out today.

[Tokic_o]

Markham is really trying their best to invest in growth of the community. They're building all these condos and townhouses on hwy7 near warden causing the area to become overpopulated =/

[MPS]

okay sorry but it was old news for me
i live there and shop there evry day so i got the news way before

[SP33D 3]

yea i was told by a friend who works at food basics, and he found out about it a few months back... i think it was in the local paper in that area too awhile ago... the owner of the convinence store beside timmies is staying though, he said he's just relocating to a different part in the plaza

[S.F.W.]

I just can't see tow council approving this idea. The infrastructure does not exist in the area to support such a large development. As well, esthetically it is a major departure.

[Skarbro]

It would be interesting to see what new stores they will get, but the amount of residential units they are proposing is crazy. I wonder how that will affect surrounding property values?

[Cardinal Fang]

The suburbs are struggling with growth. At the current rate it's unsustainable because of the infrastructure cost associated with them. Position paper after position paper has been telling the towns outside of Toronto to plan for more responsible growth. This includes transit lines in areas of greater density. The current model of planning transit lines through subdivisions where you have one home on a 50' lot is expensive. The amount of people that use it is not high enough to justify the cost of the bus. Compare that with the cost of running a bus through an area with higher density and you can begin to understand the economics of it. The days of Towns allowing large lot developments may become a thing of the past if people were to understand the true infrastructure cost (sewers, gas, storm, water, telephone, cable, roads etc). Property taxes cannot keep pace with these costs associated with maintaining large lot subdivisions.

With respect to the development being proposed here I don't object to it necessarily. I'm concerned with the scale of the buildings however with some clever manipulation of heights the effects on the surroundings could be minimized. Steeles Ave is a transit line. The TTC is projecting additional buses through this area as a response. Slowly but slowly you will see Steeles Ave become more and more a commercial zone. Developers will buy up the houses rezone and rezone the sites.

[TheProfessor]

If anyone wants to the city document that outlines how it will change, follow the following link:

http://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2008/ny/bgrd/backgroundfile-10157.pdf

[S.F.W.]

I would be really interested to read the report on transit implications, as well as the environmental report and implications.
The background file is really interesting.

[bhrm]

I just can't see tow council approving this idea. The infrastructure does not exist in the area to support such a large development. As well, esthetically it is a major departure.

agree.

Its very tough to build tall buildings and structures in Markham. I believe there's a longer process and a bylaw against skyscrapers.

[Cardinal Fang]

The Building range in height from 10 to 32 storeys. The tallest towers are on the corner at 32 and 30 storeys. Hardly a "skyscraper" by any definition.

The bigger issue for Markham is getting the proper staff in their Building Departments to handle the approval process for high density residential developments. The fire safety measures are a little more sophisticated and require more work on the City's part to understand exactly what is being proposed by the consultants. You have to understand that until recently their planning staff only approved single family housing developments.

Our office has spent an inordinate amount of time having to walk the Building Department through proposals with our Code Consultants for simple Mid Rise Buildings. In fairness, Markham is on a steep learning curve at the moment.