PLACES TO GROW
Markham development takes on the World
February 20, 2010
Tracy Hanes
TORONTO STAR
There's a certain pride in Marco Filice's voice as he describes Liberty Developments' new condo project in Markham as the "poster child" for the province's Places to Grow strategy.
World on Yonge will rise on a four-hectare site in Markham on the east side of Yonge St. and Meadowview Ave. that currently is home to a 40-year-old strip mall. The master-planned development will replace the lowrise plaza with four residential towers housing 1,200 condo suites, a 20-storey office building and boutique hotel, and three storeys of retail stores.
The sea of asphalt that covers 100 per cent of the site will be dramatically reduced; about 60 per cent will become landscaped space as most of the parking will go underground and a park will be added on Meadowview Ave.
A courtyard will be the focal point of the development and the buildings will boast multiple green roofs.
World on Yonge will bring a decidedly urban vibe to the older suburban neighbourhood and according to RealNet statistics, is the top-selling condo highrise site in the GTA. Since last fall's partial release of Phase 1 residential suites, 443 of 477 sold by Dec. 31.
Phase 1's two slim 31-storey condo towers will be the first residential offerings, facing Yonge St. and linked by a podium. The sales office is in a corner of the parking lot where a Wendy's restaurant formerly stood.
More than 90 per cent of Shops on Yonge, the retail indoor three-level mall and more than 70 per cent of Office on Yonge, a 21-storey office building, have been sold or leased. Recently launched World Shops, a two-level office/retail at the base of the 31-storey residential offers Yonge St. frontage for lease or sale.
The time is right for a project of this scale and scope, according to Filice, vice-president for Liberty Developments. Growth has been pushing relentlessly north along Yonge and Yonge/Sheppard, just south of World on Yonge, is designated as a major regional transit node.
Markham has been far ahead of the Places to Grow curve, curbing sprawl and promoting pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use development connected to transit since the early 1990s. The town is currently considering three alternatives for future growth, ranging from 52 per cent to 60 per cent to 100 per cent high-density to accommodate 150,000 new residents through 2031. Most of the intensification will unfold along Yonge St. and Highway 7.
"The advantages of this particular location are that we are able to take advantage of established infrastructure," says Filice. "It achieves many of the Places to Grow principles, with multiple uses on one site. It provides access to vehicular and public transportation and it's part of an established community."
The provincial Places to Grow legislation calls for intensification within current urban areas, provision of land for employment and intensification along corridors based on transit. By 2015, at least 40 per cent of new residential development must occur within existing urban areas.
Planning for World On Yonge began about five years ago, says Filice, and while "it really helps that the stars were in alignment with this site" as far as planning policies go, "it just doesn't satisfy municipal or provincial goals, it makes good business sense. It can accommodate someone who can use transit as opposed to an automobile. At the end of the day, people need a place to live and it provides a balance with residential, office, retail."
The area is served by York Region Transit's Viva bus system and the Yonge subway is slated to extend north; Highways 401 and 407 are minutes away. Filice says the development can succeed with Viva transit alone but "the subway would be an added bonus.
"And the beauty of this development is that it is approved and zoned. We had an excellent working relationship with municipal and regional governments and the stakeholders. And we enlisted a lot of consultation with the neighbourhood," says Filice.
"It's a very interesting project and the town did support it," says Jim Baird, commissioner of development services for Markham.
The three-storey Shops on Yonge and World on Yonge office building (with retail shops on the ground floor) will provide half a million square feet of non-residential space, while the condos will contribute 1 million square feet of residences. Filice says response so far has been "overwhelming" with some would-be retail/commercial space buyers camping out before sales opened.
"I think the purchasers realize there is a true opportunity to be part of mixed-use development on the busiest part of Yonge St. and have access to 1,200 condos," says Filice. "There is a huge opportunity here to live, work and have great access to local shops."
"For some people, mixed use was kind of a foreign concept," says Shawn Richardson, sales and marketing manager for Liberty Developments. "It is office or retail or residential? That was part of our challenge in really getting the message out. If someone is interested in retail or office space, it has a broad spectrum: `I want to open a business here, and I can walk across the bridge and end up in my condo.' It has broad appeal to anybody."
The first two residential condo buildings, designed by Kirkor Architects & Planners, will not be "your domino cookie-cutter buildings, they are tilted a little and designed intentionally to maximize views and light," says Filice.
Suites will have wraparound balconies and nine-foot ceilings and the two-storey lobby will be flanked by retail shops and services.
The buildings will be constructed to the equivalent of LEED Silver standard and the condos will be linked by a podium.
"For a development like this offering open space, green roofs, a park, reduced parking and an opportunity to take transit, the environmental savings are hard to quantify," says Filice. "But it has a holistic community approach, uses a lot of environmental planning principles and it's spacious, with places for people to walk through. We are trying to make it best it can be to make it the best it can be for stakeholders."
"There has been a lot of paradigm shift in planning and people are embracing and appreciating this," adds Filice "There is a positive response to what we've done. We are trying to make it a site for generations to come. At the end of the day, it saves land somewhere else from development."
Toronto Star