Second_in_pie
Senior Member
I was looking at the Downtown Markham website and saw some of it's plans, and I am impressed (I have been since the Motorola building popped up years ago.) However, I have a couple of questions that can't seem to be answered by the website, wikipedia or a quick search on google. I then saw that there wasn't a downtown markham thread in this section, but if I'm somehow mistaken or am in the wrong section, the mods may feel free to exercise their power 
First of all is what's actually "downtown." Now I know that "Downtown Markham" is enclosed by Warden, Highway 7, Kennedy, and the 407. Actually, after reading the website, apparently it's enclosed by the Rouge in the north. However, there's a lot of development that's going on outside, and tonnes (tonnes!) of room for more development. I was also under the impression that the land between the rouge river and Highway 7 (it's currently farmfield) was part of the downtown plan as well. Is the general area around "downtown" also part of some sort of urban growth plan that is going to develop as a whole?
Second question, which is related a bit to the first. I was looking at the wikipedia page and saw that they were expecting a fair number more jobs than residents downtown. This would be because "Downtown" is supposed to be more of a business zone and area where people would converge upon, whereas the surrounding areas would be more focused residential development, correct?
Third question, which is probably the hardest to answer. I'm looking at the website, and it looks like the whole thing is going to be very, very grand. Now I know that that's the new style of selling big real-estate, but I'm not sure exactly how posh it's supposed to be. I know that a fair number of the condos in the area are *AHEM* rather expensive, and it would be a disappointment to see it turn into another downtown, where pretty much only rich singles live in condos. I know a lot of people that are intimidated by Main St. Unionville due to it's ritziness, and it seems like downtown markham will only be more glamorous and expensive. I'm also concerned that all the "downtown" development will affect surrounding areas, mainly Main St. Unionville.
Fourth, and probably easiest to answer question, when is the whole thing supposed to be completed? Things are springing up in the area rather quickly, but can't make out any huge squares or grand promenades quite yet.
If anyone could provide any insight into those questions/issues, it would be greatly appreciated
First of all is what's actually "downtown." Now I know that "Downtown Markham" is enclosed by Warden, Highway 7, Kennedy, and the 407. Actually, after reading the website, apparently it's enclosed by the Rouge in the north. However, there's a lot of development that's going on outside, and tonnes (tonnes!) of room for more development. I was also under the impression that the land between the rouge river and Highway 7 (it's currently farmfield) was part of the downtown plan as well. Is the general area around "downtown" also part of some sort of urban growth plan that is going to develop as a whole?
Second question, which is related a bit to the first. I was looking at the wikipedia page and saw that they were expecting a fair number more jobs than residents downtown. This would be because "Downtown" is supposed to be more of a business zone and area where people would converge upon, whereas the surrounding areas would be more focused residential development, correct?
Third question, which is probably the hardest to answer. I'm looking at the website, and it looks like the whole thing is going to be very, very grand. Now I know that that's the new style of selling big real-estate, but I'm not sure exactly how posh it's supposed to be. I know that a fair number of the condos in the area are *AHEM* rather expensive, and it would be a disappointment to see it turn into another downtown, where pretty much only rich singles live in condos. I know a lot of people that are intimidated by Main St. Unionville due to it's ritziness, and it seems like downtown markham will only be more glamorous and expensive. I'm also concerned that all the "downtown" development will affect surrounding areas, mainly Main St. Unionville.
Fourth, and probably easiest to answer question, when is the whole thing supposed to be completed? Things are springing up in the area rather quickly, but can't make out any huge squares or grand promenades quite yet.
If anyone could provide any insight into those questions/issues, it would be greatly appreciated
