Markham Buttonville Airport Redevelopment | ?m | 1s | Cadillac Fairview | Glenn Piotrowski Architect

Come on !

It's way too early to draw any conclusions.

All those plans are extremely preliminary. I wouldn't be surprised if the city requests many many changes.


The exciting part is the potential of course. Doesn't quite seem like downtown Markham, but interesting nonetheless.


Hi-way 7 - from Yonge to Warden, will likely be the densest suburb in North America no? Both in terms of office and residential use ?

Great for the area, maybe not so much for Toronto proper : ) but that's another story.
 
taal said:
Come on !
Hi-way 7 - from Yonge to Warden, will likely be the densest suburb in North America no? Both in terms of office and residential use ?
Click to expand...

I think that southern York Region along Highway 7 from Vaughan Metropolitan Centre in the west to Cornell Centre in the east (with Richmond Hill Centre/Langstaff, Galleria, Buttonville, the 404/407 cluster, and Markham Centre in between -- with possible future development in areas like Markville and additional corridor development between these areas) will be the densest suburban area in the GTA.
 
Last edited:
taal said:
Hi-way 7 - from Yonge to Warden, will likely be the densest suburb in North America no? Both in terms of office and residential use ?

Great for the area, maybe not so much for Toronto proper : ) but that's another story.
Click to expand...

wouldnt mcc be the densest. they already have a city centre. or do you not consider mcc a suburb?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Looks interesting:
buttonville.jpg


More information here:
http://www2.markham.ca/markham/ccbs...ervices/pl111122/Buttonville Presentation.pdf

I like the idea of running a VIVA route through the development.
 
Good transit along Highway 7 is literally a stone's throw away, yet too far to access by foot for this entire development. I think that this is wrong location for high density, but only because it is wasteful to build projects like these just far enough from Highway 7 to be completely car dependent. Live/work communities are hypothetical - in all likelihood, the offices will be filled by workers from throughout the GTA who will be forced to get here by car, while the residents will work on average 10-20 km away (the 404 is literally next door, and a highway offramp forms one of the main access points).

I think that the best use for this site is a continuation of the existing - townhouses and smaller commercial buildings. There is only so much demand for high rise condos and office buildings in this part of the city, so let's not draw them away from Highway 7 and put the millions of dollars in transit investment along Highway 7 to waste.
 
For the last 10 years, a number of developers were trying to purchase the site for residential (most with long history with the town of markham) and they've concluded themselves that residential would be impossible on the site -- even just along 16th ave and the rest be retail/industrial.

I would be really surprised if any residential comes to the site.
 
Reminds me mildly of Ford's Waterfront Plans. The northern portion is fine, but the 'Garden District' is essentially your typical office park plus sea of parking.

Here's hoping that they'll urbanize that area a bit more.
 
Chuck said:
Good transit along Highway 7 is literally a stone's throw away, yet too far to access by foot for this entire development. I think that this is wrong location for high density, but only because it is wasteful to build projects like these just far enough from Highway 7 to be completely car dependent. Live/work communities are hypothetical - in all likelihood, the offices will be filled by workers from throughout the GTA who will be forced to get here by car, while the residents will work on average 10-20 km away (the 404 is literally next door, and a highway offramp forms one of the main access points).

I think that the best use for this site is a continuation of the existing - townhouses and smaller commercial buildings. There is only so much demand for high rise condos and office buildings in this part of the city, so let's not draw them away from Highway 7 and put the millions of dollars in transit investment along Highway 7 to waste.
Click to expand...

The suggested VIVA route on page 10 of the PDF would address this somewhat though. It would also provide a direct route from the subway to those already working in the eastern portion of the 404/407 office cluster, those living in Cathedraltown, and presumably those working in offices along the Markham side of the 404 to the north.
 
Interesting that the tower in the model above might be 60 storeys

From:http://www.yorkregion.com/news/article/1250247--buttonville-could-close-by-2013

Buttonville could close by 2013

Future development. Officials say Buttonville airport could close in 2013 to make way for a massive redevelopment that would include a cinema, office and retail space. File Photo/Sjoerd Witteveen

Buttonville airport could close as early as 2013 to make way for a massive redevelopment that will include a cinema, office and retail space, residential and possibly a 60-storey tower.

The $4-billion joint investment between Cadillac Fairview and the Sifton family’s Armadale Properties calls for a transit-oriented downtown ambience with an iconic building for Markham, planning consultant Don Given said Tuesday.

If Markham council wanted it, a 60-storey “elegant point tower” can be erected on the site to become “a beacon at the end of (Hwy.) 404”, Mr. Given told town councillors.

“That’s not Markham,” Mr. Given said of the building height. “But if you want one, we can do it.”

Local Councillor Alan Ho said he would like the 60-storey tower to become a good example in Markham of how parking wouldn’t be a problem.
The Buttonville concept plan includes more than 8 million square feet, which could also include a hotel, health club and convention space. It also features a lake abutting Hwy. 404.

The proposed water feature could be used for recreational activities, such as dragon boat races and kayaking, Mr. Given said.

“It’s going to be more than a business park — it’ll have character,” he said, adding the site will remain largely in private ownership, with Cadillac Fairview footing costs of future programming there.

While Mr. Given describes the lands as “the last truly great site” in the GTA, access to Hwy. 404 and transit will be challenges, he added.
Solutions could include Viva routes through the Buttonville site and to the TTC’s Don Mills Station, the extension of Allstate Parkway, widening of 16th Avenue, direct connection from Hwy. 404 interchange to the site and a new east-west connection from Woodbine Avenue, Mr. Given said.
The plans also includes an aggressive construction start in 2013 and occupancy by 2015, in time for the Pan Am Games.

He said employees and tenants of the Buttonville airport have already been notified of the airport’s 2013 closure.

He also said the not-yet-built Pickering airport is intended to replace Buttonville airport.

“The two can’t compete with each other,” Mr. Given said, adding other locations in the play for Buttonville airport’s relocation include Barrie and Oshawa.

Last summer, Transport Canada identified the contentious Pickering lands as a prime location in the Golden Horseshoe for a new airport as early as 2027.

However, Derek Sifton, president of Toronto Airways Ltd., which owns and operates Buttonville airport, said at the time his family would like to transfer Buttonville airport to Pickering as soon as operations end in Markham.
The Buttonville redevelopment plan was well received by town councillors, with Deputy Mayor Jack Heath asking staff to report back on transit and Pickering airport issues.
 
The plan, for Buttonville Town Centre, is designed primarily as an employment centre with up to about 4.6 million square feet of office space that will accommodate about 22,000 jobs.

The plan also includes several public park areas, a private park area with a man-made lake and a condominium building that towers more than 60 storeys, all of which raised concerns from residents at the meeting.
Click to expand...

http://www.yorkregion.com/iphone/news/article/1554127--60-storey-tower-eyed-in-buttonville
 
That's a lot of jobs for an area currently poorly served by transit. Hopefully the final design has the offices located in a way that they can be served by transit in the future, like near 16th Ave and an extended Allstate Parkway, and not like the rendering where buses would have to make circuitous detours to serve the site.
 
When you have suburbs with 60 storey towers, you have the potential for a stunning metropolitan city that will impress people from all over the world. But then there are too many placeless subdivisions. I'd rather see suburbs of no towers but dense, walkable neighbourhoods with a sense of place. It would take a fundamentally different approach to urban planning, though.

First, the city would have to plan and construct high quality public spaces like squares and parks and some core services like schools and libraries to set a high standard--similar to the Waterfront Toronto approach with Sugar Beach, but adapted to the needs of a suburban community. Then, they would have to construct a modest (but expandable) core LRT line for quality transit from the community's core or from another node or critical piece of infrastructure. The street with LRT would be the retail and services avenue with midrise buildings built up to the sidewalk. Side streets would have townhouses and low-rise walkups. This housing would be desirable even though it wouldn't consist of 3000 square foot McMansions on cul-de-sacs because it would be cheaper and (slightly) larger than the norm in traditional urban areas like the old city of Toronto, and it would all be new.

What we're seeing in the 905 is developers using up most land for sprawl with only relatively cheap roads built to accommodate cars and trivial parks. Then the cities try to desperately compensate with one super-dense area and perhaps a subway line extension to show that they, too, are progressive and walkable as people like that sort of thing and it's respectable among urban planners. They may say that LRT doesn't come cheap, but six lane arterials, wide highways, and bus networks can't be cheap either. It's the investment to accommodate growth, but the focus of that investment can determine the quality of growth.
 
4.5 million ... ha ... that'll take decades ... there have been 3 or 4 office projects marketed on Hi-way 7 for the last 5 years with no construction commencing yet, I think one will start soon.

That's not to say there isn't demand / construction, but maybe 100 / 200K all year throughout Markham, similar Richmond Hill.


Keep in mind downtown Markham also wanted 4 million, but I think they already reduced it down to 3, and I think that'll be struggle ... doable, in probably 50+ years.

And yes, that area in question sucks transit wise, they'll need to go out of their way to improve it ... that's not easy with the row on Hi-way 7 ... maybe a separate row up a street to this area.

I mean its a long term plan I get it, but they should paint more realistic figures for the first decade or so.
 
Revised plans from the institute of municipal Assessors meeting I went to this morning. This was the best I could capture sorry. Also apologies for it being sideways.

The plans from Cadillac call for completion by 2031, which made me wonder....not sure if serious....ESP with the huge office component, but also the massive retail component. Oh and layout changed. Not it is more grid like and the subdivision isn't set on the angle it was before. Also the lake is now straight, so dragonboat races can occur on it.
image.jpg

image.jpg
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    82.6 KB · Views: 831
  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    84.2 KB · Views: 799
Last edited:
You must log in or register to post here.

Back
Top