StealthyArrow
Active Member
Here are few screenshots from Google Maps dating back to October 2020, which includes this dealership and the next phase.
It is already a mess now.Looking forward to how this redevelopment turns out, but not looking forward to driving through the McCowan/Highway 7 intersection once it's all built out, lol.
Is there a link to the OPA?An OPA has now been formally submitted for the Markville Mall Redevelopment. Urban Strategies has produced the design plans:
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The main changes from the pre-consultation can be seen along Highway 7 side. Max storey count increased from 44 to 45.
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Renderings of the public realm:
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Is there a link to the OPA?
It certainly is not doing anything as far as community development. So far at least. The amount of retail space that ends up in these new buildings will determine what the future looks and feels like here.As with every mall intensification plan I object to the idea of keeping the entire mall in its existing footprint.
I get that it's a golden-goose and all that.........too bad; you can keep the existing one or build a new one, but you can't have both.
Here's what I'm getting at, it's that w/the mall blocking the entire middle of the site, there is no easy way for people to cross the site in an efficient way, even by car, let alone on foot or by bike.
The E-W block here is nearly 500M obstructed by the mall.
But if you want people whose apartments are on Highway 7 to walk north to Centennial GO they need to be able cut an efficient foot/bike path such that it's attractive.
I hear, but they can cut through the mall..........well that requires that the mall owner enter into a legally binding agreement to allow public access during all GO operating hours, and at the very least 5:30-1:30am, 7 days per week, 365 days per year.
I'm not sure we're getting that.
At any rate, ideal block size is ~100M or even a bit less.........At the least, the mall needs to be bisected somewhere to allow true through movement, and I would even argue for cars as well, as having cars drive endlessly around in a circle just to the 'get to the other side' makes no sense to me whatsoever.
The two parks are tiny and borderline usesless. There is a fair bit of greenspace nearby, but what I want to see is a demand analysis for playing fields, tennis courts, picnic space and playgrounds. The latter 3 and maybe a junior sports field could be located on-site, while a major sports field could be added to the park to the north as an off-site dedication.
Also, the nearest elementary school is over 1km away, and the next 2 are over 1.5km away. Not reasonable.
I can almost guarantee a deconstruction of this mall will be heavily opposed by almost all Markham residents.It certainly is not doing anything as far as community development. So far at least. The amount of retail space that ends up in these new buildings will determine what the future looks and feels like here.
Retail space outside the mall will allow for an eventual deconstruction of the mall, in both the literal and metaphorical senses. I can only hope that's the eventual long-term vision here.
Given that these towers represent such large investments (in excess of $100M each), we really ought to be more thoughtful about how and where we build them and how the context should support them. Willy nilly erecting a forest of towers around a mall without a thought about what happens to the mall in the coming decades is poor city building.I can almost guarantee a deconstruction of this mall will be heavily opposed by almost all Markham residents.