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Diamondwood Management and Delta Urban have submitted plans for a five-block development designed by Arcadis in Markham’s Cornell Centre. Rising to 33 storeys, the first phase would bring three towers up to 31 storeys, adjacent to the Cornell Bus Rapid Transit Station, giving it multiple connections across York Region and to the Greater Toronto Area generally.
Upon full buildout, the community would be arranged around a 4,261m² central park, just west of the Cornell BRT station. A cluster of developments with low, medium, and high-rise buildings are at various planning stages to the east, although these towers if approved would be the tallest in the immediate area.
Located on the northeast corner of Highway 7 and Ninth Line, the 6.92ha site at 8651 Ninth Line is currently vacant and largely cleared. The parcel is bordered by low-rise housing to the west, the Markham Stouffville Hospital to the north, and a medium-density subdivision across Highway 7 to the south. The phase one site is shown within the dashed red line below.
Planning activity on the site dates back to 2016, when initial applications were filed under the then-active Cornell Secondary Plan, resulting in draft plan approval in 2017 for a mixed-use, mid- to high-rise community. That approval included heights of up to 24 storeys. The current proposal seeks an Official Plan Amendment to increase height and density, along with a Zoning By-law Amendment specific to Block 3, in anticipation of the forthcoming Cornell Centre Secondary Plan Update expected later this year.
The masterplan lays out five development blocks and one centrally located park block across a 50,034m² site area, with buildings ranging from 22 to 33 storeys and a total of 3,771 residential units. Four mixed-use blocks (1, 2, 3, and 5) are organized around Block 4, a 4,261m² public park positioned beside the Cornell BRT Station. The plan introduces 13,944m² of commercial space — primarily ground-floor retail fronting Highway 7, Ninth Line, and Rustle Woods Avenue — alongside 3,933 parking spaces and a new internal street network. Height transitions upward from west to east.
Each block would feature podiums ranging up to six storeys. Primary access would be provided via Highway 7, Ninth Line, and two minor collectors, while internal connections are structured around three new streets.
The Phase 1 proposal on Block 3 calls for three residential towers rising 25, 28, and 31 storeys (87.3m to 105m) from a shared 4-storey podium. The development would deliver 992 residential units, with five elevators per tower, or about one for every 66 units indicating quick response times. Indoor and rooftop amenities would be found on the fifth level, offering 3,273m² of outdoor terrace space and 339m² of interior common areas. Total Gross Floor Area comes to 74,505m², with a Floor Space Index of 5.72 times coverage of the block.
Parking would be on two underground levels and four above-grade levels, combining for a total of 1,177 vehicular spaces. This would include 977 spaces for residents and 200 for visitors. Cyclists would be supported with 802 long-term and 292 short-term spaces.
The Cornell BRT Station offers regional and local service through GO Transit and York Region Transit, including VIVA rapid buses along Highway 7. Planned upgrades to the Highway 7 East BRT corridor will extend dedicated bus lanes to the York-Durham Line, adding a stop directly adjacent to the site at Ninth Line. Future connections are also anticipated through Durham Region Transit and improved links to TTC via the Yonge Line 1 North Subway Extension. While cycling infrastructure exists nearby, including lanes along internal streets, current routes are fragmented.
Several other proposals are planned in the area. To the east, there are buildings planned as high as 13 storeys at Cornell Centre and Bur Oak, and Church. Further east along Highway 7, proposals at 7128–7186 Highway 7 East call for towers ranging from 18 to 24 storeys, while projects at Highway 7 & Bur Oak and 6950 Highway 7 East call for multiple buildings reaching up to 28 storeys.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | Arcadis |
