2.4K 
SmartCentres REIT presented a new employment-focused component of its ArtWalk District to Vaughan’s Design Review Panel on July 30, 2026. Designed by Hariri Pontarini Architects, the 10-storey office and retail building replaces previously planned residential towers for this part of the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC). The panel welcomed the employment use, articulated brick base, and pedestrian focus, while seeking refinements to the glazed upper volume, public realm, bicycle facilities, and passenger pickup and drop-off area.
The site, designated ArtWalk Block A8, is at 101 Edgeley Boulevard on its northeast corner with Apple Mill Road, and represents the southwest portion of the original Walmart lands at VMC. ArtWalk Phase 1 (Block A5) is currently under construction immediately to the east, while five taller towers are planned to the north on blocks A6 and A7. Across Apple Mill Road to the south, the A8 site faces Vaughan’s emerging central park and the existing KPMG office building.
The redevelopment of the site that Walmart occupied prior to its relocation a couple blocks to the northwest at 670 Applewood Crescent began with a 2021 masterplan for the 3.6-hectare lands that boasted eight residential towers with 4,335 housing units. Divided into quadrants A5 through A8, the present A8 site was initially envisioned with three towers of eight to 40 storeys, providing 1,100 homes above retail, including a grocery store. Official Plan and Zoning By-law Amendment applications followed in March, 2022, before a 2023 revision replaced a proposed east-west road with a pedestrian oriented space. As the ArtWalk masterplan evolved following its start on Block A5, this southwest A8 parcel was re-envisioned.
In the new A8 plan, its proposed 10-storey commercial building has of Gross Floor Area of 20,557m², comprising 19,289m² of offices and 1,268m² of retail on its site, giving a Floor Space Index of 4.11 times coverage on its 5,018m² site. Typical office floors would measure about 2,323m² and be served by six elevators. Third-level outdoor amenities would include a south-facing space overlooking the park, with another terrace near the ninth-storey rooftop. No office, retail, or visitor vehicle parking is planned onsite; the building would instead use excess commercial parking beneath neighbouring A5 and at other SmartVMC properties. Forty bicycle spaces would be distributed among outdoor racks near Apple Mill Road, beneath the covered passage, and at the northwest corner.
At Edgeley and Apple Mill, an entrance plaza would be framed by the office lobby and several retail or food-and-beverage spaces. The larger office floor plates would bridge above the corner connection, replacing the master plan’s open-air route with a covered passage leading to a north-facing courtyard. From there, pedestrians could connect with ArtWalk’s east-west spine and a north-south mews extending from the central park toward future phases.
The architecture pairs a glazed office volume with an articulated, approximately two-storey base. Brick, bronze-toned columns, wood soffits, and vertically proportioned openings would create a pedestrian scale. The upper floors would use bird-friendly reflective glazing. gh3’s landscape plan introduces light-grey, high-reflectance paving, brick-toned gathering areas, and potential public art. Hackberry trees, woodland planting, benches, and raised planters would define the courtyard and mews, with the planters supplying adequate soil above A5’s underground garage.
While supporting the active frontage and pedestrian connections, panel members questioned whether the number of plazas, courtyards, and routes could spread activity too thinly. They focused on the shaded north courtyard, where blank service walls, limited retail visibility, and narrow planting strips could leave the space underused. The corner plaza was also considered under-programmed, prompting suggestions for patios, planting, seating, and a stronger public art feature, while improved lighting was recommended for darker covered spaces. Members recommended enlivening service walls through art, landscape, and material changes, adding architectural expression and solar shading to the glass upper volume, and increasing the 40 bicycle spaces.
The site is approximately 200m northwest of University Line 1's terminus at Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station, and 100m west of the SmartVMC bus terminal. VIVA rapid transit on Highway 7 provides connections across York Region and toward Brampton, while the subway links the area directly with Toronto. Apple Mill Road already has cycle tracks, with more cycling infrastructure planned for Portage Parkway and Edgeley Boulevard.
A8 joins extensive development across the VMC. ArtWalk Block A5 is under construction to the east with four buildings of four to 38 storeys, while Blocks A6 and A7 would add five towers of 49 to 62 storeys to the north. To the south are the proposed seven-building VMC South Block B4, ranging from seven to 20 storeys; the 48- and 56-storey Park Place VMC; and three buildings of 15 to 58 storeys at 3300 Highway 7. Southwest, the three-tower Encore at Bravo and four-tower Festival Condominiums are under construction, reaching 45 and 59 storeys, respectively. To the east, 7800 Jane is planned with three towers of 17 to 60 storeys, while 175 Millway Avenue would add three buildings of seven to 64 storeys.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on these developments, but in the meantime, you can learn more about them from our Database files, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversations in the associated Project Forum threads or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
* * *
UrbanToronto's research and data service, UTPro, provides comprehensive data on construction projects in the Greater Golden Horseshoe—from proposal through to completion. Other services include Instant Reports, downloadable snapshots based on location, and a daily subscription newsletter, New Development Insider, that tracks projects from initial application.
