Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date:
SUBJECT: RECOMMENDATION REPORT
Box
Grove Developments Inc.
Application for Site Plan
Approval for a major shopping centre consisting of retail pads with a Wal-Mart
anchor at
File Number SC 08-121694
PREPARED BY: Doris Cheng, Senior Planner – extension 2331
RECOMMENDATION:
1) That the staff report dated December 14, 2009 entitled “RECOMMENDATION REPORT, Box Grove Developments Inc., Application for Site Plan Approval for a major shopping centre consisting of retail pads with a Wal-Mart anchor at 500 Copper Creek Drive, File SC 08-121694” be received;
2) That the Site Plan Application (SC 08-121694) submitted by Box Grove Developments Inc. to permit the development of a major shopping centre be endorsed, subject to the conditions set out in Appendix ‘A’ to this report;
3)
That the site plan approval be delegated to the
Director of Planning and Urban Design or her designate, to be issued following
execution of a site plan agreement. Site
plan approval is issued only when the Director or her designate has signed the
site plan;
4) And that Staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this report is to recommend
endorsement of a site plan application by Box Grove Developments Inc. The
application is for a major shopping centre consisting of 12 retail pads with Wal-Mart
as the anchor tenant at
BACKGROUND:
Property and Area Context
The subject property is
approximately 12.6 hectares (31.2 acres) in area and is vacant. The property has been cleared and graded as
part of the draft approved plan of subdivision 19TM-030012. Located on the north-west corner of
- To the north of the subject lands is Highway 407.
- To the south across
- To the east across the DCP are lands designated for
future employment (designated as
- To the west is a tributary of the
The site is adjacent to a Regional Gateway
as identified by the Province
The Secondary Plan identifies the Business Park Area lands to the east of this site as a Regional Gateway location. This area has been identified by the Province as a potential site for a regionally scaled transportation gateway, intended to become a transfer point among various modes of local, regional and interregional transit facilities. The regional transportation plan recently approved by Metrolinx (The Big Move – Transforming Transportation in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area) identifies the area as a convergence point for future GO Rail service (Havelock line) and rapid transit services along Highway 407 and Highway 7.
The proposal is to develop a shopping
centre anchored by a large format retail store, with limited office uses
The proposal is
to develop a shopping centre anchored by a 14,292 m² (153,840 ft²) Wal-Mart
store which will contain an integrated supermarket component. The centre is
also proposed to contain a ‘main street’ consisting of four commercial
buildings off the southerly entrance to the site. A number of freestanding retail/commercial
buildings are also oriented along
|
Proposed Building |
Retail/Commercial
GFA |
Office GFA |
|
Building A (Wal-Mart) |
14,292 m² (153,840 ft²) |
Nil |
|
Building B |
570 m² (6,130
ft²) |
Nil |
|
Building C |
1,750 m ² (18,350 ft²) |
1,338 m² (14,400 ft²) |
|
Building D |
1,071 m² (11,530 ft²) |
Nil |
|
Building E |
1,802 m² (19,400 ft²) |
1,435 m² (15,450 ft²) |
|
Building F |
1,488 m² (16,020 ft²) |
Nil |
|
Building G |
500 m² (5,382 ft²) |
Nil |
|
Building H |
515 m² (5,540 ft²) |
Nil |
|
Building I |
3,429 m² (36,910 ft²) |
Nil |
|
Building J |
2,740 m² (29,500 ft²) |
Nil |
|
Building K |
1,858 m² (20,000 ft²) |
Nil |
|
Building L |
1,096 m² (11,800 ft²) |
Nil |
|
TOTAL GFA |
31,111 m² (334,402 ft²) |
2,773 m² (29,850 ft²) |
Since the original submission in 2008, the application has been revised. The overall size of the Wal-Mart store has been reduced from 17,013 m² (183,125 ft²) to 14,292 m² (153,840 ft²), a total reduction of 2,721 m² (29,289 ft²). Two retail pads (K and L) with a gross floor area of 1,858 m² (20,000 ft²) and 1,096 m² (11,800 ft²) respectively have been added. The result is a negligible increase in the overall gross floor area for the entire site by 70 m².
The buildings
are mainly one storey in height. The two
southern ‘main street’ buildings have second storey offices while the two
northerly buildings along this spine are proposed to be single storey buildings
with a two storey architectural treatment that would step down towards the
north. The buildings located along the
Also, in a
letter dated
- Glazing is divided into smaller components and is not reflective. Where there is glazing, it is subdivided with vertical and horizontal mullions.
- Articulation of the façade including solid and glazed areas with no large expanses of glass.
- Retail uses will incorporate products behind the glazing which will project as a visual marker for birds, to be perceived as a solid object.
- Awnings and canopies are used to aid in the muting of possible reflective images.
- Lighting is designed and oriented towards the building facades and downwards, to minimize light spill and encourage dark skies.
Parking on the
site exceeds the Town’s parking by-law by 159 spaces. The applicant is providing 1,753 parking
spaces, whereas the parking by-law requires 1,594 parking spaces. Access is from
The applicant has indicated that the development will occur in phases. The first phase includes construction of the Wal-Mart building in 2009-2010. Phase 2 includes the main street buildings B, C and E, with construction beginning in the spring. The balance of the site is expected to be constructed based on the finalization of leasing.
The Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment permits the
proposal
On
OPTIONS/ DISCUSSION:
The site plan and building elevations are
considered generally acceptable
Town staff worked with the applicant to provide a number of improvements to the proposed site plan. These items include:
- The creation of a wide, pedestrian oriented
‘main street’ and piazza to provide a focus and draw attention away from
the large format retail building at the rear of the property.
- Opportunities for future tenants to provide patios along the ‘main street’.
- Providing dual retail/commercial frontages to ensure an animated “main street” character.
- Upgraded rear elevations of buildings
facing
- Increasing the number and size of tree planting islands in the parking lot to offset the “urban heat island” effect.
- Creating a strong pedestrian connection from the parking lot to the frontage of the anchor tenant. This is achieved by the use of stamped concrete to delineate the pedestrian priority areas from the vehicular connections.
- Providing second floor offices within buildings along the ‘main
street’ (C and E). Other buildings
that do not have leaseable second storeys will incorporate architectural
features to give the appearance of a second storey office component.
- Improvements including the relocation of the garden centre to the
rear of the building have been made to the Wal-Mart elevations.
Terminated by a piazza, the buildings along the ‘main street’ are
designed with a traditional store front rhythm to evoke the sense of a
downtown. Generally, the materials of the retail pads are comprised of brick,
stucco panels, non-reflective window glazing, and pre-cast architectural
block. Traditional store front awnings that sit above the windows and
doors will be highlighted with goose neck lights. Channel style letters
will be incorporated into the individual signs to make up the sign uniformity
plan. The Wal-Mart building presents itself as a continuation of the main
street with the façade being broken up to maintain the sense of individual
store fronts along the street. The colours and details of the
buildings provide unification to the overall design theme.
The ‘piazza’ is proposed to be
comprised of a privately owned open space, creating a visual terminus for the ‘main
street’. The applicant has agreed to
provide a sculptural element or structure of considerable size as high as 7.5
metres (24 feet) in height to add to the significance of the space. The applicant has also agreed to continue to
work with staff to finalize the design of the space and collaborate on ideas
for a cultural element to be included in the ‘piazza’ which may reflect the
cultural heritage of the Box Grove community.
Requirements for the piazza are included in the conditions of approval
attached as Appendix ‘A’.
A revised site plan and elevations
were recently submitted. Staff are
continuing to review the plans, and minor changes may be required prior to
staff endorsing the site plan and elevations.
A number of sustainability initiatives are
proposed
In a letter dated
- Rainwater harvesting for the Wal-Mart building and three smaller buildings for re-use as part of the site irrigation system.
- Providing overland bioswales at the northwest limit of the site to reduce the volume of flows being directed into the storm sewer system;
- Designing the large landscape islands within the parking lot to allow for the collection and infiltration of rainwater;
- Providing an energy efficient Wal-Mart store design including reduced energy consumption related to refrigeration, temperature, lighting, ventilation, HVAC, water consumption and waste diversion;
- Providing over 550 trees, which exceeds the Town’s Trees for Tomorrow initiatives;
- Providing
a white roof on the Wal-Mart building;
- Landscape
buffers around the perimeter of the site which permit groundwater
infiltration;
- Providing bicycle racks throughout the site;
- Providing bus platforms and pedestrian connections
from public transit stops;
- Providing 6 parking spaces dedicated to taxi stands.
The applicant has
also indicated that white roof membranes on the smaller, multi-tenant buildings
are not feasible due to the rooftop mechanical requirements of the individual
tenants rendering a membrane inefficient.
Alternatively, the applicant has committed to provide if possible, a
material such as white gravel on the roof which will act similarly to a white
roof membrane to reflect heat.
An effort has been
made to address the ‘heat island’ effect of the extensive asphalt parking areas
by providing tree planting islands of substantial size within the surface parking
areas. The landscape plan also provides,
as noted above, over 550 trees on the site.
While this exceeds the target of 1 tree per 5 surface parking spaces in
the Town’s Trees for Tomorrow initiative, these plantings are primarily located
around the perimeter of the site. Staff
believes there are additional opportunities to lessen the impact of the parking
areas by including additional landscape islands. Staff will continue to discuss additional
planting opportunities with the applicant to reduce the impact of the parking lot.
In an effort to
encourage alternative transportation opportunities, the applicant has committed
to integrating a number of bicycle racks at various locations as part of the
site plan. The location of bicycle racks along the ‘main street’ and
throughout the site will accommodate people from the surrounding community who cycle
to the site. The site is also accessible
to transit stops at the main entrance to the site which will encourage
customers and employees to take public transit.
The TRCA are satisfied with the proposed sustainability features, including infiltration measures, clean roof water discharge, outlets, and water quality control measures such as bio-filters. With these initiatives, the TRCA is also considering placing this application within their Low Impact Development database. This database summarizes the green initiatives that are being proposed in commercial sites. In addition, TRCA has also indicated that they are satisfied with the planting and restoration plans as submitted.
FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS AND TEMPLATE: (external link)
Not applicable.
HUMAN RESOURCES CONSIDERATIONS
Not applicable.
ALIGNMENT WITH STRATEGIC PRIORITIES:
The proposed major shopping centre aligns with the strategic focus of Growth Management, Transportation/Transit and Environment by providing the following:
Growth Management:
- Additional commercial and retail services to meet the
needs of the emerging community in the eastern portion of
Transportation/Transit:
- Bicycle racks throughout the site
- Bus platforms and pedestrian connections from public
transit stops
- 6 parking spaces dedicated to taxi stands
Environment:
- Rainwater harvesting and a stormwater infiltration
gallery for the
- Stormwater infiltration galleries for Buildings B, C and D, accommodated within the parking area (sized to accommodate 2 year storm)
- Overland bio-swales at the northwest limit of the site to reduce the volume of flows being directed into the storm sewer system
- Energy efficient Wal-Mart store design with reduced energy consumption related to refrigeration, temperature, lighting, ventilation, HVAC, water consumption and waste diversion
- Over 500 trees, exceeding the target of the Trees for Tomorrow (1 for every 5 parking spaces)
BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:
The
applications were circulated to all Town departments and external agencies and
their comments have been incorporated into the report and conditions of site
plan approval.
CONCLUSION:
Staff are satisfied with the site plan and elevations and recommend endorsement, subject to the conditions outlined in Appendix ‘A’.
RECOMMENDED BY:
_______________________________ ______________________________
Biju Karumanchery, M.C.I.P, R.P.P Jim Baird, M.C.I.P, R.P.P
Senior
Development Manager Commissioner
of Development Services
ATTACHMENTS:
Figure 1 –
Location Map
Figure 2 – Area
Context and Zoning
Figure 3 – Air
Photo 2007
Figure 4 – Site Plan
Figure 5 – Wal-Mart
Elevations
Figure 6 –
Elevations (B & C)
Figure 7 –
Elevations (D & E)
Figure 8 – Elevations (F & G)
Figure 9 – Elevations (H & I)
Figure 10 – Elevations (J)
Figure 11 – Elevations (K & L)
Appendix A – Conditions of Site Plan Endorsement
Appendix B – Sustainability Initiatives
APPLICANT/AGENT: David Stewart
Box Grove Developments Inc.
Telephone: 905-856-5800 Fax: 905-856-8508
Email: dstewart@tacc.com
File path: Amanda\File 08 121694\Documents\Recommendation Report
Figure 1 – Location Map
