Report to: Development Services Committee Report Date: June 15, 2010
SUBJECT: PRELIMINARY REPORT
Stringbridge Investments Limited
Southwest quadrant of
Highway 7 and
Application for Zoning By-law and Precinct Plan Amendments
File No. ZA 10 109997
PREPARED BY: Scott Heaslip, Senior Project Coordinator
Central District, extension 3140
RECOMMENDATION:
1) That the staff report dated June 15, 2010 titled “PRELIMINARY REPORT, Stringbridge Investments Limited, Southwest quadrant of Highway 7 and South Town Centre Boulevard, Application for Zoning By-law and Precinct Plan Amendments File No. ZA 10 109997,” be received.
2) That a Public Meeting be scheduled for the application.
3) That staff be authorized and directed to do all things necessary to give effect to this resolution.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Not applicable.
The purpose of this report is to provide preliminary information regarding an application by Stringbridge Investments Limited to amend the zoning by-law and precinct plan to permit up to 500 residential apartment units in conjunction with a hotel and accessory uses at the southwest quadrant of Highway 7 and South Town Centre Boulevard. Amendments to the performance standards contained in the zoning by-law are also being requested.
This report, which seeks authorization to hold a statutory Public Meeting, contains preliminary general information regarding applicable Official Plan or other policies as well as other issues, and should not be taken as Staff’s opinion or recommendation on the applications.
Subject Property and Area Context (Figures 2 and 3)
This report references four areas of land which are identified on Figure
3, as follows:
Stringbridge’s current holding comprises a total of
5.66 ha (14 acres) on the south side of Highway 7 between South Town Centre
Boulevard and the H.E.P.C. at
Rodick Road (Figure 2). These lands are
vacant except for two 1.5 storey office/warehouse buildings fronting on Clegg
Road.
The focus of this application is the subject lands, approximately 1.1 ha (2.73 acres) in area, on
the south side of Highway 7 immediately west of South Town Centre Boulevard.
The subject lands are vacant and
contain no significant
vegetation, and slope southward across the site from Highway 7. To the east across South Town
Centre Boulevard are two office buildings (12 and 5 storeys) – Markham Liberty
Square. To the south are two residential buildings (16 and 14 storeys) – Times’
Majestic Court project. To the north
across Highway 7 are two residential buildings (16 and 16 storeys) - Tridel’s Circa @ Town Centre project.
Official Plan and
Zoning
The subject lands are designated “Commercial – Community Amenity Area” in the Town’s Official Plan and Community Amenity Area – Major Urban Place in the Markham Centre Secondary Plan (OPA 21). Lands designated “Community Amenity Area - Major Urban Place” are intended to develop with a mix of residential, commercial, employment and supporting uses, at a high density and intensity of development in keeping with the vision for Markham Centre.
The subject lands are zoned Markham Centre Downtown One (MC-D1) under By-law 2004-196. This zoning permits a broad range of employment and commercial uses including business offices, hotels, trade and convention centres, banquet halls, health clubs, and retail and service uses. Residential uses are not permitted in the MC-D1 zone, as the intent of the Precinct Plan at the time of zoning was that these lands would be used for employment purposes.
Recent Development History
In 2005,
the Town approved an updated precinct plan for Stringbridge’s original holding and incorporated the
lands into the Markham Centre Zoning By-law, primarily to facilitate the sale
of the south-east portion of lands to Times Investments Limited for their
Majestic Court development. Through this process Stringbridge’s current holding was zoned to permit
office/commercial buildings across the Highway 7 frontage. The overall density was increased to up to 2.5
FSI across the lands, with building heights ranging from 49 metres in the east
portion, 40 metres in the centre portion, and 30 metres in the west portion
(generally in the range of 7 to 12 commercial
storeys). The zoning permits a broad
range of employment and commercial uses, including hotels, but does not permit
any residential uses.
In 2007, the Town approved
amendments to the precinct plan and zoning by-law to increase the height of the
Majestic Court development from 10/12 storeys to 14/16 storeys and to introduce
a 0.4 ha (1 acre) public park
north-west of the buildings.
Proposal
Stringbridge has an agreement to sell the subject lands to Kaptyn Realty, which proposes to develop them with a mixed-use project comprising a hotel and associated conference facility, a range of restaurant and retail uses at-grade along Highway 7, and up to 500 residential units.
The proposed development consists of two buildings extending across the Highway 7 frontage of the lands. The easterly building comprises a 6 storey podium and 16 and 15 storey towers. The westerly building continues the 6-storey podium and includes 15 and 13 storey towers. The two buildings are linked at the 2nd and 7th storeys [see Figures 4 (site plan) and 5-7 (perspective drawings)]. The hotel component, with a total of 190 guest rooms, occupies portions of the 2nd to 6th floors of the easterly building and tower. Due to the grade change across the site, the grade-related uses internal and to the rear of the site would consist of residential units, lobbies, ballroom, and mechanical and service areas. Two levels of below grade parking are proposed and above grade parking internal to the structure is proposed for retail and hotel patrons.
The applicant advises that the proposal is for a high end, luxury hotel format. Although the applicant is not identifying a brand at this point, they advise that it will be a 4 to 4.5 star hotel with a wide range of services. Restaurants, a conference facility, retail stores, a health club and a spa are proposed in association with the hotel.
The applicant is requesting the following amendments to the zoning of the subject lands and Stringbridge’s remaining lands:
· The addition of “hotel with apartment dwelling units” as a new permitted use on the subject lands. (The applicant advises that the purpose of this request is to document their commitment that the proposed residential apartment units will be developed only in conjunction with the hotel.)
The applicant has not applied for site plan approval.
Issues and concerns
to be addressed
Loss of employment uses. The precinct plan approved by Council in 2005 included a mix of employment and residential uses, with employment being the dominant use within the precinct. The Highway7 frontage of the Stringbridge lands was intended for employment uses.
The current proposal significantly reduces the employment potential of the precinct, currently estimated at between 3300 and 4200 persons based on existing zoning permissions, down to between 1200 and 1600 persons.
The Town’s Economic Development Department has reviewed the
proposed development and advises that they are concerned with the proposed displacement of employment use with
residential use as the subject lands are a prime location for prestige high rise office
and other high quality employment uses.
They do acknowledge that high end hotels (as opposed to standard chain
hotels) are a useful addition to Markham’s business community, especially if
they include a “convention scale” conference facility (a minimum of 3,716
square metres or 40,000 square feet). However,
they note that the applicant has not committed to the type or brand of the
hotel, and that the proposed conference facility, at 2,230 square metres or
24,000 square feet, would not be large enough to be a “convention scale”
facility.
Impact on Stringbridge’s remaining lands:
Stringbridge is proposing to transfer density and building height from
Stringbridge’s remaining lands to
the subject lands, leaving
Stringbridge’s remaining lands with only enough density to permit low rise,
suburban type developments with surface parking. The precinct plan submitted by
the applicant (Figure 9) illustrates this – 13-16 storey buildings with
underground parking on the subject lands, and maximum 4-6 storey buildings with
large areas of surface parking on Stringbridge’s remaining lands. This low
density, suburban type development is not consistent with the vision for the
“Community Amenity Area – Major Urban Place” designation, which is intended to
be the location of the highest concentration of development in Markham
Centre.
Built form: The
applicant’s proposed massing and built form program, with point towers on
podiums, is generally consistent with the overall direction of the Town’s
emerging built form expectations for Markham Centre. Staff do note that the proposed site plan
shows 25 metre separation between towers, which is significantly less than the
34 metre separation required by the Town for the Times project. It should be noted that the submitted plans
are conceptual, and the applicant has not applied for site plan approval.
Other issues: Issues
identified from staff’s preliminary review of the application include:
Not applicable at this time.
Not applicable at this time.
The proposed development
must be considered in the context of the Town’s “Building Markham’s Future
Together” strategic ini
The applications have been circulated to Town departments and public agencies for comment, which will be addressed in detail in the recommendation report.
RECOMMENDED BY:
______________________________ ________________________
Biju Karumanchery, M.C.I.P., R.P.P. James Baird, M.C.I.P., R.P.P.
Senior Development Manager Commissioner of Development Services
Figure 1 – Property Location Map
Figure 2 – Area Context / Zoning
Figure 3 – Air Photo
Figure 4 – Site Plan
Figure 5 – Perspective Drawing
Figure 6 – Perspective Drawing
Figure 7 – Perspective Drawing
Agent: Elizabeth Howson,
Macaulay, Shiomi Howson Ltd.
M6S 2C4
(416) 487-4101
howson@mshplan.ca
File path: Amanda\File 10 109997\Documents\Preliminary Report