THE SUBWAY'S COMING TO RICHMOND HILL!
Thirty-storey skyscrapers, new roads and the subway all loom in Yonge Street's future. Under the draft plan, intensification is concentrated at the Yonge/Steeles corner, gradually dropping off as it approaches residential neighbourhoods. Sketches show the possibility of two 30-storey towers straddling the north-west corner of Yonge and Steeles. The lands to the north, now housing a vacant Chapters store and a series of sprawling car dealerships, could be replaced by mid-rise buildings as high as 18 storeys. New streets would be built parallel to Yonge and Steeles, with new traffic signals linking the grid.
Development is planned on a much smaller scale in the study area's northern portion. Whether the Royal Orchard intersection will include a new subway station must still be decided, but officials expect to hear if the project has a green light before summer. A major station will be built under Steeles Avenue, with other stations planned at Clark Avenue, Langstaff/Longbridge and Richmond Hill Centre.
When totally built-out, it is estimated that 20,000 people will move into the southern area, with another 5,000 north of the Thornhill Country Club.
Posted by Beverley Breslow
on May 27, 2009