Following rumours reported in May surrounding Yogen Früz owners’ (the Serruya brothers) possible purchase of Thornhill’s Promenade mall, comes a new proposal for the lands northeast of the shopping centre. 

The plan proposed by the Torgan Group includes seven residential apartment buildings, each 27 storeys in height, and two low-rise commercial structures, a three-storey parking garage and three levels of underground parking with a total of 2,397 parking spaces. The lands are designated as highrise mixed-use according to the City of Vaughan’s official plan.

The project’s density has Thornhill community members concerned, including Alan Shefman, councillor for Ward 5. 

“The Centre-Bathurst area is already the most densely populated location in York Region. It is time to move some of the density to other areas, such as Yonge and Steeles,” said Shefman. 

But Shefman’s opposition to the project conflicts with his backing of rapid transit, said Josh Martow of the Beverly Glen Ratepayers Association. “In supporting the [York Region Transit’s] rapidway, you are supporting the extra density just through the fact that the rapidway is often cited as justification for the density by the OMB,” said Martow.  

Proposals such as the redevelopment of the Sobeys Plaza at Clark Avenue and Hilda Avenue and the approved condominium development at Bathurst Street and Beverly Glen Boulevard, both in Thornhill, are proof of this, said Martow.

Access to transit is chief among the justifications for the development of the lands, said Sam Cohen, general manager of the Torgan Group. 

But even so, the Torgan Group is working with Coun. Shefman to address the needs of the neighbourhood and arrange a public consultation, said Cohen. 

“Residents don’t necessarily want to see intense density in the area, but it’s sort of being forced upon them by higher powers,” said Martow.