The City of Richmond Hill has received a revised application from Baif Developments Ltd. for 13515, 13715 Yonge and 53 St. Laurent. (Yonge and Bloomington)
Instead of 13 apartment buildings ranging in height from 8 to 12 storeys and 370 townhouses they now want approval to build 455 townhouses and have blocks for future development.
Let's take a closer look:
The contentious 13 apartment buildings have been removed on the new plan
In the new plan that area is now marked "future development"
Why didn't Baif Developments fill the area with additional townhouses?
Could this mean that the apartment buildings may be back in the future as a different application?
Will Yonge/Bloomington be designated a Major Transit Station Area which could rezone the area for increased density .i.e. 13 apartment buildings?
Have the controversial buildings just been deferred to get quicker approval for the rest of the development?
The new plan has an additional 85 townhouses, 455 in total
as shown on the right below that is a considerable increase in density
The the community park and neighbourhood park shown on the original plan are considerably smaller in the revised version
Where did the 2 storm water ponds go that were on the original plan?
Is the threat of 13 high density buildings on the Moraine being used as a bargaining chip to get development approval somewhere else in Richmond Hill?
In a recent email to his subscribers, Councillor Greg Beros declared this a win for the community. "The owners of the property at Yonge and Bloomington have agreed to the community’s demand and have totally abandoned their original plan."
Did "we" really win? Time will tell.