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c saturday sept 7 2002 21- economist sun stouffville tribune business staff photosteve somerville while some area residents are pleased with plans to revitalize thornhill square others are concerned about both the scope of the plan and the speed at which its progressing the developer says the changes will create a new community ambiance square facing major facelift by kathleen griffin staff writer it seems the sagging fortunes of thornhill square could finally be on the mend after years of watching retail tenants jump ship leaving empty store fronts and low consumer volume and most recently fighting a bigbox home improvement centre residents hope a new developer with a new design will breathe life into the closetoextinct com mercial centre many residents are pleased efforts to revitalize the square are moving forward and that the new owner rosebud homes has taken pains to consult with ratepayers including those in johnsview village landmark st lukes lodge and ward one south thornhill residents inc it looks very favourable said ward one president marion matthias of the proposed development generally speak ing it looks very encouraging and its cer tainly better than a big box we hope it will work out for all concerned but some residents including several existing merchants are worried about the scope of the plan and the speed at which its moving there are tons of things that still have to be worked out and has created more questions than it has answered said roz chapnik who lives in the area and works for chiropractor and naturopath dr joey dimerman when they showed me the plan i thought pinch me i must be dreaming the merchants have not been com municated with and we dont know if well have to close or move everythings hap pening too fast and we dont know how its going to affect us the proposed plan is yet to be approved by markham planning staff and council and still needs serious tweaking to deal with parking and traffic concerns but ward 1 councillor stan daurio describes it as a win for everyone retailers the town and the community when they showed me the plan i tliought pinch me i must be dreaming he said it has raised the bar on exterior design it will have a lowkey look a her itage look which will include green space transportation improvements shopping it could be really attractive relying on an ontario municipal board decision which recommended the town consider medium or highdensity residential development on part of the site rosebud homes partnered with the wynn group has created a concept that includes 200 townhomes and another 220plus apartments in two buildings at the east side of the square thornhill square sits on 15 acres east of bayview avenue between john street and green lane behind the thornhill community centre the existing mall is more than 300000 square feet but everything east of the existing office tower will be demolished according to rosebud president lionel larry if a site plan to be filed within weeks is approved the structre could be demolished as early as november our concept is to basically create a new community ambiance he explained thornhill square is in an established community and we look at see apartments page 22 highway growth matures northern municipalities taking cautious approach to highway development by patrick mangion staff writer as commercial development along hwy 404 begins to crop up in newmarket and aurora local officials insist it may be a long time before either town catches up to their southern neighbours in fact newmarket or aurora may never attract the same level of industry along the highway as the likes of markham and richmond hill but all things considered that may not be such a bad thing says newmarkets regional councillor diane humeniuk ms humeniuk said the planning initiatives that precipitated development along hwy 404 in the south end of the region 10 years ago were much dif ferent than todays planning standards heightened awareness theres a heightened awareness of environmen- tal protection ms humeniuk said im not pointing a finger at richmond hill and saying we dont want to look like that but todays planning initiatives are more people and more pedestrianfriendly she said striking a balance between the tax base commer cial development provides and its encroachment on green space has long been a hefty burden for munic ipalities richmond hill has a sprawling business park area stretching from hwy 407 north along hwy 404 past 16th avenue last year 310000 square feet of business space were added to the beaver creek and headford busi ness parks in richmond hill its great for the community said richmond hill councillor david cohen whose ward covers the area in which the towns business parks are located pointing to hightech companies mr cohen said commercial development along hwy 404 has given richmond hill an economic boost its outstanding in terms of tax revenue said mr cohen suggesting it was a profitable situation for a municipality mr cohen who served as vice chairperson of the towns planning and development committee said the numerous businesses setting up shop near the highway helped keep richmond hills taxes under control and they dont need the same services as residents i have very few interactive complaints between businesses and residents theres not a negative sec aurora page 22 dont ray that traffic ixperts traffic ticket experts is staffed by expolice officers who will act as your agent in court defending all traffic tickets speeding accidents careless impaired etc x call for free consultation guaranteed service 905 9403000 4418 hwy 7 east unionville t