SCS Consulting Group was retained by Times Group to provide engineering services in support of their proposed 4500 unit high density residential and mixed use development located in the Markham Centre area. The project will be built to LEED Gold standards, including a walkable community, District Energy, readily accessible transit and innovative stormwater management solutions.

The original development concept for the lands included the use of land-intensive stormwater management wetpond facilities. Due to the high value of land in this area and the desire to utilize “low impact development” techniques, the stormwater management plan was revised to include multiple uses of green technologies including green roofs, infiltration galleries, rainwater cisterns for irrigation, and oil-grit separators. These measures were implemented in both at-source and end-of-pipe methods to achieve water balance, and quality/erosion control. By incorporating on-site green technologies, the footprint area that was formerly designated for stormwater management facilities was reduced. By further incorporating underground stormwater management technologies, the land above the end-of-pipe stormwater management facilities could be used for public Park purposes such as soccer fields and trails.

Highlights of the project include:

• Multiple uses of green technologies including green roofs, infiltration galleries, rainwater cisterns for irrigation, and oil-grit separators.
• Planned as Markham’s new downtown core, based on the principles of New Urbanism and Smart Growth.
• Located on more than 30 hectares of largely undeveloped land in the geographic heart of Markham.
• Bordered by the Rouge River to the south; existing development to the east; Highway 7 to the north and Warden Avenue to the West.
• The key to the Markham Centre and the Markham Uptown vision is the development and implementation of a rapid-transit system to move people to and throughout the downtown core.
• Two proposed bridge crossings of the Rouge River that require Class Environmental Assessments and updates to the floodplain mapping.