• Stouffville’s Council approved a 59-unit, 21-meter-tall development at 6031 and 6037 Main St., a reduction from the original proposal of 80 units and nine storeys.
  • The seven-storey building will include a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom units, with rooftop and ground floor amenity spaces.
  • No commercial space was included in the development, as the Town’s current Official Plan does not require it, despite Staff encouraging its addition.
  • The approved plan includes 101 parking spaces, exceeding the Town’s minimum requirements by 12.
  • The building’s design was revised to better align with the neighbourhood, featuring a brown and white brick facade.
  • Public concerns about height and shadowing influenced the height reduction from 29 meters to 21 meters.

 

During its March 19 meeting, Stouffville’s Council unanimously approved a 59-unit, 21-metre-tall development at 6031 and 6037 Main Street. The 0.71-acre site is located on the south side of Main Street west of Orchard Park Boulevard.

The Mill Woods Corporation (the Applicant) submitted its initial application in May 2024, proposing an 80-unit, nine-storey condominium building. Following feedback from a June 2024 Public Planning Meeting and subsequent work by Town Staff, the approved submission reduced both the height and unit count.

The building’s interior six-storeys will include five one-bedroom, 32 two-bedroom, two two-bedroom plus den, and 20 three-bedroom units, along with ground-floor amenity space. A seventh storey will feature a rooftop amenity area and a mechanical penthouse.

Mill Woods’ initial proposal included 105 parking spaces, falling short of the Town’s Zoning By-law requirements. By reducing the number of units, the approved 101 spaces now exceed Stouffville’s parking minimum by 12.

The site will be accessed from Main Street and a private roadway on the west side of the building. A two-level underground garage entrance will be located at the rear, with ground-level stilt parking providing nine visitor spaces and two car-share spaces.

The building’s design has been modified to better complement the surrounding area. According to the related Staff report, the updated facade will feature “a more contemporary brown and white brickwork design that is more in keeping with architectural attributes of the neighbourhood.”

“The building has been designed to incorporate a step back along the Main Street frontage…above the third storey to promote a sense of pedestrian scale at grade,” the report states. “The building facade will be cladded with precast white and brown brick, glass windows, and balconies.”

An Official Plan Amendment was granted to re-designate the site from Existing Residential Area to Western Approach Mixed-Use, allowing for the taller building. The previous designation permitted only townhouses and low-rise apartments.

“The proposal does represent a larger scale building than existing neighbouring properties…but efforts have been made to respect the character of the area,” the Staff report notes.

Excessive height and resulting shadow impacts were concerns expressed through public comments on the application. Following the height reduction from 29 metres to 21 metres, Staff highlighted a resulting shadowing study showing “limited and acceptable level of shadowing during warm-month daylight hours.”

To address privacy concerns from neighbouring properties, some limitations on windows and balconies were incorporated. Staff will also ensure that balconies and outdoor amenity areas “have adequate privacy features and buffering incorporated into the design” through future planning stages.

Although the site will now fall within the Western Approach Mixed-Use area, no commercial units have been included. The report states that Stouffville’s in-effect Official Plan does not allow Staff to require commercial space. While the Town encouraged the Applicant to include non-residential units on the ground floor, none were added in Mill Woods’ revised submission.

“The delivery of desirable multi-bedroom and multi-family unit housing options…is a Town and Provincial priority at this time,” the report adds. “This critical increase in population is located at a prime walkability location to support the GO station, local transit, and…both businesses and services in the Downtown and Western Approach areas.”