Town of Markham
By on Apr 25, 2008
By Sherry Hinman
Carved into the southeast corner of York Region, Markham lies north of the City of Toronto and is nestled between Pickering to the east, Whitchurch-Stouffville to the north, and Vaughan and Richmond Hill to the west. Once known as the centre of the carriage trade, today Markham is home to companies such as IBM and HSI Canada Micros, which has earned it the nickname of Canada's High-Tech Capital.
Markham has undergone huge changes in recent times. Until about 40 years ago, much of the area was farmland. Today it boasts a diverse and multicultural population of over 250,000. The town enjoys a mixture of development, with everything from large corporate headquarters to smaller farming communities.
The town is made up of four main communities: Markham itself, Milliken Mills, Unionville, and Thornhill. Unionville is a small town with a picturesque, old-fashioned main street lined with trendy shops and restaurants and adorned with flowers throughout the summer.
There are also several smaller communities such as Buttonville, Markham Village, Gormley, and Cornell. Increasingly, Cornell and Grand Cornell are popular choices for new homebuyers. These charming, oldfashioned communities feature curved streetscapes designed to provide safe play areas and encourage interaction amongst neighbours. Developers such as Greenpark Homes, Ballantry Homes, Beaverbrook Homes, Mattamy Homes, and H & R Developments are established in the area.
The vision for downtown Markham (the area around Highway 7 and McCowan Road) is a place where people can find cultural activity, entertainment, and services all within walking distance. There are also plans for a new rapid transit system, a bus service called Viva RT.
Markham Town Centre is home to Tridel's Circa condominiums and carriage homes. Marisa DiCecca, sales associate for Tridel, says there's a growing interest in Markham. "The area is starting to develop. There are a lot more families," DiCecca says. "It's close to several highways like the 407, and there are lots of shopping malls." For those who like their malls big, the Markville Shopping Centre is located here.
One of the biggest attractions of Markham is the value of the homes. "This is a high-value area," DiCecca says. "It's more expensive than in Scarborough to the south.We have Unionville and Richmond Hill around us. There's a good income base here."
