In late 2020, Republic Developments made a huge splash in the development scene with the unveiling of their Scarborough Junction Master Plan, a proposal to build a complete transit-oriented high-rise community directly adjacent the Scarborough GO Station. Teaming up with Harlo Capital and enlisting Giannone Petricone Associates as architects, Republic is proposing to transform the 26-acre site by adding a total of 6,619 residential units, 15,300 m² of retail space, and 4,500 m² of community space across 17 towers ranging in height from 12 to 48 storeys.
The master plan made its first appearance before the Toronto Design Review Panel in May, 2021 and received support from the Panelists, but they also provided some critiques on how to improve the master plan moving forward.
The Panel was pleasantly surprised by the somewhat unexpected proposal, applauding the proponents for discovering a rather forgotten site in the city that has huge development potential. Indeed, there are currently no high-density developments within close proximity to Scarborough GO station, so the Panel welcomed the master plan as a great initiative to capitalize on higher-order transit.
Panel members approved of the overall structure of the master plan, but were a bit more critical when it came to the public realm. The proposal calls for a new public park, several smaller-scale POPS scattered throughout, and a new retail “high street”, aiming to provide a retail destination for the wider neighbourhood.