Markham is a multicultural, suburban community located just northeast of the City of Toronto. Physically growing and economically vibrant, Markham has attracted a significant amount of Canada’s recent business immigration. Retail condominium developments, or "Asian malls" as they are sometimes referred to, provide a unique opportunity to explore the challenges ethnocultural diversity poses to rapidly changing suburban communities, and the pressures such diversity puts on local decision-making. The planning process surrounding retail condominium developments, and the community of Markham, are the subjects of this chapter.

Markham is one of several burgeoning suburban municipalities that form a ring around the more urbanized parts of Toronto (see Map 6.1). The landscape is dominated by big box retail outlets, campus-style, suburban commercial and industrial development, and low-density residential neighbourhoods. A community clearly designed around the automobile, Markham is a stereotypical example of suburban planning.

Upon closer examination, however, there is also much that makes Markham different from many of its suburban counterparts. Widely celebrated in planning circles for experimenting with neo-traditional planning on a project called "Cornell", Markham is known as one of the first Canadian municipalities to implement ideas of pedestrian-scale neighbourhoods that have been made famous by Duany and Plater-Zyberk south of the border (Wood-Brunet, 1994). Markham is also recognized for its environmental achievements and has engaged in innovative waste management studies in partnership with local residents, the Ontario government, and funding partners (Town of Markham, 1996).

From a local perspective, one of the most significant differences between Markham and other more commuter-based suburban communities is its ability to attract jobs and economic opportunities. Markham’s economic development office markets the community under the theme of "star power" -- and it is a fitting slogan. While supporting an attractive residential quality of life through urban design and environmental initiatives, Markham has also managed to attract a large number of corporate industries. Home to over 600 electronics, computer hardware and software manufacturers, distributors and developers, Markham has the largest concentration of high-technology firms in Canada (Town of Markham Economic Development Office, 1996: 3) Markham is also home to a number of corporate headquarters, including Allstate Insurance, Lego, ATI Technologies, Seiko, Johnson & Johnson and IBM (Town of Markham Economic Development Office, 1995a: 25). While other centres are adapting to leaner times, commercial growth in Markham today is outpacing the peak performance experienced during the 1980s (Markham’s Commitment, 1997: 4).

While it actively courts business and industry in a global setting, Markham also has a strong community and heritage focus, owing to its rural small town history. This history is quickly becoming a pastoral legacy as the population of Markham has more than tripled in the last twenty-five years (Town of Markham Economic Development Office, 1995a). Moreover, amidst this population explosion there has been a rapid and substantial demographic shift. Immigrants currently make up 40 per cent of Markham’s population, and many are from visible minority groups. This immigration into Markham has occurred within the last ten to fifteen years and has spurred acrimony and frustration within the community, as will be discussed at length later in this chapter. Markham today is a dynamic, economically vital, and ethnoculturally diverse suburban community that continues to search for ways to combat its rapid growing pains.

Markham began as a small German settlement on what was then uninhabited rural land. Making their way up from Niagara Falls, the first settlers to the area came in 1795. These mostly German settlers were subsequently joined by small groups of Pennsylvania Dutch, Tunkers and Mennonites who migrated to Upper Canada until the War of 1812 (Markham Township Historical Committee, 1950).

Today, Markham is an amalgamation of smaller villages, including old Markham Village, Unionville, Thornhill and Milliken. Markham’s earliest beginnings were also as a collection of hamlets and villages -- communities that originated out of the location of an early mill or tavern on a crossroads that spawned subsidiary activities. Some of these centres of local activity disappeared, while others (like Markham Village or Unionville) prospered (Committee for the History of Markham Township, 1979). Those that survived were guaranteed a future because of their proximity to the railway lines, and later the highways.

Old Markham Village was the largest and most active of these small centres. Known as the Birmingham of Ontario during the late 1800s (Committee for the History of Markham Township, 1979: 259), Markham Village (incorporated in 1872) was a manufacturing centre for a variety of goods including shoes, woolens, threshing machines and even bells. These industries employed dozens of people who acquired homes and services for their families in the Village. The industrial role of the Village declined by the turn of the century as local industries were unable to compete with larger companies in nearby Toronto.

Unionville, an historical centrepiece of contemporary Markham, was a centre for bustling commercial development during the last century because of the location of a railway station just south of the Village. Commercial development continued into the 1920s with the arrival of the highway. As historians note, "this movement south explains why so much of the old 19th-century [Unionville] village remains intact..." within the suburban Town of Markham today (Committee for the History of Markham Township, 1979: 301).

The Town of Markham, as it is currently known, was incorporated in 1971. With the modernization and suburbanization efforts of the 20th century that spread Toronto’s population into outer-fringe communities like Markham, many of its historical crossroads communities are remembered in name only. Covered by housing and industry, much of the farming and small town landscape of Markham’s past has eroded in favour of suburban development. In the minds of many long-time Markham residents, however, it is that pastoral 19th century heritage that continues to define Markham’s unique character.

After nearly 200 years as a relatively homogeneous community with a strong sense of its historical roots, Markham began to change fundamentally in the 1970s. No longer homogeneous, Markham is now a dynamic and somewhat unstable mix of long-time residents and new immigrants.

Communities like Markham offer evidence of a larger shift in the settlement patterns of Canadian immigrants. Suburban areas have traditionally been home to the Canadian-born and/or immigrants who have been living in Canada for many years. Today, by contrast, many newcomers are also choosing to settle in suburban municipalities directly upon arrival. Although an historically white, ethnically German community, contemporary Markham is very multicultural.

Markham’s diversity has resulted from the influx of large numbers of immigrants into the community to the point where today the population is composed of 48 per cent immigrants, 51 per cent Canadian-born and 1 per cent non-permanent residents (Statistics Canada, 1996). In contrast to Kensington’s historical immigration pattern, though, over half (54 per cent) of the immigrants living in Markham arrived since 1981 (see Figure 6.1). In 1971, Markham’s population was composed of only 20 per cent immigrants, and 80 per cent Canadian-born (Statistics Canada, 1971). By 1981 Markham had more than doubled in population, yet immigrants made up only 29 per cent and the Canadian-born still dominated at 71 per cent of the total population (Statistics Canada, 1981). By 1991, the immigrant population continued to grow to 40 per cent of Markham’s population, while the Canadian-born slipped to 58 per cent. This trend has continued. The recent 1996 Census shows that the immigrant and Canadian-born populations are roughly equal in size at 48 and 51 per cent, respectively.

With changes in federal immigration policy in the 1960s and 1970s, Canada has witnessed a shift in source countries away from Europe in favour of Asia. As the majority of Markham’s immigrants arrived since 1981, the community predictably reflects the national trend toward Asian immigration. Immigrants from Asia, and especially Hong Kong and China, represent the largest group within Markham, with European immigrants from the United Kingdom, Italy and Greece present in comparatively much smaller proportions (see Table 6.1). When recent immigrants are isolated from the total immigrant population, there are no European countries in the top ten list.

The ethnocultural diversity that is characteristic of Markham today is also evident in the variety of ethnic origins that residents claim. Chinese is the most frequent ethnic origin claimed (33 per cent), followed by East Indian (12 per cent), Canadian (8 per cent), and then English and Italian (each at 7 per cent). The balance of the population is scattered among many ethnic groups. Complementing this ethnicity data is visible minority available with the 1996 Census, which shows that 46 per cent of Markham’s total population belongs to a visible minority group (Statistics Canada, 1996).

Given the variety of ethnic groups in which Markham residents claim membership, one might expect a corresponding multilingual community as well. Surprisingly, this is not the case. Markham is overwhelmingly an English-speaking community, with 68 per cent of the population speaking English in the home. Of the remaining 32 per cent, Chinese is the next most frequent language spoken in the home (see Figure 6.2).

Markham is a very affluent suburban community. Household income is evenly spread across the low and middle income groups, but is disproportionately weighted at the top end of the scale, with 39 per cent of Markham residents claiming a household income over $80,000 in 1995 (see Figure 6.3). The average household income in Markham in 1995 was $78,425 -- a figure that was $18,000 more than the average for the Toronto CMA as a whole, and $49,000 more than Kensington (Statistics Canada, 1996). The incidence of low income among individuals in private households for Markham is only 14.6 per cent, compared to 21.1 per cent for the Toronto CMA and 54.8 per cent for Kensington (Statistics Canada, 1996).

Not unexpectedly, as well as being a high income community, Markham is also home to a well educated population. In Markham, only one quarter (25 per cent) of the population over 15 years old did not have a high school certificate in 1996, compared to almost half of the Kensington population. As Figure 6.4 illustrates, 64 per cent of Markham’s population had achieved education beyond the secondary level, and 37 per cent had a university education.

Although Markham has historical roots as far back as the late 1700s this is not reflected in its housing stock. Having experienced a tremendous population boom since the 1970s, only 2 per cent of all occupied dwellings in Markham were built before 1946. The majority of Markham residents live in dwellings built recently -- 81 per cent have been built since 1971, and over half of those (57 per cent) were constructed since 1981. (Statistics Canada, 1996). Furthermore, although Markham experienced a notable peak in construction during the 1980s, residential units are continuing to be built in the community at a rapid pace. According to municipal estimates, 160 per cent more residential units were built in 1994 than the previous year (Town of Markham Economic Development Office, 1996: 29). This is supported by the 1996 Census which shows that 12 per cent of all occupied dwellings in Markham were built between 1991 and 1996 (Statistics Canada, 1996).

Markham is a family-oriented community, as evidenced by the type of predominance (77 per cent) of single detached housing. Not surprising given the suburban character of Markham, 83 per cent of residents own their home, and the density is quite low (820 people/km²) (Statistics Canada, 1996).

Markham (along with other cities like Scarborough and Richmond Hill in Ontario and Richmond in British Columbia) has gained wide attention because of its retail condominium developments. These developments coincide with the large, affluent Asian population that has chosen to settle in Canadian suburban centres such as Markham. Somewhat of a chicken-and-egg phenomenon, it is unclear whether or not businesses catering to the Asian market have attracted Asian residents, or if the increasingly large Asian residential population in the region has attracted such businesses (interested party B-M, 1997). What is clear is that Markham has become an attractive choice as both a residential and commercial location among many Asian immigrants. Asian malls have perhaps been one of the more controversial signs of this immigration settlement pattern.

A development trend which emerged in the 1990s, condominium-style malls mark a unique departure from conventional North American commercial development both in terms of form and tenure. Although some have been created by converting existing plaza-style developments, most of these retail condominiums are purpose-built, large enclosed structures offering a wide range of services including shopping, dining, banking, bowling, electronic games and theatres (Wang, 1996: 12). Although large, they lack the conventional "anchor" department stores typically associated with traditional mall developments. Customers are drawn instead by the small restaurants that are located in these malls (occupying 20 - 25 per cent of the total commercial space). The first Asian mall built in Markham, for example, proposed to have up to 40 different restaurants (developer interest C-M, 1997). The use of restaurants as anchors is often attributed to an Asian preference to dine out -- the average Chinese family is said to eat out much more frequently and tends to spend more than its North American counterpart, in part because restaurants rather than homes are used as places to network and socialize (Morgan, 1994). Others argue that the attraction of restaurants is exaggerated, and that in the more successful developments entertainment amenities, and not restaurants, are the real "anchor" (John Winter Associates, 1994: 22).

Higher density is another unusual feature of Asian malls when compared with traditional shopping centres. Stores inside retail condominium developments are typically much smaller than in traditional malls. Although most of the developments proposed and built in Markham have had 800 square foot units, some have units as small as 150 square feet (see Figure 6.6). This is much smaller than conventional large regional malls where 2000 - 3000 square foot units are the norm (planner B-M, 1996a). According to some, the creation of small stores within this type of commercial development are reminiscent of the vertical shopping centres with very small stores commonly found in Hong Kong, and reflect a cultural preference among Asian retailers (developer interest C-M, 1997). Undoubtedly, this preference is also rooted in the cost of owning a retail unit -- small stores make this alternative form of commercial development affordable to a wide range of prospective buyers. As one business person explained:

Not the first community in the Toronto metropolitan area to acquire Asian malls, nor home to the greatest number of such developments, Markham gained notoriety because of the large size and scale of the ones built, and the political upheaval they spawned. The first retail condominium development built in Markham (Pacific Mall) did have very small stores, and this became a source of public opposition to the development. Many people were fearful that the result would be a flea-market type of retail, where small stores functioned more as market stalls. From the developer’s perspective, however, the stores averaging 350 - 800 square feet were integral to the premise of the development’s function:

Money was also invested in store fronts and flooring to create an up-scale environment that would discourage the creation of bargain-stores within the mall.

Responding to a unique market niche of Asian business people looking to invest, retail condominiums also differ substantially from conventional North American commercial developments in terms of tenure. In contrast to the traditional retail experience in North America where malls are financed and built by large developers who then rent or lease out individual stores, retail condominium developments are often financed by pre-purchased individual units. Retailers own their stores and have access to shared common spaces. As Wang explains:

One downside of this multiple-ownership arrangement is that no single body is responsible for the development or any problems that may arise from it. As some business people see it:

As a new type of commercial development, retail condominiums have been very popular. Developers have been attracted to the lower initial investment they have to make in order to start construction because of the pre-development selling approach. Interestingly, although catering to Asian retail investors and an Asian customer market, most of the developers in Markham have not been ethnically Asian themselves but rather a multicultural mix of business people seeing a market opportunity. With the prosperity of investments in conventional regional shopping centres declining in the late 1980s, retail condominiums arrived at a time when the commercial development industry was looking for a more secure investment alternative (developer interest C-M, 1997).

Retail condominiums have been most successful because of the ready investors many Asian immigrants have proven to be. While in part a result of geo-political forces occurring in Asia and elsewhere, shifts in Canadian immigration policy have had a hand in facilitating the arrival of these new immigrants. The proliferation of interest in retail condominium development within the Asian business community in Canada coincides with federal immigration policy aimed at attracting immigrants seen to be an economic benefit to the country. Within the business category of immigration (discussed in detail in Chapter Three), immigrants can enter Canada as either self-employed, entrepreneurs or investors. Retail condominiums offer many prospective business immigrants a comfortable venue in which to start a business or make an investment that will meet their immigration entry requirements. Developers recognize the potential these requirements create, and in some of these retail condominium developments, the unit price has been specifically tailored to match the minimum investment requirements of the federal government’s Immigrant Investor Program (Harris Hudema Consulting, 1994: 5). Some question whether or not newcomers see Canada’s business immigration as "a relatively low price to buy a residence permit to live in Canada" (Wang, 1996: 13).

Retail condominiums have also been successful because they have met a market demand. As immigrants (both recent and more established) continue to populate suburban areas, there has been an increased demand for goods and services that reflect their multicultural preferences. Moreover, given the automobile-oriented nature of the suburban lifestyle, large-scale Asian malls can attract customers from within a wide market shed. In some cases, several malls have clustered together, forming a commercial shopping node and offering a sizable shopping resource to the Asian target market (business interest A-M, 1997).

As was pointed out by an architect active in this commercial development area, the presence of an ethnically specific retail option is not new to the Canadian market; though the scale at which retail condominiums are built is different. "It is the same thing if you have an ethnically geared product like bagels," he explained, "Only theme malls are larger, so more noticeable... [they] are seen as a huge physical monster" (interested party C-M, 1997). From this perspective traditional malls are also ethnically specific, perhaps catering to an Anglo-Saxon market.

Although Markham planners did not seek out developers interested in building retail condominiums, the climate for development created by local planners and politicians made Markham an attractive community for Asian mall developers. With a pro-business attitude among Council members and a commitment to keep taxes low (Town of Markham Economic Development Office, 1995a: 3), Markham has successfully encouraged varied growth and development within its municipality. The planning department has also worked hard to create an environment where the form and impact of proposed development is evaluated within a generally flexible planning approach (planner B-M, 1996c). In contrast to higher density urbanized municipalities where new development and redevelopment may be heavily structured within existing zoning hierarchies, Markham planners pride themselves on having created a flexible and adaptive environment that encourages new development. As one municipal spokesperson explained, "Markham has greenfields... more room for thinking without bounds" (interested party A-M, 1996).

Markham has a planning agenda and vision for the future. Out of respect for the community’s pastoral history and the ties many residents continue to feel for that history, planning tools are used to ensure it remains a strong part of Markham’s future. One example of this is the historical main streets found in old Markham Village, Unionville and Thornhill, which are protected by a separate commercial zoning designation. In fact, many developments outside these main street areas, both residential and commercial, reflect this small town Ontario aesthetic in their architectural design.

While acknowledging the importance of its heritage, Markham is also very focused on future growth. Eager to avoid the often unsightly development patterns of strip-malls and suburban sprawl that have grown up in other suburban cities, Markham has attempted to guide the residential, commercial and industrial developments that are being built in the rapidly expanding municipality within a somewhat cohesive "planned vision". Dedicated to flexibility as a hallmark of the planning approach in Markham, planners have allowed alternative development initiatives to be tried within general urban design parameters. Residentially, Markham has done this with the neo-traditional planning ideas that are being implemented in some subdivisions. As a suburban centre attracting not only residents but also retail, business and light industry, however, Markham planners have also been faced with a variety of commercial and industrial development challenges.

In order to keep up with an evolving commercial sector and to adequately address new retailing trends in Markham, an amendment to its Official Plan was recently passed (Town of Markham, 1995). The amendment followed a review of Markham’s commercial sector, completed in 1994. Although many parts of the sector (including large office buildings, single-tenant industrial buildings, hotels and historic main streets) were not experiencing significant problems, the review was commissioned because there were concerns relating to new large free-standing stores, retail plazas and retailing in industrial areas. As the preamble to the amendment explains:

The existing planning structure was also criticized for being inflexible, having a lack of categories and definitions that adequately reflected the variety of commercial development that was occurring in Markham. Further, planners saw a need to de-link commercial zoning decisions and site-specific local market issues, so that the reality of regional competition could be accounted for when considering planning approvals. It was clear to planners in Markham that a more flexible and adaptable planning framework needed to be in place.

The amendment created nine new categories to further subdivide the existing Commercial and Industrial Uses in order to cope with a diverse and rapidly changing local economy. Commercial Use now includes: Major Commercial Area, Community Amenity Area, Neighbourhood Commercial Area, Heritage Main Street Area, Commercial Corridor Area, and Retail Warehouse. Industrial Use includes: Business Area, Business Corridor Area, and General Industrial Area. These land use categories were designed "to reflect area characteristics and building forms, and to implement the planned function of nodal and corridor development. The categories are intended to focus commercial and other activities by type, scale, intensity and building form" (Town of Markham, 1995: iv).

Markham has attempted to accommodate new trends in commercial development and improve the functioning of local planning, and also maintain a high level of structural quality and design control. Part of achieving what Markham planners refer to as a "quality urban image", urban development design guidelines have accompanied the commercial zoning designation amendments for such new uses as the commercial and business corridors. As well, campus-style business centres have been encouraged in many commercial and industrial areas. Firmly committed to fostering ever-more development within the municipality, Markham also wants to ensure that such development evolves as an attractive, cohesive whole that will make it a place where people will continue to want to live and work.

Like planners in highly urbanized areas, Markham planners are dealing with pressures to manage residential, commercial and industrial growth. Working within a suburban municipality, however, they face the unique demand of encouraging a wide range of development in what are primarily empty lands. According to Garreau, Markham and its surrounding area represent an emerging "edge city" -- an urbanized area built on the scale of the automobile that rapidly develops out of a suburban residential or rural landscape (Garreau, 1988). As a suburban growth community of the future, Markham promotes itself in terms of both a favourable business environment (low taxes, flexible planning structure, available lands) and the aesthetic the community offers (open spaces, pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods, architecturally complimentary commercial development). This has proved to be a potent combination that is attracting residents, businesses and developers in large numbers. As Garreau explains, "people who are out there redefining themselves, like entrepreneurs, are attracted to places that are new, where things can be more flexible" (Garreau, 1988: 29).

What is interesting from the perspective of this dissertation is that in recent years as Markham has rapidly expanded, it has not only been wealthy middle-class Canadians looking beyond Toronto’s urban core who have been attracted to the community, but also new immigrants who have the money to buy into such a suburban lifestyle. That a community such as Markham is attractive to these newcomers should not be surprising. Citing an interview with the spokesperson for a large Japanese commercial development located outside New York City, Garreau makes the case for why many entrepreneurial and wealthy immigrants are living and working in "edge cities":

While Markham may not exactly be the "land of opportunity," many recent immigrants with the money to set up a business and/or buy a suburban home find it a very attractive location. This influx of immigrants has not only changed the demographic character of Markham, but has also introduced new commercial developments into its suburban architecture, providing new challenges for Markham planners.

In the next chapter the particular challenge of retail condominium development is explored in greater detail. Chapter Seven examines Markham’s first experience with Asian malls in light of the criteria introduced in Chapter Two.

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