Baif Don Head

Richmond Hill was one of Ontario’s first towns, located along Yonge Street north of Major Mackenzie Drive on a prominent hill. A considerable portion of the 19th century neighbourhood layout and character of the area has survived to this day. However, in order to create a sense of place and connect residential neighbourhoods to important transportation hubs, the borough of Richmond Hill has proposed a new ‘downtown’ central to its urban landscape. The Richmond Hill Public Library now occupies the town-owned Civic Centre block at the southwest intersection of Major Mackenzie Drive and Yonge Street, which is the proposed site for the ultimate transfer of the Town Hall from East Beaver Creek Road to a new civic core for Richmond Hill. In the context of the Yonge Street corridor’s developing transportation network, an iconic development is both achievable and desirable south of this crossroads. This new built-form will densify the region and provide public, semi-public, and private open spaces through the use of courtyards and interconnected landscaped pedestrian walkways, which are consistent with way-finding and urban design legibility.

Baif Development has proposed a new mixed-use high-rise complex for the Don Head Lands. This new addition will be Richmond Hill’s first high-rise building, located south of Major Mackenzie Drive and west of Yonge Street on the south side of Major Mackenzie Drive and west of the Civic Centre. Hariri Pontarini Architects painstakingly conceptualised and created the architectural design, which preserves an urban edge along Yonge Street. To that aim, the design contains a commercial strip of retail units along its edge, reinforcing the pedestrian interaction with Yonge Street and allowing residents to live a convenient lifestyle.