New 60-storey mixed tower plaza may come to Ajax

A proposed development may bring several 60-storey mixed-use to Ajax.

VanDusen Realty Holdings Corp, a GTA-based developer, has applied to build the six-tower plaza at 425 Bayly Street West.

The lot sits on the corner of Bayly Street and Westney Road, just south of Highway 401 and the Ajax GO Station. It’s on the far eastern border of the town near Duffins Creek.

The surrounding area is a mix of commercial, industrial and residential spaces

The six-acre site is currently home to the Van Dusen Chevrolet, Buick and GMC car dealership, one of several dealerships in the area.

The proposal will replace the dealership with the six towers. Each ranges in height between 50 and 60 storeys. Some of the towers are linked together via a podium bottom eight floors .

In total, the towers would bring more than 3,700 apartments to the area. It will also include commercial space in the podium.

Van Dusen Realty has proposed to build the complex in two major stages. The first such stage will include the the two tallest towers (60 and 58 storeys) connected by their own podium.

The second stage will focus on the four shorter towers (56, 54, 52 and 50). Each of these towers will be paired with another in their own podiums.

As for parking, the design includes four underground parking levels and eight above ground parking levels in one of the podiums. All told they’ll fit 2,378 resident spaces and 746 guest spaces as well as nearly 2,000 bicycles.

Architectural firm ICON Architects designed the buildings after several similar projects in Ajax, Aurora, Burlington, Halton Hills, Nermarket, Pickering, Richmond Hill, Toronto and Vaughan.

The proposal has been extensively studied including archeological, air quality, noise and vibration, shadow fall, and traffic reports. The full reports are available on Ajax’s IMO site.

Of note the traffic report indicates signifiant negative impacts even with Durham Region’s planned infrastructure upgrades.

The report found by 2029 traffic will “significantly deteriorate southbound and eastbound left-turn movements at Bayly Street and Westney Road during peak hours.” This is due in large part to events at the nearby Durham Live venue in Pickering Casino.

The traffic impacts are expected to ripple outwards to Church Street, Harwood Avenue, Mackenzie Avenue and the Highway 401 on-ramp with area traffic set to “significantly deteriorate.”

However, much of this deterioration will be corrected with planned road improvements over the next decade.

The Town of Ajax is set to hold a statutory meeting to discuss the project and any needed zoning changes with residents. However it has not yet been scheduled.