An update on the City of Toronto’s official plan for the growth of Scarborough
Centre anticipates the area to grow in population by more than six times its current number and see the creation of dozens more buildings taller than 45 storeys in the coming years.
A depiction of the area in the coming decades looks more like the densest parts of Manhattan than it does anything resembling the Scarborough of today. “The Draft Secondary Plan establishes a comprehensive planning framework specific to Scarborough Centre and sets out the long-term vision to transform the area into a complete community centred around transit investment,” explains a summary by City staff when the plan was being considered — and ultimately supported — by Scarborough Community Council. The area covered by the plan is the 180 hectares clustered around the Scarborough Town Centre mall. The area runs north of Ellesmere and south of the 401. It is contained by Bellamy Road on the east and, on the other side, moves a few buildings west of Brimley Road. The current population for the area is tallied at 14,010 persons but is estimated to grow to 63,284 residents — a more than fivefold increase.
All of the growth is centred around the expansion of the Bloor-Danforth subway line into Scarborough. After Kennedy Station, Scarborough Centre will be the second stop after Lawrence. Within the current neighbourhood, the City anticipates building 10kms of new roads, as well as 15kms of new bike lanes. A graph provided by the City details the anticipated new residential towers that will appear — with over 20 new buildings appearing to be in the 30 to 44 storey range and over a dozen new 45 to 55 storey buildings.
This growth will see the number of dwelling units expand from the current 6,740 to 29,683 units.
To support this growth, the City report says they will require one new recreation centre, two elementary schools and 19 daycares.
There is no estimated completion date on this expansion, rather it is meant as a vision to guide the future growth of the area. However, one graph indicates that the change will take place over the next 30 years.
While the population will grow fivefold, the number of jobs in the area is expected to only double – from 13,637 to 27,000.
The creation of this secondary plan is not a new exercise. The process began in 2019 and is only now culminating in a final report being issued to Scarborough Community Council and City Council for implementation.
The report says they hope to “strengthen the role of Scarborough Centre as one of Toronto’s key centres and destination points.”
Population and housing units are projected to more than quadruple, while
jobs are expected to roughly double over the same period.
Scarborough Centre Today: Currently home to 14,010 residents and 6,740 housing units, Scarborough Centre remains a low- to mid-rise neighbourhood, poised on the edge of major transformation.
Scarborough Centre in the Future: Over the next 30 years, the area is projected to grow to over 63,000 residents with dozens of new high-rise towers, expanded transit, and a reimagined urban core anchored by the Scarborough subway extension.
