Construction is ongoing on a stacked townhouse development on Yonge Street in Aurora, with the town’s planning director touting the project, saying it “will animate the streetscape.”
Aurora council approved the site plan in June 2021 for the High Park Urban Towns development at 15086 to 15106 Yonge St., near where the major thoroughfare intersects with Reuben Street. The three-storey stacked townhouse condominium building with 53 units is set to contain a range of unit sizes, including one, two and three-bedroom units.
“The development implements the intent and vision of the promenade secondary plan,” according to Marco Ramunno, the town’s planning director. “The development will introduce new housing to the downtown area and will enhance the pedestrian character of the area and will animate the streetscape through an appropriately scaled and designed building along this portion of Yonge Street.”
While the development fronts onto bustling Yonge, its intersection with Reuben Street leads to a neighbourhood of largely heritage houses.
Joanne Banfill, who has lived in her house on Temperance Street for around two decades, said she was supportive of denser housing along transit routes like Yonge, but was worried about the impact several development in the area would have on traffic.
“You can imagine what it does to traffic on Temperance, because everybody uses Temperance to avoid Yonge,” she said. “However, there's some things you have to put up with.”
Banfill noted several construction projects are underway in the neighbourhood, with construction on a 70-unit townhouse development on nearby Tyler Street set to start this year, with construction on the new Aurora United Church and Amica Senior Living, a terraced, seven-storey, 148-suite retirement home, ongoing down the road.
There are also plans for several single-detached houses along George Street on the site of the old public school.
Banfill said she had also noticed more wildlife in the area, noting she often saw pest removal vans at neighbours’ houses.
Elizabeth Gregg had not personally dealt with issues with wildlife, though she had concerns about larger, high-rise developments moving into Aurora. But she said “you have to” accept new developments when they come.
“Aurora is about double — at least — since I first moved here to this area,” said Gregg, who has lived in her house on Reuben Street for more than 30 years.
Ramunno said the developer is looking to completing the construction and having occupants move into the building in early 2026.
