Why Investing Big in East Beaver Creek Makes Little Sense Compared to Revitalizing Downtown Richmond Hill

 

 

Richmond Hill is at a crossroads. The East Beaver Creek Secondary Plan—a newly proposed mixed-use intensification blueprint near Highway 7 and East Beaver Creek Road—is poised to reshape the city’s periphery into a denser, transit-oriented centre. With the city studying land-use designations, building height, density, and infrastructure changes, the costly makeover is just beginning its public consultation arc. However, before sinking millions—or perhaps billions—into transforming an edge-of-city zone, we must ask: Do we actually have that money? And are three options that essentially repackage the same idea worth our limited resources? Especially when downtown Richmond Hill, long overlooked, cries out for investment that could generate greater economic returns.

 

 East Beaver Creek: Costly Edge Expansion vs. Established Downtown Opportunities

The proposed East Beaver Creek Secondary Plan is ambitious. Bounded by Leslie Street, Highway 7, Highway 404, and East Pearce/Norman Bethune, the corridor sits within protected transit zones and is slated for mixed-use development and intensification. Public workshops—scheduled for August 2025 (both virtual and in-person)—are inviting residents to weigh in on conceptual land-use options.

Yet despite the transit proximity, redevelopment here faces typical suburban pitfalls: car dependency, infrastructure strain, and potentially lower economic yield per acre than high-value, walkable commercial cores. These are risks that come with building on the urban fringe instead of reinvesting in the heart of the city.

 

 What About Money? Do We Have Funds—or Should We Even?

Municipal budgets are finite. While Richmond Hill recently secured $31 million via the Housing Accelerator Fund to speed up affordable housing along major corridors, that isn’t enough to underwrite suburb-scale redevelopment. Meanwhile, the city’s Economic Development Strategy emphasizes sectors like finance, fintech, healthtech, and information industries—all anchored in central, highly visible corridors, not fringe industrial-residential mixes .

Also, recall that Tax Increment Equivalent Grants (TIEGs)—sometimes offered to spur redevelopment—help offset rise in property taxes but reduce short-term revenue for the city . That’s a band-aid, not a solution.

When resources are limited, investing in downtown—where revitalized storefronts, mixed-use buildings, and heritage-friendly upgrades could expand the tax base and entice business—makes far more sense. Businesses clustered downtown generate real revenue, attract foot traffic, and serve as liveable civic anchors.

 

Public Consultation: Same Bag, Different Wrapper

The city’s outreach invites people to choose among three conceptual options for East Beaver Creek’s future. But if all three are variations of “build denser near transit,” this consultation becomes a formality, not a meaningful dialogue. Asking citizens to pick their favourite version of the same plan does little to uncover creative, value-for-money alternatives—like improving downtown.

True civic engagement should ask hard questions: Should we be focusing on this fringe area at all? Could we better use funds to spruce up under-utilized downtown blocks, fix derelict storefronts, or create walkable mixed-use zones that boost business activity and vibrancy? Right now, we’re reinforcing a sunk-cost mindset with limited upside.

 

 Downtown Richmond Hill: An Undervalued Asset

Residents and commentators have long voiced frustration with the downtown’s commercial stagnation. On Reddit, one user lamented:

> “Walkability is poor anywhere, except for old downtown RH, which IMO, is decrepit compared to some other old downtowns in York Region… There is so much potential to do more.”

Another noted:

> “I live within walking distance … What a sad, pathetic state of affairs that strip is. Wasteland… dilapidated buildings everywhere.”

Downtown’s heritage core—on Major Mackenzie/Yonge—has charm, potential, and walkable structure. Yet it remains mired in neglect. Cleaning it up and reactivating it with small shops, cafes, pedestrian-friendly streets, and mixed-use redevelopment would likely yield bullish economic returns. Small business clusters not only pay property and business taxes—they also animate civic space and build community identity.

 

Comparing Returns: Fringe vs. Core

East Beaver Creek: Requires massive upfront spending for new infrastructure—roads, utilities, parks, transit nodes. Property values may be moderate and residential-heavy, offering lower tax yield per square foot.

Downtown: Existing infrastructure, heritage zoning frameworks, storefronts ready to be upgraded. A relatively modest investment in façade improvements, public realm, parking solutions, or pedestrian enhancements can catalyze private investment and multiply returns.

Moreover, downtown investment reinforces city culture, walkability, and business ecosystem. East Beaver Creek, even if densely built, is unlikely to generate the same multiplier effect.

 

Final Thoughts

Richmond Hill must choose wisely. The East Beaver Creek project—while strategically located—demands serious money and delivers speculative returns concentrated on dense residential and light mixed-use. It’s easier politically to “do something” near City Hall, but easier doesn’t mean better.

Instead, downtown deserves rehabilitation. Revitalization here can drive the local economy: improving business revenues, generating greater tax yields, enhancing pedestrian life, and not requiring billion-dollar infrastructure gambits.

Public consultations should pause and redirect—from asking which flavour of the same idea to exploring whether the idea belongs before asking “how”.

Our city’s future shouldn’t be anchored on ill-conceived expansions at the margins. Rather, breathe life into our downtown, where businesses—and the community—can flourish.