Cornell, Ontario

Cornell
—  Unincorporated community  —
Coordinates: 43°53′30″N 79°13′30″W
Country	Canada
Province	Ontario
Regional municipality	York
City	Markham
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Area code(s)	905 and 289

Cornell (2006 population estimated 12,000) (Census Tract Number 5350400.01) is a new community being developed in northeast Markham, Ontario and bounded by Highway 407, 16th Avenue, Ninth Line, and the Don Cousens Parkway.

History

Cornell was conceived in the 1990s planning process by the Town of Markham. Unlike other Markham communities, Cornell is a planned community.

Cornell's name was selected in the 1990s from a suggestion by local lawyer Paul Mingay. Mingay's family roots can be traced back to Susan Emily Cornell, a descendant of William Cornell, settler of Scarborough, Ontario. Later Cornells settled in Markham, Ontario and married into the Reesor family. William Cornell immigrated to Canada from Rhode Island is a distant relative of Ezra Cornell, founder of Cornell University.

Community Description

Most of the houses are townhomes, semi-detached or detached houses with garages at the rear. The communities are built with central amenities in order to contain suburban sprawl. Cornell was seen by the Markham Town Council as a way to deter the ongoing sprawl by encouraging residential density. The community, particularly Cornell Village, is an example of new urbanism, designed as a walkable neighborhood with a variety of housing types and retail. Cornell Village, between Highway 7 and 16th Avenue, is fully populated with medium density residential. The southern section of Cornell (south of Highway 7), however, is not populated, and remains as a wild field and a farm.

Subdivisions within Cornell

Cornell can be further separated by development phases:

• Grand Cornell - locate near Highway 7 and 9th Line and built by builders H&R, GreenPark and CountryWide

• Upper Cornell - located near 16th Avenue and 9th Line and built by builders Aspen Ridge or Beaverbrook

• Cornell Village - located between 16th Avenue and Highway 7 along 9th Line to Cornell Center Blvd; built by builders Mattamy or Ballantry

• Cornell Rouge - Located east side of Cornell Center Blvd to Donald Cousens Way between 16th Avenue and Highway 7; built by builders of Madison Homes and Forest Hill

The remaining portions of Cornell are still non-agricultural grasslands, but it will slowly disappear with further development.

Transportation

Air

The development is not far from the proposed Pickering Airport and once one of the sites for landfills in the Greater Toronto Area. Toronto/Markham Airport is located north in Dickson Hill, Ontario. This area is mianly served by Toronto Pearson International Airport for normal civilian air travel.

Public Transit

Transportation links to the community include GO Transit, and York Region Transit. The Markham-Stouffville Hospital YRT Terminal temporarily serves Cornell with several YRT routes:

• 1 Highway 7
• 2A 14th Avenue
• 4A Major Mackenzie (Rush Hour Only)
• 9 Stouffville Via Ninth Line
• 18 Bur Oak
• 85 Rutherford/16th
• 303 Cornell Express (to be renamed Bur Oak Express)
• 522 Markham Community

The Markham Stouffville Hospital Terminal is a temporary terminal serving Cornell and the nearby areas. The York Region Transit authority is currently building a permanent bus terminal, namely Cornell Terminal, located at the Don Cousens Way and Highway 7. The temporary terminal at Markham Stouffville Hospital will shut down upon completion of the new terminal. The completion date is not yet to be known.

There is also one VIVA line serving the area, namely Viva Purple. Viva Purple terminates at the Markham Stouffville Hospital as well, with plans in the future stretching to Cornell Permanent Terminal. Viva Green, currently ending at McCowan Vivastation, is also planned to extend its service into Cornell via the Highway 7 corridor.

Road

Major roadways in the community include:

• 16th Avenue
• 9th Line
• Don Cousens Parkway
• Cornell Center Blvd
• Bur Oak Avenue
• Highway 7 - soon to be renamed as Avenue 7

Parks and Recreation

• Cornell Village Park
• Donald Cousens Parkway North Berm and Flatlands

Planned Development

• Community Center with Library (under construction, to be finished by 2013)
• Fire hall (under construction, to be finished by 2012)
• Lindvest Condo and Retail Development - 1,300 condo units, 50 live/work and commercial/retail/office space located on the South side of Hwy 7

Education

Most children in the area are bused to schools outside Cornell.

• Cornell Village P.S: accepts students mostly from Cornell.
• Little Rouge P.S: located just in Upper Cornell. Students living in Grand Cornell, Cornell Rouge, Cornell and Upper Cornell and students from the farmlands northeast of Markham attend Little Rouge Public School.
• Unnamed Cornell P.S N.E is currently planned to be built and it's due open on September 2012 due to the overflow of both Little Rouge P.S and Cornell Village P.S. The planned boundary are that to accept all students from Cornell Rouge and some from Cornell Village.
• Cornell Secondary School is currently planned for 2015, near the proposed community centre.
• Two additional public school and one Catholic school is also planned by 2015.
• The York Region Catholic School Board has a site reserved for a secondary school.

References

Topics on Markham, Ontario

Main topics

Founder • Government • History • Mayor • Previous Mayors • York Region _(portal)  • Markham municipal election, 2010  • Markham Ward 3 By-election, 2009  • Markham municipal election, 2006

Transportation

Municipal roads • Other Transportation • York Regional Roads

Communities

Angus Glen • Armadale • Berczy Village • Box Grove • Buttonville • Cachet • Cashel • Cedar Grove • Cornell • Dickson Hill • Downtown Markham • Gormley • Greensborough • Legacy • Locust Hill • Old Markham Village • Markham Centre • Milliken • Mongolia • Quantztown • Unionville • Thornhill • Underwood • Vinegar Hill • Wismer Common

Education / Schools

Elementary: All Saints • Armadale • Ashton Meadows • Boxwood Public School • Castlemore • Central Park • Boxwood • San Lorenzo Ruiz • William Berczy
Secondary: Brother André • McGivney • Markham District • Markville • Middlefield • Milliken Mills • St. Augustine • St. Robert • Thornhill • Thornlea • Trudeau • Unionville
Post Secondary: Seneca College: Buttonville Airport Campus, Markham Campus

Athletics, Recreation, and Shopping

Athletics: Markham Waxers • Sports
Recreation: Angus Glen Golf Club • Cedar Brae Golf & Country Club • Parks
Shopping: Markville Mall • Pacific Mall • Market Village

Attractions

Main Street Unionville • Main Street Markham • Markham Fair • Markham Museum • Markham Train Station • Thornhill Village • Varley Art Gallery

Media, and Services

Media: Markham Economist and Sun • North of the City
Services: GO Transit • Ontario Provincial Police • Markham Public Library • Markham Stouffville Hospital • Shouldice Hernia Centre • TTC • Viva • York Region Transit • York Regional Police

Sister Cities

Cary, North Carolina • Nördlingen, Germany • Pearland, Texas • Wuhan, China

List of municipalities in Ontario