Emshih has bold, complete community plans for two huge developments in city

For the average Burlington resident, the interplay between developers and the city’s planning department is complex and confusing.

For developers the process takes time, involves risk, faces a constantly changing set of regulations, increasing interest rates and, to hear them, a source of red tape frustration.

One only need to look at the long list of appeals before the Ontario Land Tribunal, an un-elected group of provincial appointees, to see that something’s not right, if not broken.

BurlingtonToday spoke with a development insider to get a clearer picture of the process and to understand his vision for a ‘complete community’ approach to development, something that sustainability experts have been asking municipalities to build for decades. 

Dr. Michael Shih, of Emshih Developments Inc., moved to Burlington after graduating from medical school in the mid 1980s. “We moved to Burlington because it seemed like a nice place to raise a family,” said Shih.

With his wife Emily, they established Emshih Developments Inc. to develop commercial plazas (the Burlington Power Centre on Brant St.) at first and later seniors’ residential buildings (the Residences of LaSalle). Today Emshih Developments has over a dozen projects in its portfolio in Hamilton, Oakville and even as far away as St. John, New Brunswick. But Burlington is still near and dear to the Shihs.

In 2016, long before anyone had heard of a Major Transit Station Area (MTSA), the concept of ‘Midtown’, a collection of offices and residences could be ideally located on the 16-acre property at the corner of 901 Guelph Line and Harvester Road, close enough to walk to the Burlington Mall, doctors’ offices, restaurants, a hotel and the GO station on Fairview. Plus, services such as sewers, water and electricity run right up Guelph Line already.

Emshih Developments saw an opportunity, but the City of Burlington was not ready for the nascent concept of a walkable ‘complete community’. A walkable community sees residential, retail, services and transit within a 15 minute walking distance.

Two major factors stood in the way of Dr. Shih’s vision. The zoning in the area was for ‘employment land’ a commodity that cities protect in order to attract major employment industries. However, in other development proposals, employment lands have been converted to mixed-use zoning with the blessing of the province in its drive for housing.

The other factor was the Ministry of Transportation (MTO). It was felt that the area at Guelph Line and Harvester was already too congested with vehicles using the ramps on and off the QEW.

“But MTO was thinking this would be office towers with a heavy flow in the morning and at night,” explained Shih. “If the land was more residential, people would come and go all through the day, or walk.”

Perhaps most frustrating is the empty lot on the west side of Guelph Line that appears to have no plans to be developed even though it is within the MTSA.

Shih is reluctant to point fingers but notes that the turnover in the city’s planning department was problematic. “Staff felt that it would take three years to come up with a plan,” said Shih. “We started six years ago. We could begin developing today. 

“They (the planners) thought ‘complete community’ meant hi-rise residential with second floor office and ground floor retail. It failed.” 

Shih also noted that a large store, such as a grocery store requires a lot of parking at $80,000 plus per space.

901 Guelph Line

But rather than give up, Shih sees potential in 901 Guelph Line. With 250,000 sq. ft. available, and 30 truck entrances, the building that at one time was home to International Trucking Inc. (a subsidiary of International Harvester) is still used for warehousing, and Workwell co-working space, a tenant that Shih is particularly pleased with.

“Because of COVID and the current work environment people no longer want to go to a head office in Toronto,” Shih explained. “Still, people who work at home need some interaction with others. Large companies also want to have smaller locations in between their big offices. Start-up companies also find the co-working space fits their requirements too.

Shih’s vision of a sustainable location addresses the massive amount of electricity consumed by the building. The building now has one of the biggest solar panel farms in Burlington, with 596 panels on its roof. The building also has a number of heat pumps installed to replace the old boiler system that burned fossil fuels.

This may appear to some as a quixotic venture given that the panels will not pay for themselves for two decades. Shih is undeterred and feels that the time to do such bold things is now.

1309 Appleby Line

However, Shih’s ambitious approach to a complete community has now shifted to another property, 1309 Appleby Line, one that Shih insisted is even larger and has the potential to house a range of housing stock, bring together facilities, perhaps, for child-care, health care, seniors residences and affordable housing.

This approach to sustainable development has brought Shih his share of supporters. Amy Schnurr, co-founder and executive director of BurlingtonGreen, said, “It's great to see this outstanding example of environmental leadership by Emshih Developments Inc, and we hope it will inspire many others to follow suit in advancing green energy technologies, as we collectively take action on climate change, locally.” 

Councillor Paul Sharman introduced Shih to the PACE concept (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) where medical staff and social services are available on-site and allow seniors to continue to live in the community.

Shih sees PACE and McMaster University’s Health TAPESTRY (Health Teams Advancing Patient Experience: Strengthening Quality) fitting into his vision of a complete community to address our aging population. 

Shih summed up his philosophy this way, “I believe one’s worth is to try to do something meaningful in life and to be productive. If the city wants this kind of development, let’s do it together.”