Cornell is a master-planned New Urbanist community in northeast Markham, York Region, Ontario. Known for walkable streets, mixed housing, and the Markham Stouffville Hospital, it is one of the GTA's most thoughtfully designed neighbourhoods.
New Urbanist design community, walkable and porch-fronted streets, mixed housing types, top schools and hospital nearby, and strong community identity
Cornell is a landmark New Urbanist community in northeast Markham, deliberately designed with human-scale streets, front porches, back-lane garages, and a central community hub that sets it apart from conventional suburban developments.
Young families, healthcare professionals, and design-conscious buyers who value community character, walkability, and the convenience of having the Markham Stouffville Hospital and top-ranked schools within the neighbourhood.
An active, walkable lifestyle centred on the Cornell Community Centre, Rouge National Urban Park trails nearby, excellent schools, and the lively community events that bring Cornell residents together throughout the year.
Cornell was one of Canada's earliest large-scale New Urbanist communities, built on the principle that neighbourhoods should encourage residents to interact rather than isolate, resulting in a genuine sense of community that larger anonymous subdivisions rarely achieve.
Cornell participates in the Markham housing market with a mix of detached homes, semis, townhouses, and condos, with pricing reflecting both the neighbourhood's design quality and Markham's sustained demand.
Stouffville, Box Grove, and Highway 407 are all close at hand, while Rouge National Urban Park at the western edge of Markham provides extraordinary natural green space minutes from Cornell's front doors.
Canada's pioneering New Urbanist neighbourhood, designed from the ground up to foster community, walkability, and a genuinely distinctive way of living in suburban Markham.
Cornell was developed beginning in 1999 as one of Canada's first large-scale New Urbanist communities, designed by internationally recognized planners Duany Plater-Zyberk to place community at the centre of neighbourhood life. Rear-lane garages, front porches, mixed housing types, and a central community hub reflect the principles that earned Cornell the Markham 2006 Design Excellence Award. Cornell homes for sale offer a rare combination of architectural character and modern amenity, and Cornell homes for rent attract those drawn to a neighbourhood with a genuine identity all its own.
A thoughtfully designed mix of detached homes, semi-detached houses, townhomes, and coach house suites in a neighbourhood built for human connection.
Cornell's housing stock reflects its New Urbanist principles: each residential block was required to include at least two building types, creating variety and affordability within a single streetscape. Many homes feature coach house suites above rear-lane garages, providing flexible space for home offices, nanny suites, or rental income. The community is home to Markham Stouffville Hospital, making it particularly popular with healthcare workers, and several top-rated schools serve families at every level.
Walkable streets, a state-of-the-art community centre, parks, trails, and a calendar of community events that keep Cornell feeling alive year-round.
The Cornell Community Centre provides residents with recreational facilities, a performance hall, and programming for all ages, while nearby trails connect to the broader Markham trail network and the edges of Rouge National Urban Park. Front porches and sidewalk-oriented streets naturally encourage the kind of neighbourly interaction that the community was designed to foster. The Highway 407 and Highway 7 corridors provide convenient connections to the rest of York Region and beyond.
Unexpected Appeal:
Cornell is not just a neighbourhood — it is a nationally recognized model for how suburban communities can be designed to build social connection rather than undermine it.
A sought-after Markham market anchored by design quality, hospital proximity, and strong school catchments, with diverse housing options at varying price points.
Cornell offers a broad range of housing types within a single neighbourhood, from entry-level townhomes to larger detached homes, making it accessible to buyers at different stages of the market. The presence of Markham Stouffville Hospital and the neighbourhood's award-winning design quality sustain consistent buyer demand and long-term property value.
The rare experience of living in a neighbourhood that was designed to feel like a neighbourhood, and actually does.
Stouffville is 15 minutes away for additional shopping and dining, Markham Centre is equally close for urban amenities and transit, and Toronto is reachable in about 45 minutes via the 407. Rouge National Urban Park, one of the largest urban parks in North America, is minutes away and offers hiking, cycling, and nature experiences of remarkable quality. Cornell is the kind of place that earns genuine loyalty from the people who live there.
