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Serving Markham & York Region

Electrical & Mechanical Engineering in Markham.

Electrical and mechanical engineering for Markham office, technology, commercial, industrial, institutional and multi-residential projects.

Discuss a Markham projectExplore local services
Electricity distributor
Alectra Utilities Corporation
Building permits
Building Standards Department (City of Markham)
Regional services
York Region

Local Project Support

Technical workplaces and mixed-use projects in Markham.

Markham's project environments include office and technology facilities, data or communications-intensive space, commercial properties, industrial buildings, institutional uses and high-density residential work. Electrical reliability, cooling, redundancy, controls and tenant flexibility may carry more weight than a standard fit-out scope suggests.

Where a building permit is required, the City of Markham administers the municipal review. Electrical service connections or upgrades may involve Alectra Utilities; the project address and current connection requirements should be confirmed before the design basis is finalized.

Consultant teams can review our MEP support for architects; critical-load projects may also benefit from the data-centre electrical design guide.

Verified local information

Utility connection and permits in Markham

Summarized from the official pages linked below, checked on . Requirements change; confirm them with the utility and the municipality before you apply.

Electrical service connection

Alectra Utilities Corporation

Alectra's company overview lists Markham among the 17 communities it serves.

Alectra's Conditions of Service list Markham within its licensed service area and refer to its distribution licence for exact boundaries.

Alectra's Conditions of Service say customers must apply in writing for new or upgraded services and consult Alectra on supply availability, voltage, service location and metering before designing a service.

Alectra's FAQ notes that reporting electrical work to the ESA is separate from getting a building permit, and a project may need both.

Alectra has applied to the Ontario Energy Board to merge its legacy rate zones into a single Alectra-wide rate zone starting in 2027.

Rate zone: PowerStream Rate Zone.

What to prepare

  • An online application through the Alectra Utilities New Connections Portal
  • Project details and expected project timing
  • Customer and electrical contractor details, plus property owner information
  • Technical requirements for the service, with electrical drawings or site plans where needed
  • For generator installations, technical specifications submitted with the application
  • For service upgrades, an Alectra account in good standing
  • An ESA inspection: Alectra must receive the Electrical Safety Authority's connection authorization before connecting or reconnecting a service

Make a Service Request

Building permits

Building Standards Department (City of Markham)

Online applications: ePLAN.

For a Non Housing (NH) permit, the City's Guide to Building Permits lists the Applicable Law Checklist, Building and Land Use Declaration Form, Commitment to General Review, Energy Efficiency Forms and 2024 OBC Transition Declaration, plus heat loss and heat gain calculations and mechanical equipment specifications. Required drawings include HVAC, sprinkler and standpipe, and plumbing riser drawings, electrical supply and distribution plans, and riser diagrams with fire alarm zoning information.

Markham's ePLAN Submission Standards require each drawing sheet as a separate vector PDF, flattened to one layer and in greyscale, except fire separation drawings, which must be in colour. The top right corner of every drawing (3.5 x 5.5 inches) stays blank for the City's electronic approval stamps, and file names of 50 characters or less must include the sheet number and title and stay unchanged on resubmission.

All lands in Markham are subject to Site Plan Control, with exceptions set out in Site Plan Control By-law 262-94, and a building permit cannot be issued unless Site Plan Approval is obtained. Before a building permit or Planning Act application, the City's Zoning Preliminary Review, applied for through ePLAN, can check preliminary plans for a non-residential project against the current zoning by-laws.

York Region

York Region requires its own permit for any work on Regional roads (such as a new or changed entrance), and its Regional development charges for industrial, office and institutional projects are determined when the local municipality issues the building permit.

Building permit informationYork Region permits

Planning and growth areas

  • Markham's Official Plan names Markham Centre (on the Highway 7 rapid transit corridor) and the Langstaff Gateway (on the Yonge Street corridor) as the city's two Regional Centres, planned for its highest concentration and mix of uses, with Markham Centre developing as Markham's downtown.

    Source: markham.ca

  • The Official Plan applies its 'Business Park Employment' designation mainly to the Highway 404 corridor between Highway 407 and Markham's northern boundary, planned for prestige industrial and office buildings, and places a major concentration of 'Business Park Office Priority Employment' lands at Highway 404 and Highway 7, between Woodbine and Bayview avenues, where the City encourages multi-storey offices and the redevelopment of existing industrial sites to office use.

    Source: markham.ca

  • Long-established industrial and warehousing lands east of Highway 404 and south of Highway 407 carry the plan's 'General Employment' designation, which extends east from Warden Avenue along the north side of 14th Avenue, with a second area on both sides of 14th Avenue between McCowan Road and Markham Road; these lands are kept for established and new industrial and warehouse uses.

    Source: markham.ca

Typical project environments

Typical project types

  • Office & Technology Facilities
  • Critical-Load Environments
  • Commercial Properties
  • Industrial Buildings
  • Institutional Uses
  • High-Density Residential

Engineering services in Markham

Electrical engineering

Explore electrical

Mechanical & HVAC design

Explore mechanical

Plumbing engineering

Explore plumbing

Integrated MEP

Explore integrated MEP

Starting a project in Markham

Who issues building permits in Markham?

The City of Markham's Building Standards Department handles building permits. Building, demolition, plumbing, sign and pool enclosure permit applications must be submitted online through the City's ePLAN system, as paper applications are no longer accepted. Please confirm current requirements on the City's Building Permit Process page.

Official source:markham.ca

Which forms and drawings does Markham list for a Non Housing permit, such as a commercial or industrial building?

The City's Guide to Building Permits lists forms such as the Applicable Law Checklist, Building and Land Use Declaration Form, Commitment to General Review and Energy Efficiency Forms, along with HVAC, sprinkler and standpipe, plumbing riser and electrical supply and distribution drawings and fire alarm zoning information. Under the City's ePLAN Submission Standards, each drawing sheet is uploaded as a separate vector PDF in greyscale (fire separation drawings in colour), with the top right corner left blank for the City's approval stamps. Please confirm current requirements on the City of Markham's Guide to Building Permits page.

Official source:markham.ca

How do site plan control and the building permit fit together in Markham?

All lands in Markham are subject to Site Plan Control, with exceptions set out in Site Plan Control By-law 262-94, and the City states that a building permit cannot be issued unless Site Plan Approval is obtained; a Pre-Application Consultation Meeting is mandatory before a site plan application. Before a building permit or Planning Act application is submitted, the City's Zoning Preliminary Review, applied for through ePLAN, can check preliminary plans for a non-residential project against the current zoning by-laws. Please confirm current requirements on the City of Markham's Site Plan Control Application (SPC) page.

Official source:markham.ca

Can ETEM support both electrical and mechanical engineering for a project in Markham?

Yes. ETEM can define the electrical and mechanical workstreams the actual scope requires. Each discipline's drawings are prepared and sealed by a licensed engineer, and shared loads, rooms, controls and construction interfaces are reviewed through one project workflow.

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