5,000 Living Units, Shopping & Office Complex, Green Spaces & Walkways Envisaged
By Bala Menon
BRAMPTON: One of the iconic landmarks of Brampton, the Shoppers World Mall at Steeles Avenue and Hurontario Street as we know it, is set to disappear if the plans of its owners come to fruition. The mall was built in 1969.
RioCan (REIT) Management Inc. has submitted plans to Brampton City – revealing its grand vision for a new Shoppers World, which consists of a shopping complex, commercial office buildings, townhouses, apartments and condos, a library and a futuristic expansion of Kaneff Park.
The site will then boast around 5,000 living units – in the form of one, two and three-bedroom homes and townhouses.
The proposed buildings would be between three and 28 storeys high. Currently, Shoppers World has around 190 stores, a huge parking lot – and the plan is to develop a plot of land covering over 4 million square feet.
The existing shopping mall (of 781,000 square feet) is expected to be demolished and rebuilt to increase in size to more than 861,112 square feet for both retail and office spaces.
The artist’s rendering of the plans submitted as part of City of Brampton Development Applications shows two east to west and two north to south roads traversing the site and crossing over to other streets and lanes in the neighbourhood.
Visitors to the mall and residents within the complex will be able to walk around on private walkways and public spaces and also use bicycles to get around.
A new community branch of the Brampton Library could be part of the site. Most parking will be underground and the existing Brampton Transit terminal will be retained – and the plans also incorporate the Gateway Terminal once the Hurontario LRT comes into being.
The landscaped property, designed by SvN architects will have an abundance of green space, a huge urban park and expansion of the current Kaneff park.
All work, on what could be one of the largest mall developments in GTA history, is expected to be completed in a phased manner in around 30 years.
All Pictures: Courtesy – City of Brampton Development Applications.