QuadReal Property Group and Mattamy Homes have announced their partnership on the first phase of the Cloverdale Mall redevelopment project in Toronto.
Built in 1956, the 32-acre Cloverdale Mall site, located at the intersection of Highway 427 and Dundas Street West, will undergo a significant remake including a 4,000-unit mix of residential units with condo and rental apartment housing; 32,000 square metres of parkland and green space; a new street grid; 26,000 square metres of re-envisioned retail; a community hub; and below-grade parking. QuadReal is talking about a 10-year buildout.
As QuadReal’s joint venture partner for phase one, Mattamy is proposing a 32-storey tower and an eight-storey mid-rise component totalling over 500 condos and 2,400 square feet of retail on what’s being called the Triangle site.
Mattamy will acquire a partial interest in the site and will be the execution partner for development, construction and sales and marketing on the Triangle site, and it plans to build thousands more units as the development matures.
“QuadReal is a key partner in our delivery of 13,000 condo sales within the next five years,” stated David Stewart, president of Mattamy Homes GTA Urban Division, in a release.
Toby Wu, QuadReal’s executive vice-president in charge of development in Canada, said current challenges in the construction marketplace are not impediments to proceeding with the project because, he said, it has so much going for it. The region is ripe for growth and intensification and there’s currently an undersupply of new condos and purpose-built rental in the Toronto market, he said.
“We are proceeding with this project despite several current uncertainties including supply chain problems, higher interest rates, higher costs and workforce shortages,” said Wu.
“Despite these potential drawbacks and hurdles, I hope this underscores QuadReal Property Group’s long-term commitment, reinforces our conviction in Toronto’s housing market, and shows our high level of confidence in the overall master plan vision and our planned investments in the node over the next decade.”
Contributors to the project during the master planning stage included designer Giannone Petricone Associates, planner Urban Strategies, development consultant Stantec, landscape architect Janet Rosenberg and Studio and transportation and engineering services firm BA Group.
Yu said the mall has beloved status in the community so emphasis was placed on community engagement — over 15,000 people have offered feedback.
The consensus was to transform the mall from retail to a mixed-used urban community.
“Residential customers are clearly looking beyond the four walls of their suite and desire to live in an accessible and complete community,” said Yu. “At the end of the day, our goal is to be a model for high-designed mixed-use redevelopments globally.”
QuadReal executive vice- president of retail Andy Clydesdale explained during master planning, QuadReal looked back to attempt to understand how Cloverdale played an important role in the Etobicoke community 50 and 60 years ago. Historical photos show how the mall was a gathering place for fashion shows, car exhibitions and Christmas parades.
“In that sense, this is really a full circle moment,” he said. “We are going back to our roots by recreating that central gathering place in order to ensure that Cloverdale remains the centrepiece of the community it is and always was.”
QuadReal has a half-dozen aging shopping centres across the country undergoing similar analysis. Projects that are currently in active development or predevelopment include Oakridge Park in Vancouver, Assembly Park in Vaughan and Bayview Village in Toronto.
“You can’t fix bad retail with residential, but you can improve a residential master plan with great retail,” Wu said during a conference held in Toronto in the spring.
Yu said during planning consultations with the City of Toronto it became clear the developer and the city were aligned in ESG goals.
“While our sustainability strategy for the project is still in its initial stages of review, an energy and carbon-model-led design process will be employed and will include a consideration of district energy options,” he said.
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