Booming neighbourhood planned for industrial land on Mississauga’s waterfront

Plans call for a pedestrian scale waterfront community that improves on the already-popular, existing urban village.

Thestar.com
May 1, 2017
By Tess Kalinowski

A 72-acre parcel of lakeside industrial land that has stood idle for 30 years will be transformed into an extension of Mississauga’s pedestrian-friendly Port Credit neighbourhood.

The site, south of Lakeshore Rd., west of Mississauga Rd. and east of Pine Ave. S., will incorporate nearly $2 billion worth of development, according to Ken Tanenbaum of Kilmer Group, part of the West Village Partners, a joint venture that bought the land from Imperial Oil.

Dream Unlimited, Diamond Corp. and FRAM + Slokker are the other partners on the project, announced Monday.

The plan, which has still to be approved by Mississauga council, calls for 2,500 highrise and townhome units for about 5,000 residents and, 200,000 sq. ft. of office and retail space, expected to draw about 1,000 jobs to the community.

A new YMCA, four green corridors providing lake access, and a waterfront park that includes an ecological garden and a beach, are also part of the development.

Remediation and rezoning of the old oil refinery site will take about two years and the whole development should be fully built out in about eight, said Tanenbaum.

“We’re unlocking another opportunity for people to appreciate and celebrate our sprawling 22-kilometre waterfront,” said Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie.

The development will be walking distance to the Port Credit GO station and it will have a stop on the Hurontario LRT connecting it to Mississauga’s city centre and to Brampton.

“It’s proof that Mississauga will look completely different in the next 40 years than we have in the last 40,” said Crombie.

The new Port Credit area is just one node in the city’s journey to a more urban centre, she said.

Within the next two to five years, Mississauga’s downtown near Burnhamthorpe Rd. and Hurontario St., will have 20 towers breaking ground, said Crombie.

Also pending will be redevelopment that accompanies the Hurontario LRT, plans for the 300-acre Lakeview site, a former generating station and the Canada Lands marina and warehouse area along the waterfront.

“My challenge is to build a complete city, the livable, walkable city and make sure the transit is built to accommodate the new people that will be coming to our city,” she said.

But that can’t be done without more funding from senior government, said Mississauga Councillor Jim Tovey (Ward 1).

The federal and provincial government have given Waterfront Toronto about $1.67 billion - the equivalent of about $595 per person in Toronto. Mississauga has received $4.03 million, which works out to a Per-capita investment of $5.11, he said.

“If we’re really going to make our waterfront sing, we’re going to have to have that help from the federal and provincial government,” he said.

Crombie said the city plans to push for more funding and she is optimistic, that with a provincial election looming next year, Queen’s Park will step up.

“We don’t get the funding that the City of Toronto does on a Per-capita basis. Investment on the waterfront is just one example,” she said.

The tallest building in the development will be 26 storeys, said Frank Giannone of FRAM + Slokker. His company was behind an earlier phase of development in the Port Credit area - 29 acres near Lakeshore Rd. and Hurontario St.

Giannone said there are things he wants to improve in this latest project, including opportunities for more commercial activity on the water.

“For example, creating spaces where restaurants can (reach out) on the waterfront. We don’t have that in our current Port Credit. You have a very accessible waterfront but we’d like to bring people further down and keep them down,” he said.

While Port Credit has a public square on Lakeshore Rd., this next phase will include a square on the waterfront, he said.

“It really is a pedestrian community,” said Giannone. “It’s awesome to see the number of people that gravitate here on evenings and weekends that want to be part of this waterfront experience.”