City council approves redevelopment of former industrial site in Port Credit

Ctvnews.ca
Aug. 1, 2019
Chris Fox

A major redevelopment of a 72-acre plot of land on Port Credit’s waterfront that has sat vacant for nearly 30 years is now one step closer to getting underway.

The one time industrial property located at 70 Mississauga Road and 181 Lake Shore Road East was home to an oil refinery and storage facility but has sat empty since Imperial Oil decommissioned the site in 1990.

At a meeting on Wednesday, Mississauga city council approved the development plan for the site though the matter still has to go before the Local Planning Appeals Tribunal on Aug. 7.

Construction could then conceivably begin in 2020.

The development plan calls for the land to be transformed into a mixed-use site with nearly 3,000 residential units, retail sites, office space and a new waterfront park.

Once fully built the development is expected to bring an additional 7,000 residents to Port Credit, boosting the area’s population by about 55 per cent.

“I am pleased that we are moving forward with next steps to revitalize these former brownfield lands into a vibrant waterfront destination that will attract residents from Mississauga and beyond,” Mayor Bonnie Crombie said in a press release issued Tuesday. “As an important city-building initiative, this redevelopment will drive tourism, create jobs and boost economic growth, helping put Mississauga on the international map. We will continue to work together to ensure our vision to transform the waterfront becomes a reality.”

The proposed development, which has been dubbed “West Village,” will include more than 500 townhomes and 2,458 condominium units in mid-rise and high-rise buildings that will be capped at a maximum of 29 storeys.

There are also plans for 5.4 hectares in new parkland as well as a new YMCA and elementary school that could accommodate up to 650 students.

Concern about traffic impacts

The staff report detailing the development plans notes that the new community has been designed “to be sensitive to the existing and planned character of the neighbourhood.”

The report also says that the “proposed mix of land uses and walkable design will promote a vibrant street life” while the public realm improvements, including the waterfront park, will ensure that the community becomes a “dynamic place” that will “draw residents from Port Credit and beyond.”

That said some residents have raised concerns about the plan.

According to the staff report, residents raised dozens of issues at a series of public meetings that have been held since November, 2017.

Those issues include concerns over an increase in traffic along Lake Shore West and into the Old Port Credit Village Heritage Conservation District. Some residents also said that there is too much density planed for the area and that high-rise buildings are not appropriate for the area.

Speaking with CTV News Toronto on Wednesday, Crombie conceded that the development could mean higher volumes of traffic but she said that it will also help city leaders make the case for funding to expand public transit.

“It will allow us to advocate to higher orders of government about the possibility of funding so we can implement higher order transit right along that Lake Shore community and in the short term the development consortium has committed to running shuttles right to the (Port Credit) GO station, which is really just a few short blocks away,” she said.