Mississauga’s Heartland Town Centre redevelopment could bring 4,000 residential units to area

Growth in e-commerce, pandemic accelerates plans to reimagine underutilized space, say representatives

Thestar.com
May 27, 2022
Alexander Heck

A plan to revamp a southern corner of Heartland Town Centre could bring more than 4,000 new residential units to Mississauga.

In a presentation to Peel regional council, Glen Broll, an urban planner with Glen Schnarr and Associates, gave local politicians a rundown of what the owner is envisioning for the area.

“Retail as we know it today, the bricks and mortar component of retail, will be changing,” Broll said, explaining that the pandemic has helped accelerate a shift toward online retail.

Heartland Town Centre spans 220 acres of land on either side of Britannia Road, from Terry Fox Way to McLaughlin Road.

The plan is to redevelop two blocks in Heartland Town Centre, spanning approximately 13.5 hectares, along Matheson Boulevard from Mavis Road to McLaughlin Road.

A rendering provided by CORE Architects shows what the Orlando Corporation would like to build on lands in Heartland Town Centre, including a vision for three 15-storey buildings along Mavis Road. | CORE Architects image

“Our ask is to allow a true mix of uses on these lands,” Broll said.

Broll said with the shift to e-commerce, retailers are leaving their brick and mortar locations.

“There’s approximately 80,000 square feet of vacant space,” Broll said, explaining that the owners are getting very short-term rentals for the space.

“It’s an egregious use of space when you realize 70 per cent of it is parking lot,” said Mississauga councillor Carolyn Parrish, adding that the area has a 25 per cent vacancy.

Parrish said that in a previous Mississauga council meeting, she asked Phil King, vice-chairman of the Orlando Corporation, which owns Heartland Town Centre, to provide at least 25 per cent affordable housing through the project.

At Mississauga council, Parrish indicated that Orlando Corporation estimated 4,000 residential units could be built in the area.

In preliminary drawings, there are ideas to have three 15-storey buildings along Mavis Road, with four- to six-storey buildings along Matheson Boulevard.

“It’s innovative,” she said. “It’s showing us what you can do with an archaic system of sales and it’s going to help housing greatly.”

The Orlando Corporation wants to build a public green space through the middle of the proposed housing development, which would have connections to the rest of the shopping plaza as well as the greater community.

“We know that we have a long planning process ahead of us,” Broll said, adding that there would be opportunities for commercial and retail spaces at the ground floor levels of a number of the buildings.

On April 28, Peel regional council approved a motion to exclude the portion of Heartland Town Centre from the employment areas in the new official plan.

The City of Mississauga and the Orlando Corporation are going to be spending the next 18 to 24 months working on the vision for this redevelopment, before starting public consultation.