Proposals for a complete redevelopment of Promenade Shopping Centre
One of Toronto’s major shopping centres is due for a significant renovation – Promenade Shopping Centre located in Thornhill, just off of Bathurst Street, north of Steeles Avenue West and south of Centre Street. This shopping mall is beloved to Torontonians as it was home to the world’s first-ever Yogen Fruz.
The mall has been operating for 32 years, a shoppers’ paradise, being home to over 150 stores and luxury brands. In February 2016, Cadillac Fairview, the mall’s owner at the time, announced the Promenade Shopping Centre for sale. In April 2017, Promenade General Partner Inc., consisting of the Serruya family and Liberty Development Corporation, bought the shopping centre.
Although the mall had been generating sufficient traffic, when Sears went bankrupt in 2017 and closed down, Promenade Mall’s revenue took a hit. Sears had occupied 20% of the site’s space, a great source of income for the shopping centre, and for Vaughan itself.
Vaughan is a unique city – what was once empty parcels of land has now become high-rise condominiums, retail stores, and commercial spaces. As the needs of the City continue to grow, so does the demand for its space. That is why Liberty Development has submitted redevelopment plans to the City of Vaughan which aims to transform the Promenade Shopping Centre into a transit and pedestrian-oriented community.
Promenade Shopping Centre will itself be revamped entirely into a new modern space that will be an emblem of the transformation the City of Vaughan is undergoing. Liberty Development seeks to utilize maximum efficiency of the land space surrounding the shopping centre through mixed-use buildings, including residential towers, offices, and a hotel.
The buildings will be designed by WZMH Architects and the landscape by Schollen & Company. The site will have lots of open space to ease pedestrian access including a plaza with ponds connecting to Bathurst Street, a community centre, and an outdoor amphitheatre.
The City of Vaughan is reviewing the first phase of the proposal – and while we all wait in anticipation of the feedback, we can hope that plans go through. If the proposal is approved, this community mall will offer much more economic incentives and opportunities to the neighbourhood than ever anticipated.