Live at a Hamilton mall? Residential towers planned for CF Lime Ridge
A trip to the mall will be more convenient for future residents of two 12-storey towers planned for the site of CF Lime Ridge Mall.
Cadillac Fairview plans to raze the former Sears store at the Mountain shopping centre to make way for 320 residential units.
New retail and eating areas are also part of the first phase of an expected transformation of the Upper Wentworth Street mall into a more compact centre.
On Thursday, Cadillac Fairview's pitch goes before the city's design review panel, which offers feedback on development applications.
The city has established land-use policies to encourage high-density development served by public transit at Lime Ridge and Eastgate Square in the east end.
We're kind of seeing an evolution right now," Coun. John-Paul Danko said Monday about the conversion of malls into places where people live.
The mall being that indoor public space was the main street' that got taken indoors, so it kind of really makes sense to have residential incorporated with that," said Danko, whose Ward 8 includes Lime Ridge.
Cadillac Fairview didn't respond to The Spectator's request for an interview about its plans for the mall, which the Hamilton Bulldogs had once eyed for a hockey arena.
The firm's proposal for the north end of the mall property next to Fortinos includes a 350-stall, two-level parking garage with an amenity area on top.
Cadillac Fairview's presentation to the panel says the revamp will enhance the pedestrian ambience of the area and create a people-centric place."
Lime Ridge isn't the only shopping plaza in Hamilton with residential on its horizon.
An application by Medallion Properties, also before Thursday's panel, proposes two 12-storey buildings and two three-storey townhouse blocks for Mount Albion Plaza, which is off Greenhill Avenue near the Red Hill Valley Parkway.
This past March, Harrison Equity Partners and Retail Ventures CND Inc. announced plans to transform the 18-hectare Eastgate Square property into an accessible and affordable destination" with retail and residential components.
Just north on Centennial Parkway, SmartCentres hopes to build roughly 1,000 units and four towers as high as 20 storeys at a shopping plaza.
At a former Walmart on Mohawk Road East, New Horizon Development aims to build as many as 1,500 condos and townhouses.
IN8 Developments plans to demolish the Hamilton City Centre - the former Eaton Centre connected to Jackson Square - to construct four residential towers and street-facing commercial space.
The city's emphasis on building density at Eastgate and Lime Ridge overlaps with efforts to accommodate an expected influx of 236,000 people by 2051 within the existing urban area.
The long-term growth plan also coincides with a changing landscape for malls, which have been more challenged to secure major tenants as consumers increasingly shop online.
These really big anchor tenants that would drive a lot of stability are disappearing," said Brent McKnight, an associate professor of strategic management at McMaster's DeGroote business school.
Diversifying portfolios with residential components offers operators more security, said McKnight, whose focus includes the COVID-19's pandemic impact on retailers.
After the design review panel, Cadillac Fairview's proposal for Lime Ridge must go through the city's site-plan approval process. City planning staff have not received applications for further phases.
Cadillac Fairview is the city's biggest taxpayer, Danko noted, adding what happens at the mall greatly influences transit and the road network.
So it is a really important development for the Mountain. It is kind of the heart, if you want to put it that way."
Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com