Long live the neighbourhood

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Reimagined malls, ‘edge’ cities, affordable housing on the agenda as urban planners gather in Toronto

Shopping malls that have become the heart of their community; healthy, vibrant neighborhoods where everything is within 15 minutes walking distance; and, so-called ‘edge cities’ that bring residents everything that downtown Toronto has to offer. All are great things.

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There was no shortage of ideas at Urban Land Institute’s spring meeting held May 16-18 at the Metro Toronto Convention Center from land planners, developers, municipal leader and world-renowned experts about how to achieve these ideals.

“All the visions are amazing, it’s about the execution,” noted one panelist at a session called Reimagining the Mall which delved into how shopping centres can better serve their community..

Building a mall has never been so complicated. It used to be to plan and build a shopping centre took 30 to 48 months, now more often though, it’s measured in years, even decades. It is now a multi-phase, multi-year process that requires one to five years to approve and can tie up millions of dollars of equity, attendees heard.

“It’s what keeps us up at night, what to do with all those cars, how much retail is too much retail, “said one of the developers.

Yorkdale Shopping Centre, Square One, Cloverdale Mall, Fairview Mall, and Eaton Centre — there are no shortage of malls that have gone through extensive redevelopment and expansion projects — so not only are the stakes higher, everything takes longer and is much more expensive, and riskier.

Galleria on the Park, located in Downsview, is a good example, and although it became rundown it remained at the heart of the community.

“We didn’t come to wreck it but to build on it,” says Rafael Lazer of property developer Almadev of its massive redevelopment project which will also bring approximately 2,896 residential units in eight high-rise condos to the area.

To do so, the developer relied on input from residents — an urban park, community centre, groceries, banks, trails, a library and chef’s kitchen were ideas put forward — “anything you can imagine,” says Lazer.

The consistent theme, panelists agreed, malls are not just for shopping anymore, there has to “be a sense of place,” and that depends on location.
Another session called Edge City Urbanism was also all about change.

It invited the mayors of Markham, Brampton and Mississauga to talk about their evolution from bedroom communities to full-fledged cities.
Markham mayor Frank Scarpitti talked about Markham’s growth plans and the need to attract international talent and skilled immigrants to build these cities.

Brampton mayor Patrick Brown described Brampton as Canada’s fastest growing ‘large city’ and said the challenge there is: “How do you pay for all the infrastructure?”

Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie put into perspective how much the city has grown around Square One, what was once farmland now is a downtown area consisting of 36 towers “with 35 more to come.”

She said also attracting a talent pool as a key challenge but so too is “keeping our young families.”

Throughout the three-day conference, the tone was upbeat, as many of the sessions celebrated the city’s many neighborhoods.

For sure, Toronto has a legacy of creating some great neighbourhoods but the feeling too was they need to continue to evolve.

Among those highlighted: Don Mills, Canada’s ‘model town ‘built between 1952 and 1965, but now adding density and infill development; Regent Park as a model of how partnerships between real estate developers and public sector can work; and the Downsview Lands, over 520 acres of land is being re-developed to become more community and transit-oriented.

And while change can be found everywhere, there are lessons to be learned from the city of Toronto’s past also.

At a session called Housing Affordability: Success is in the Mix, former City of Toronto chief planner Jennifer Keesmat said walkable, sustainable, mixed use, high-quality, affordable communities are the ideal, but the problem is the “mismatch between growth of the city and the supply of housing.”

“There’s a myth that the market will take care of affordability,” she adds, but there is a growing feeling is that the government will need to get more involved in development.

As an example, Frank Lewinberg of Urban Strategies Inc. cites the St. Lawrence Market. There was a time, commented Lewinberg: “The government really thought they could do something good … and they delivered.”

Decades later, and long after the government programs that helped launched it expired, the “mid-century, master-planned St. Lawrence community” as it is described, exists as a viable neighbourhood that has stood the test of time.

MEETING OF THE MINDS

Ron Pressman, Global CEO for the Urban Land Institute says the goal is simple: “How do we bring people together around land use and create win-win situations.”

Easier said than done when groups represented are as diverse as politicians, builders, developers and of course, urban planners who are charged with building the cities of the future.

Yes, there are always issues — sustainability, housing equity, post-COVID-19 urban care and infrastructure are the big four — but these are issues in cities everywhere, not just Toronto.

“It’s remarkable how common those challenges are,” says Pressman, whose non-profit association exists as a forum for discussion and debate about city building.

But it’s not just talk. Attendees also had several opportunities to enjoy walking tours which included the Distillery District, Regent Park and St. Lawrence Market.