Amber (Pinnacle Uptown, 5025 & 5033 Four Springs Av Mississauga, Pinnacle International, 23+26s, Turner Fleischer Architects) COMPLETE

[Jasonzed]

They just renovated the façade of the strip mall so it will be around for awhile

 

[junctionist]

Because it won't always be a reliable revenue vehicle, especially as transit is built, traffic increases, and density increases. Remove a lane of traffic along Hurontario for LRT, and you've instantly shrunk their market by increasing travel times for those in cars. The value of the land taken up by parking will be quite a bit of incentive to property owners to re-develop their properties, or sell them off to developers for a large sum.

Sure there are some areas where these strip malls will survive for generations, but I don't see that being the case here where the sites will have direct access to the LRT and face development pressure due to their proximity to City Centre. The landowner is going to want the best use that generates the most income, and single story retail units with massive parking lots won't cut it for long.

I agree with the prospects of urban redevelopment here because as I said in the second paragraph of my post, higher-order transit encourages urban redevelopment. But there are no guarantees. You can still find a few strip malls on Bloor Street West in Toronto along the subway line, for instance near Christie, Keele, Royal York and Kipling stations.

As long as people keep driving, there will be a good base of customers. Pedestrians from high-density neighbourhoods can shop at strip malls, too. Some landowners just want the rents that come with strip mall retail, which is good and stable income if you manage your plazas well. Selling to a developer means money lost in capital gains taxes and loss of long-term income.

 

[Transportfan]

While you're right about how much easier it is to redevelop strip malls vs. single family homes with backyards, in practice it happens quite slowly. Most strip malls will be around for at least 50 years, judging by the many examples in the inner suburbs on streets like Eglinton or Lawrence. Once they're built, they tend to function quite well from an economic standpoint. Lots of people drive cars in the suburbs and enjoy the convenience of easy access and free parking.

You would think that with the backlotting suburban planning in the 70s that saw an end to the continuous strip malls being built along arterials, that the later-built areas would be underserved by retail, but that wasn't an issue.

 

[Jasonzed]

 

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[Transportfan]

I'm surprised they're using the city hall type streetlights.

 

[Jasonzed]