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Previously envisioned as the site for an indoor shopping mall, 1535 Dundas Street East in Mississauga's Dixie neighbourhood could have a more urban future with a proposal for three mixed-use towers. Situated a mere 700m from the Dixie GO station with trains to Union Station in Downtown Toronto, the proposal aims to transform the vacant land, once home to a General Motors car dealership.
Located on the north side of Dundas Street East east of Dixie Road, the site spans an area of 23,048m² and is situated in Mississauga's Dixie Employment Area, with a history of low-rise retail and light industrial developments. A vision for the site's previous owners by Nexrock Design/Build had imagined a 51,096m² community shopping mall named "Galleria Centre." However, the evolving societal landscape and the challenges faced by malls in recent years have paved the way for the new owners to seek a mixed-use, more transit-oriented development. The site's long transition from its use as a car dealership (already closed when the UrbanToronto thread following this site was created in June 2012), can be read as being reflective of Mississauga's gradual shift from the suburban car-centric culture of the past to a more urban future.
The new proposal is spearheaded by Terracap Management, a real estate investment company known for acquiring under-utilized properties and seeking their rezoning. Given the commercial and industrial nature of the area, the proposal is for both an Official Plan Amendment (OPA) and a Zoning By-law Amendment (ZBA). Both will be revised and resubmitted after a design review.
Designed by Gensler, Terracap envisions a mixed-use development that aligns with the principles of Major Transit Station Areas (MTSAs). MTSAs are intended to be high-density, mixed-use, transit-supportive neighbourhoods. The site's proximity to the GO station, just a 9-minute or 800m walk away, positions it within this framework.
The development was presented the Spring at a community meeting hosted by Mississauga councillor Chris Fonseca, in which it was shared that the OPA and ZBA applications had been submitted in January, 2023. The proposal would introduce three towers of 30, 40, and 55 storeys, offering a total of 1,433 residential units. The towers would be serviced by 14 elevators, resulting in an average of about 102 units per elevator.
The development's total gross floor area would stand at 138,621m², with 132,580m² dedicated to residential spaces. Additionally, there would be 1,084m² for retail, 3,718m² for office, 721m² for daycare, and 518m² set aside for community activities. The proposed amenity spaces are expansive, with 21,975m² in total — 17,711m² outdoors and 3,264m² indoors.
The design includes parking for 1,362 vehicles and 954 bicycles, both under the 1:1 ratio with 1,433 units. Located on the edge of the GO Dixie Major Transit Station Area, more transit improvements are coming. Looking ahead, the site is also poised to benefit from a stop at Dixie Road — less that 500m walk — on the Dundas Bus Rapid Transit route, a project which will connect Mississauga to the Kipling Transit Hub in Etobicoke through a dedicated transit right-of-way along Dundas Street. While buses already pass by the site that head to Kipling, the coming BRT infrastructure should make those trips faster.
Other multi-tower developments are found within the vicinity of the site. These include four towers at 1370 Dundas Street East at the southwest corner of Dundas Street East and Dixie Road, as well as the eight buildings proposed for Dundas & Mattawa about 200m east of the site, on the south side of Dundas Street East.
While the current incarnation of the proposal was presented at the community meeting, it remains to be seen what changes will occur for the planned resubmission. The shift from a proposed shopping mall to a mixed-use, mostly residential development follows the trend of the looking to address the GTA's huge demand for housing with the clustering of major development proposals within Major Transit Station areas.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | Gensler, NAK Design Strategies, Sajecki Planning |
