[Bjays92]

Another major KW development that is currently in progress is the revitalization of Fairview Park Mall, into the new "Grand Market District"

Originally the proposal consisted of two phases. Redevelopment of the former Sears building and construction of two new mixed use/office buildings along Fairway Road.

The second phase was then the addition of new condo towers along Kingsway drive.

It looks as though plans may have changed due to the pandemic however, possibly with more focus on the residential components, so it's not 100% clear what's going on here.

However here's the site:

Credit: the record

Here are the renderings for the recladding of the sears building plus the additional buildings along Fairway.

And some photos taken by me today.

Several pictures of the faux smoke stack or the faux-stack as I call it.

Construction still underway on the one side

The complete reclad former Sears frontage

The heritage facade retention along the one side of the building

Faux water tower

Walmart recladding

Additionally the parking lot for the second "phase" of phase one, the new buildings near Fairway Rd, is currently blocked off to traffic but not a whole lot else happening there yet.

 

[innsertnamehere]

The fake smokestack is terrible but otherwise I appreciate the brick. It's a nice departure for a mall.

 

[Bjays92]

(Continued)

Some of the landscaping work done around the building

I do like the choice of streetlights here as well as the use of interlocking brick for sidewalks and crosswalks. Overall though, the whole area just gives me theme park sorta vibes. Like it's trying to impersonate the industrial era rather than feeling like an authentic recreation of it.

Maybe it's just that the smoke stack and the water tower are a bit too on the nose for me, but obviously I won't pass judgement till its fully complete, and I do think the additions look high quality even if they feel a little inauthentic.

Of note one of the most recent concept drawings/renderings on the GSP group website (who is involved in the project) looks like this

Which does have a significantly larger focus on the residential than the original proposal. That is not at all a bad thing in my mind though, as the mall is currently the start of the first phase of the Ion LRT and is where the second phase to Cambridge will extend from (the LRT phase 2 is actually visible in the above concept drawing)

There's also been lots of new development in the area, with the area across the road also being owned by CF and having a very large (relatively new) cineplex and indigo. A farm boy and a
chick-fil-a. There are also other residential proposals in the nearby area including Vierra Village and Elevate Condos.

Somewhat older article from the CBC for further reading

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5033626

 

[Bjays92]

The fake smokestack is terrible but otherwise I appreciate the brick. It's a nice departure for a mall.

I agree. Definitely don't like the smokestack, but overall, so far I'm pleased with how it looks

 

[AlbertC]

Lol I remember this mall now. A friend and I from UW back in the day took the bus all across the two cities to buy flip flops (slippers) at the Wal-Mart here. This was before they opened the one closer to the campus at Bridgeport & Weber in Waterloo.

 

[A Torontonian Now]

Glad some of the old facade was preserved. Preserving that would be far more authentic than the pastiche industrial vibe. The overall use of brick is nice, but the amusement park water tower and smokestack are too much.

 

[artyboy123]

https://www.reddit.com/r/kitchener/comments/p07d1s

I think Phase 2 of Grand Market District is Canceled.

The reason why I think this is because I can’t find a single official mention of phase 2 on CF’s website, the Grand Market District website is longer accessible, Collider Group which was assisting CF in leasing and finding tenants no longer mentions it on their website, the signs saying the CF are leasing office space are longer up, and CF’s corporate webpage for Fairview Park lists the cost of redevelopment at 33 million instead of the 70+ million original proposal. All of this is evidence gives me the feeling that CF cancelled phase 2 and that once the Sears building redevelopment is complete that’s all that will be done. That’s what I think after looking through all this stuff, what do you guys think?