WislaHD said:
That is ridiculous. Most stadiums I have been to in Europe are in residential areas or adjacent to them. Many stadiums that are currently being built by MLS and USL clubs in the States are similarly being built in their downtown core.
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That's because they have Subways and other mass transit options.

We lack that in North America and thus everyone drives and needs places to park.

And driving produces traffic, pollution and noise and thus stadiums cannot be close to places where people live.
 
Here is another write-up on the project with some extra tidbits.
https://renx.ca/oxford-aimco-square-one-district-mississauga-development/
Oxford Properties Group and AIMCo have unveiled the largest mixed-use downtown development in Canadian history, the 130-acre Square One District in Mississauga.
The project is named after the existing 2.2-million-square-foot shopping centre, which will anchor the 18-million-square-foot development. Square One District is master-planned to include more than 18,000 residential units — more than half purpose-built rentals — and 37 towers.
“As one of the largest development projects in Canadian history, Square One District is unparalleled in its scale and ambition,“ said Eric Plesman, Oxford’s executive vice-president and head of North America, during an event at the shopping centre to announce the development. “The multi-billion-dollar investment’s goal is to create a true downtown for Mississauga.”

Square One District’s components
What today is comprised of parking lots and underutilized land will also include a transit mobility hub connected to the Hurontario light rail transit line (LRT), slated for completion in the fall of 2024. Additional components will include new office space, additional retail space, community buildings, parks and green spaces.
Plesman told RENX no major demolition is needed to make room for the new development.
“A lot of it will be improving existing lands and putting some parking below ground as we may need,” he said, noting the LRT and other transit should reduce the need for parking.
Bounded by Burnhamthorpe Road, Confederation Parkway, Highway 403 and City Centre Drive, Square One District is owned in a 50-50 partnership between Oxford and AIMCo. It’s planned as a multi-phase project.
Hariri Pontarini Architects is the master-plan architect.
Daniels a partner in housing towers
To deliver the first phase of housing, Oxford and AIMCo are partnering with The Daniels Corporation to construct a 36-storey high-rise with 402 rental apartments, and a 48-storey tower with 575 condominium suites at Rathburn Road and Confederation Parkway. They’ll encompass 840,000 square feet of residential space.
IBI Group is the architect, DTAH is the landscape architect and Mason Studio is overseeing interior design.
“Fifteen years ago we established our vision to develop a 23-acre master-planned community right here in the heart of Mississauga’s downtown core,” said Daniels executive vice-president Niall Haggart. “We knew then that we were creating a foundation of an urban neighbourhood that would grow to become the most desirable location in the city.
“With close to 4,000 residential units complete or under construction, Daniels has clearly been a dominant force in helping to bring Mississauga’s city centre to life.”

Residential buildings at Square One District
IMAGE: Map view of 130-acre Square One District and the surrounding area in Mississauga.(Courtesy Oxford Properties)

Map view of 130-acre Square One District and the surrounding area in Mississauga.(Courtesy Oxford Properties)
Condominiums at Square One District’s suite mix will range from 444-square-foot studios to 844-square-foot two-bedroom-plus-den units. No prices have been announced.
The condo will have approximately 8,400 square feet of retail at grade. Its amenities will include: a co-working zone; community urban gardening plots and a garden preparation studio; an indoor/outdoor fitness centre with a full-court gym; a lounge; media and dining studios; a catering kitchen; and an indoor/outdoor kids zone.
The purpose-built rental building suite mix will range from 408-square-foot studios to 1,121-square-foot, three-bedroom units.
Amenities will include a fitness centre; a co-working zone; community urban gardening plots and a garden preparation studio; a lounge; media and dining studios; and an indoor/outdoor kids zone.
Mississauga’s need for rental housing
“Population growth has already far exceeded the building of new housing, and particularly rental options,” said Plesman. “The rental apartment vacancy rate is exceptionally tight, at just 1.5 per cent.”
“We can no longer ignore the housing crisis sweeping the GTA,” said Mississauga mayor Bonnie Crombie. “This is an issue that requires governments and developers to work together.
“It’s my hope that in addressing the low vacancy rates, we can help stabilize rental rates right across the region. Affordability is the key to building a vibrant, diverse and world-class city.”
When asked if Square One District would include affordable rental housing, Plesman said Oxford is working with the City of Mississauga to achieve its objectives.
“We’re focused on ensuring that supply is addressed. As we address the supply issue that we have there, that will naturally provide more affordability for those that are in the marketplace.”
Strong reception expected
Sales for the first condominium tower will start in April and occupancy is scheduled for 2024. Marketing for the rental component will begin a year before anticipated occupancy.
Construction will start this summer and Plesman told RENX he believes the residences will be “very well-received by the market.” Two nearby condo developments sold out quicker than expected and rentals in the area have been “well-subscribed.”
An additional 5,000 residential units are expected to be launched over the next five to seven years.
The first phase of construction will create 3,500 jobs. Another 6,500 jobs will be created in the first five years. It’s estimated 35,000 jobs will be created over the life of the master plan.
The Strand
The heart of Square One District will be The Strand, a pedestrian-friendly, connected civic space with a community park, restaurants, cafes and bars and the transit hub.
“Our goal is for The Strand to become the focal point for people living, working and visiting downtown Mississauga,” said Plesman. “It will bring all of the elements of Square One District together.”
Square One District’s office component
Office space will play an important role in turning Square One District into a true mixed-use project. The new office towers will be the first major commercial development in downtown Mississauga in a generation.
Oxford will begin marketing the first office tower to prospective tenants this spring.
While Plesman told RENX “the master plan contemplates three million square feet of office space,” the amount of office and retail space hasn’t yet been decided. Plesman said it will be determined by market conditions.
Mississauga’s future growth
IMAGE: Aerial view of The Strand, with Transit Mobility Hub in the foreground connected to the Hurontario LRT (Courtesy Oxford Properties)

A rendering of The Strand, with Transit Mobility Hub in the foreground connected to the Hurontario LRT. (Courtesy Oxford Properties)
Mississauga is now the sixth largest in Canada, with a population approaching 800,000. It’s expected to be home to 920,000 people and 565,000 jobs by 2041.
Mississauga’s downtown population of 30,000 is expected to double in that time, as are its number of buildings. More than 24,000 people now work downtown and additional office space will stimulate economic development and attract new business investment.
Crombie said construction is underway to upgrade infrastructure to prepare for developments like Square One District and the Hurontario LRT, the biggest infrastructure investment in Mississauga’s history.
“This is a multi-decade project, so my expectation is that there will be some infrastructure improvements over time,” Plesman told RENX. “But they’ve been very proactive in addressing what they see is the need, so I think we’re in good shape.”
Square One District’s owners and developers
Toronto-headquartered Oxford is owned by Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS), the defined benefit pension plan for Ontario’s municipal employees. It manages approximately $60 billion of assets across the globe on behalf of its co-owners and investment partners.
Oxford’s portfolio encompasses office, retail, industrial, hotels and multifamily residential space that spans more than 100 million square feet in global gateway cities across four continents.
AIMCo is one of Canada’s largest and most diversified institutional investment managers, with more than $115 billion of assets under management. Its $20.2-billion real estate portfolio includes long-term, direct investments in office, retail, industrial and multi-unit residential properties in Canada’s major cities.
Daniels has built more than 30,000 homes and rental residences across the Greater Toronto Area over the past 35-plus years.
 
innsertnamehere said:
As the wikipedia article said, instead of the growth concentrating in Townsend workers in those (new at the time) plants simply moved into existing communities in the area. Norfolk County has a population of a little under 70,000, just spread out over a large area. My in-laws live down there and my father in-law worked at the Nanticoke Generating Station for his whole career before he retired. They live in Simcoe, not Townsend.

Anyway, we are way off topic. Didn't mean to take it this way. Maybe we should start a thread elsewhere on the topic or something?
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It is off topic but also kinda relevant. Ontario could really benefit from having another large urban area to help spread out the population a little bit.

Outside of the gta (+hamilton) theres basically just kw+guelph and london. Given we're surrounded by lakes there's definitely place for new urban centers to rise. Doesnt even have to be along Erie. I could see something along the shores of huron popping up to. Particularly Georgian bay given its proximity to Barrie
 
Bjays92 said:
It is off topic but also kinda relevant. Ontario could really benefit from having another large urban area to help spread out the population a little bit.

Outside of the gta (+hamilton) theres basically just kw+guelph and london. Given we're surrounded by lakes there's definitely place for new urban centers to rise. Doesnt even have to be along Erie. I could see something along the shores of huron popping up to. Particularly Georgian bay given its proximity to Barrie
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Why not Barrie itself? I could easily see it growing to +500k.
 
It is off topic. If you'd like to continue down the New Town Road (sorry), please create a new thread in the General Discussions forum!

42
 
Screenshot_20200129-225156_Instagram.jpg


Has anyone seen this render before? Anyways, this truly excites me to have a pedestrian area in MCC. I wish Oxford would release a detailed area plan tho
 
alklay said:
For those of us who cannot read The Star article:

www.newswire.ca

Oxford and AIMCo unveil Square One District, a new 130-acre 35,000-person mixed-use community in the heart of downtown Mississauga

/CNW/ - Oxford Properties Group ("Oxford"), a leading global real estate investor, developer and manager, alongside Alberta Investment Management Corporation...
www.newswire.ca www.newswire.ca

Colour me skeptical as all the residential buildings thus far have failed to create anything close to a pleasant "walkable" and vibrant "downtown", despite the promises. And with most of the in-demand retail still left in the mall, more nail salons, banks and Subways, will probably not provide a reason to linger.

BUT...it beats parking lots. And there is nothing wrong with a concerted effort to create something better. Fingers crossed.
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WislaHD said:
I am not sure what to expect here long-term in terms of walkability and "vibrancy".

More traditional downtowns developed their uses and buildings gradually over time, and had the ability to "evolve" themselves around human activity and therefore become walkable environments that evoke that sense of downtown vibrancy. Kensington Market is the super obvious example. The uses and buildings in Mississauga and Vaughan are kinda set in stone from the beginning both institutionally through our planning regime and in practice through the physical high-rise towers that are unlikely to change in form over time.

It reminds me of all our tower-in-the-park apartment neighbourhoods in the GTA. When I am around neighbourhoods like Flemingdon and Thorncliffe Park, all I can think about is how desperately these tower-in-the-park neighbourhoods are calling out for some much needed commercial activity and retail space at the base of these buildings. If this were a country with a more relaxed planning regime and property rights (not that I wish for that), then I have no doubt that makeshift retail shops and open air markets would have found their way to existing at the base of those apartment towers. And indeed, that is how the walkable downtowns of old developed, you can refer again to Kensington Market as an example to the point. But since our planning regime is based on a separation of uses, and property rights are firmly entrenched and the owners of those apartment towers would never want the liability of such markets, those apartment neighbourhoods across the GTA have effectively been locked in stasis ever since they were first constructed. They never evolved into walkable and vibrant environments despite the high density they support.

When it comes to Mississauga and Vaughan's downtowns, I am worried that even though we have learned the lessons of those apartment neighbourhoods and "fixed" many of the problems associated with them (e.g. setbacks to the street, widened sidewalks, reduction in parking, introduction of retail and mixed-use on-site), that we are still effectively replicating the primary problem here of delivering a "completed" neighbourhood that is locked in stasis from day 1.

The one saving grace for Mississauga I think rather ironically is the existence of Square One. Malls are inherently walkable and vibrant places, because they are essentially replicating the downtowns of old. Mississauga will have Square One to anchor their entire downtown around. Alongside some of the public spaces and squares, it is possible yet that Mississauga can create a vibrant downtown. The arterial roads through here still have ROWs that are way too large for my liking though.
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Well said! And ? agree.
@urban_toronto how do we go about entering a dialogue without the architects to share how they came up with this vision. It’s a giant undertaking, and I’d like to understand where the soul of this project lives. I’ve noticed no Giant WOW’s here... that is telling.
 
Millvalley said:
Well said! And ? agree.
@urban_toronto how do we go about entering a dialogue without the architects to share how they came up with this vision. It’s a giant undertaking, and I’d like to understand where the soul of this project lives. I’ve noticed no Giant WOW’s here... that is telling.
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Ah thanks, though just for reference the beginning of this thread was assembled from posts moved from two different threads, so some posts from the first few pages may have been overlooked.

I don't think the architects are to blame, they are for the most part simply designers working with the requirements and specifications that they are given. This would involve a broader conversation with our greater planning regime.
 
Right now, I would say that Celebration Square is the heart and soul of MCC. With some 200 events every year including festivals, concerts, battle of the band nights, Thursday movie nights (at least 700-1000 people show up for every viewing), and so much more. On non-event days/nights, families, students, library goers, young people. skaters, cyclists, and so forth linger about and basically chill. Celebration Square has that collective vibe or sense of community about it.

https://culture.mississauga.ca/celebration-square
 
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Having ground level shots will show the before and after effect of this expansion. About 10 years ago, I did photograph all the intersections from different angles. I thought of doing that again a few years ago, but never got around doing it.

I am planning on doing a video of Hurontario before construction of the LRT, as well Rathburn. Looks like April or May would be a good time for "All" the intersections as well Sq One. Have shot Sq One a number of times from various angles over the past 10 years before the various expansion, during the expansion and after like I do for the Urban projects across the GTA.

That last shot of Rathburn/Elora Dr intersection will be different in 5 years, as it will be a traffic circle/roundabout that will connect to the New Sq One Dr that will be built west of Confederation Dr.

Having drome shots will be a great throw back 20-100 years from now, just like seeing photos of Sq One Mall shot in early 1970 with only farm land around it then.
 
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