Massive 19-tower development planned for Yorkdale Shopping Centre

Yorkdale Shopping Centre may be in store for some new, extremely tall neighbours as Oxford Properties Group looks to build a jaw-dropping 19-tower development over top of the mall’s surface parking lots.

Plans filed with the City of Toronto call for towers ranging from 12 to 50 storeys in height, housing everything from residential units to hotel rooms, office space, and retail stores. The development, running along the mall’s north and western edges, would become its own community with new roads, a pedestrian plaza, and a shopping boulevard that would act as an outdoor extension of the mall.

Hariri Pontarini Architects/City of Toronto

Hariri Pontarini Architects/City of Toronto

Hariri Pontarini Architects/City of Toronto

The residential portions of the development will house a grand total of 7,935 units. The retail space is set to occupy 50,922 square metres, with the office space taking up 35,552 square metres and the hotel using 18,750 square metres. Yorkdale Shopping Centre’s existing structure would not change.

Hariri Pontarini Architects/City of Toronto

Hariri Pontarini Architects/City of Toronto

The development would have not one, not two, but three public parks spread throughout it. Yorkdale Green, located on the north east section of the site, would be a multi-functional amenity space that could host a mix of sponsored cultural and entertainment events.

Hariri Pontarini Architects/City of Toronto

Hariri Pontarini Architects/City of Toronto

Crescent Park, on the northwest side, would feature amenities for both adults and children. Dufferin Park, located on the western edge, would have gathering areas, green spaces, and public art features.

Hariri Pontarini Architects/City of Toronto

With all of the surface-level parking lots being taken over, parking for the mall, as well as for the new community, will have to move underground.

Hariri Pontarini Architects/City of Toronto

This development has been in the works for quite some time, and isn’t Oxford Properties’ only recent push to add residential components to a Toronto mall. Over at Scarborough Town Centre, the developer is planning to build three residential towers, with the tallest reaching up to 50 storeys in height. Collectively, they’ll add 1,342 rental units to the area.

And just last year, Oxford Properties announced plans to transform 130 acres around Mississauga’s Square One Shopping Centre into an 18 million sq ft mixed-use neighbourhood with 18,000 residential units.