[SteelTown]

Centre Mall owners plan 23-building super centre

September 26, 2007
By Steve Arnold

The owners of Hamilton’s Centre Mall have filed plans with the city to turn the property into a super centre with 23 commercial buildings.

The $100-million proposal, which is being circulated to city staff, calls for a project of 700,000 square feet of retail space — about 85 per cent the size of Lime Ridge Mall.

Ray Lee, acting manager of development planning, said the buildings on the site will be grouped around the edge of the property.

“It’s going to create a friendly, pedestrian-oriented design, rather than a commercial island in a sea of parking along Barton Street,” he said.

The east-end mall is co-owned by the CPP Investment Board, a Crown corporation that invests funds from the Canada Pension Plan, and Osmington Inc., a Canadian real estate firm.

It is managed by Toronto-based Redcliff Realty Management.

The only structures that won’t be razed are the Canadian Tire and Beer Store buildings, said Ward 4 Councillor Sam Merulla.

“This is the largest inner-city redevelopment project in the history of the east end,” Merulla said.

Once key city departments have reviewed the plans, the owners have one year to apply for a building permit. Merulla expects fast action.

“I think they’re only a few weeks away from the start of serious redevelopment work.”