Big Changes Coming to Brampton’s Shoppers World
Published September 28, 2017 at 3:54 am
If you live in Brampton, you know that our beloved relic Shoppers World has been undergoing a major redevelopment. You may or may not know, however, what’s coming to the space.
If you live in Brampton, you know that our beloved relic Shoppers World has been undergoing a major redevelopment. You may or may not know, however, what’s coming to the space.
The old Target space at Shoppers World has been under construction for some time now. The last addition to the mall – the wing with Lastman’s Bad Boy, Carter’s OshKosh, and Spoonful – opened just about five years ago, and the newest wing is set to open its shops slowly but surely, with a few scheduled to open before the end of this year.
What’s set to open in the space, you ask?
If you’re a Shopper’s World regular, you might be happy to know that the old 121,490 sq. ft. Target location will be welcoming GoodLife Fitness, furniture store JYSK, Giant Tiger and Staples.
Videos
GoodLife is looking to open its doors in the window of mid-December 2017 to early January 2018, GoodLife confirmed in a statement to inbrampton.com. The new location will offer GoodLife’s staples – certified personal trainers, state-of-the-art equipment, and free fitness classes, for instance. Here’s a fun detail: the location is also set to have massage chairs, according to GoodLife’s website.
The popular Giant Tiger brand is opening its doors on November 4, 2017, just in time for the holiday season.
Further, Brampton Gateway Terminal – the bus terminal at Shoppers World – is set to be a stop on the upcoming Hurontario Light-Rail Transit (LRT). For those who are unaware, the Hurontario LRT project includes approximately 20 kilometres of new dedicated rapid transit between Port Credit GO Station in Mississauga and Gateway Terminal in southern Brampton, with 22 stops and connections to GO Transit’s Milton and Lakeshore West lines.
The LRT could be completed and useable by 2022.
That’s all well and good for now, but the future of Shoppers World mall remains in the balance. In fact, you might recall that RioCan actually has very big plans for Shopper’s World.
According to a Globe and Mail article from earlier this year, the Toronto-based RioCan Real-Estate Investment Trust (or more simply, RioCan REIT) boasts a portfolio of approximately 300 shopping centres (including Shopper’s World) and is planning to develop stores and add housing to about 50 of them.
The Globe reports that the company is currently seeking approval to build 54 acres in the Toronto suburbs and has its eye on Brampton’s oldest indoor mall.
Ed Sonshine, RioCan REIT CEO, told The Globe that the mall is a “broken down, old mall built in the early ’70s that we’ve been trying to figure out what to do with.” Now, it looks like the company is working with the city to develop a master plan for the shopping centre.
Sonshine told The Globe that the plan will include 300,000 square feet of retail—less than half of what the mall boasts now. It will also include, and this is probably the most interesting part, 1,500 residential units—the majority of which will be for rent.
TThe new rental units might be helpful for students as Brampton gets its own university and continues to support housing for Sheridan College, the LRT makes its way to Brampton, and, of course, to help combat the rental housing supply crisis Ontario is currently facing.
The new residential units, however, won’t be around for quite awhile – details haven’t yet been announced, let alone construction dates.
While it’s hard to say what the mall will look like 10, 15 or 20 years down the road, it’s good to know that residents can expect a super gym and a few new retail options in the interim.
insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising