Village centre development envisioned for Parkway Mall
Credit-Suisse representative says company is committed to plan
By MIKE ADLER
November 13, 2008 12:23 PM
Building apartments and offices on the site of Scarborough's Parkway Mall will create a "village centre" where people can live, work and shop, a representative of the property's Swiss owner says.
Zurich-based Credit-Suisse Real Estate Asset Management is planning to rezone and redevelop the Victoria Park Avenue shopping centre with around 2,000 residences and "a smaller mall with the shops you need for the day," fund manager Rainer Scherwey said in an interview.
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Though the team is still in talks with the city placement of buildings, the proposal is said to call for nine buildings, including one of 21 storeys, plus 100,000 square feet of office space and 100,000 square feet of retail to replace the existing mall.
According to Thompson, who has called the plans "excessive" for the 18-acre site, Credit-Suisse is offering to build 40,000 square feet of community space and create a public park on the property.
Thompson will lead a working group of councillors from wards around the mall in considering the city's response.
Last week, Ward 40 (Scarborough Agincourt) Councillor Norm Kelly said Credit-Suisse's plan for Parkway seems "out of whack" with surrounding communities. "While I can support intensification, I can't support it to this extent," Kelly said Friday.