[URBAN NOTE] On the planned redesign of the Galleria Mall at Dufferin and Dupont

[rfmcdonald]

I will have a photoblog performance tomorrow morning, including various of the photos I took on the Galleria Mall Jane's Walk yesterday. I quite enjoyed this walk, and also considered myself informed about the future of the neighbourhood. blogTO shared, from Stefan Novakovic at Urban Toronto, a description of the proposed redevelopment of the area. The below view is from the perspective of an observer at Dufferin and Dupont.

Despite numerous pronouncements of the end of the Galleria Mall when the property was sold to developers Freed and ELAD Canada last August, not much has changed at the site in the interim. The plan was never to buy the shopping centre and tear it down the next day.

On the contrary, the redevelopment process always figured to be a slow one given the size and complexity of site. The first public consultation was held in January before a second session this past week. In this time, a few priorities and some very early renderings have taken shape.

First posted by Urban Toronto, the artist concept drawings of the redevelopment don't show the actual designs for the mall's replacement, but serve to help imagine what revitalization might look like. What's important to note here is the presence of woonerfs, outdoor public space, a revamped Wallace-Emerson Park and Community Centre, and the scale of the residential buildings.

It goes without saying this would be a huge transformation. Thoughts, Torontonians and others?