Garden Square, at Main and Queen Streets, will be one of the two public spaces downtown to be rejuvenated
After nearly two decades of little change, Downtown Brampton may finally be turning the corner from being a sleepy town centre to becoming the proper hub for a city of nearly 800,000.
The Riverwalk, an ambitious plan to enhance flood protection from nearby Etobicoke Creek and create new public space, will break ground later this year. The extension of the Hurontario LRT into Downtown Brampton, by way of a deep-mined tunnel, was approved and funded by the provincial and federal governments. There will also be a new transportation hub to accommodate additional tracks at Brampton GO Station and support Brampton Transit ridership growth. City of Brampton is also hoping to get started on a new Centre for Innovation at the corner of Nelson and George Streets; it will contain a new central library as well as space for Toronto Metropolitan University and Rogers.
Private sector development is also waking up. The first of a new wave of mixed-use high-rise developments, Rose Garden Residences, has started construction.
Demolition is complete and shoring is starting at Rose Garden Residences
These are exciting times for Brampton. The city, looking to attract more people to the downtown core, is planning to improve both Ken Willians Square, in front of City Hall, and Garden Square, in front of the Rose Theatre. The municipal government is looking for feedback on four proposed designs for the two square.
It is no secret that I am fascinated by Ontario’s failed downtown malls. Over the last decade, I have visited most of these half-dead shopping centres, from Thunder Bay to Sarnia to Peterborough. All of these malls were built in smaller centres hoping to revitalize their urban cores, especially after the successes of the Toronto Eaton Centre and Ottawa’s Rideau Centre.
A majority of downtown shopping centres in Ontario counted Eaton’s as an anchor, starting with London’s Wellington Square in 1960. New malls in Sudbury (1970), Hamilton (Jackson Square, 1972-1975) and Kitchener (Market Square, 1974) followed, with the pace of downtown mall openings quickening in the late 1970s and 1980s as the provincial government provided assistance through the Ontario Downtown Redevelopment Program (ODRP).
A few downtown malls did not secure Eaton’s as the lead anchor. These malls, which were anchored by Sears, included King Centre (Downtown Kitchener’s second indoor mall), Cornwall Square, and Downtown Chatham Centre. I visited the latter mall in late September 2023.
Chatham, a small city located halfway between London and Windsor, has had bad luck ever since the 1950s. City growth was curtailed when neighbouring townships fought the city’s annexation efforts to develop new industrial lands on the urban outskirts. Political pressure from exurban residents kept the city rather isolated from the new Highway 401, which passes south of the old city limits; residents of the hamlet of Charing Cross opposed a highway interchange that would have provided direct access into Downtown Chatham. Meanwhile, a new Multi-Malls shopping development was approved for a site north of Chatham; an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board by the city was dismissed, and the new Woolco and Loblaw-anchored plaza helped to draw customers — and tax revenues — from the city proper.
This unfortunate situation was only rectified in 1998, when the City of Chatham was amalgamated with not just its neighbouring townships, but the entire county, creating the new municipality of Chatham-Kent, coming far too late for the industrial and commercial development Chatham had hoped for. In the meantime, a new downtown mall that would not only retain shoppers but hopefully attract new visitors to the city, was seen as the solution.
While most downtown malls built during the ODRP era were led by Eaton’s and Cadillac Fairview, the Downtown Chatham Centre (DCC) was managed by Cambridge Shopping Centres. The city of Chatham conducted the land assembly (using its powers of expropriation where necessary), and cleared two city blocks, including the Garner Hotel, the old market square, the Romanesque Harrison Hall, and several commercial blocks, including a shuttered Eaton’s store.
Downtown Chatham in the 1950s. Most of the buildings in the foreground and midground have since been demolished. The old market square became a parking lot by the 1950s; to the immediate left of the old market is the 3-4 storey Eaton’s store. Harrison Hall, with its conic tower, stands behind Eaton’s.The Downtown Chatham Centre soon after opening in 1983(Chatham-Kent Museum)
Instead of Eaton’s — which closed its Chatham store in 1974 — the lead anchor would be Sears, which was expanding its Canadian footprint at the time, as it just pulled out from its 25-year partnership with Simpson’s. Unlike most downtown malls built in Ontario, DCC had always offered ample customer parking, located in a garage linked to both of the mall’s two shopping levels, as well as an adjacent surface lot, with mall visitors able to get their parking validated. On the south side of the mall, there was a Miracle Food Mart, along with a food court on the second floor. Downtown Chatham offered the only full-line department store in town; the mall also had the city’s only escalators. The plaza out front featured a fountain in the summer and a public skating rink in the winter.
Harrison Hall, which was home to both the City of Chatham and Kent County before demolition in 1978 to make way for the Downtown Chatham Centre. (Chatham-Kent Museum)The site of demolished Harrison Hall in 2023. Asign still directs drivers to the Sears receiving area and the parcel pick-up.
For a time, DCC held its own. Sears was a much more suitable department store for a smaller industrial/agricultural city like Chatham than Eaton’s would have been. Though the Multi-Mall development north of the city on Highway 40 and the Thames-Lea plaza in the suburbs provided competition, the downtown mall’s regional market dominance was undisputed in the 1980s and most of the 1990s. Unlike Eaton’s, Sears Canada was particularly healthy until the early 2000s as it catered to the suburban middle class; in 1999, it purchased the remains of the bankrupt T. Eaton Company, converting many better performing Eaton’s stores to its own brand.
Unlike Chatham’s peer cities like Brantford and Sarnia, the mall’s tenant mix stayed relatively healthy well into the new millennium (see the 1992 and 2014 tenant lists below). Though Miracle Food Mart closed, that space was remised into a Sport Chek and a Goodlife Fitness gym. It wasn’t until the last decade that serious decline began to set in.
What happened?
The empty public plaza outside the vacant Sears store
There were several factors that led towards the decline of Downtown Chatham Centre, similar to the reasons why most downtown malls failed. The main difference is that the decline came later than most others.
Chatham’s economy, like most smaller Ontario centres, was in flux, particularly in the 1990s and early 2000s. Free trade agreements affected the local industrial economy, which was already weaker than neighbouring cities like Sarnia, Windsor, and London-St. Thomas.
Factory closures included the Navistar plant. For nearly a century, International Harvester was one of Chatham’s largest employers. The Chatham plant, which assembled International truck tractors and employed 2400 workers in 2001, closed for good in 2011. The rise of Walmart, which moved into the old Woolco store on Highway 40 along with other big-box retailers, also hurt the downtown mall. But Sears Canada entered its own death spiral in the mid-2000s. In 2005, the company was taken over by the private equity firm Pershing Square, whose CEO, Edward Lampert, was already slowly sucking the American parent company dry. Sears Canada sold off its credit card division, its Downtown Toronto headquarters, and eventually the leases for its most attractive stores in 2012 and 2013, including the former Eaton’s flagship in Toronto Eaton Centre.
By 2014, the DCC Sears was converted to an outlet store, foreshadowing its eventual closure in 2017, less than year before the entire chain disappeared from Canada.
Mall interior looking east, September 2023
In September 2023, there were only a handful of open stores left inside DCC, including Northern Reflections, a Dollarama, Fit4Less (a budget brand of Goodlife Fitness), Ardene, an independent jewellery store, and a Hart discount department store located in the old Miracle Food Mart/Sport Chek space. All open retail spaces were on the first floor; the escalators were completely blocked off. The Ardene store was already in the process of moving to the Thames-Lea plaza.
Security guards were stationed at both public entrances, likely to ensure the mall did not become a hangout for Chatham’s unhoused.
Mall interior, looking west
The mall also has a pharmacy and medical office, but since 2015, they are accessed only from the outside, in a storefront facing King Street.
What’s next?
Chatham-Kent Civic Centre, built in 1975-1976
The Municipality of Chatham-Kent currently occupies the Chatham Civic Centre, which was built in the late 1970s on the site of a former gas works on the Thames River. The Civic Centre requires major renovations or replacement, and the municipal government is considering purchasing part of the Downtown Chatham Centre, and moving the municipal government, the main library, and the art gallery/museum into the Sears store, which would be heavily renovated. Staff report that the cost of purchasing and renovating part of the DCC ($42,387,400) was similar to renovating the existing Civic Centre, library, and museum ($38.7 million to $45.8 million) and nearly half the cost of building brand new.
Earlier plans also included a new entertainment centre to host concerts and the Chatham Maroons minor hockey team, replacing an existing municipal arena constructed in 1949. Those plans were later dropped by the mall’s owners.
If Chatham-Kent agrees to purchase and renovate the vacant Sears store, they will relocate to nearly the same site as the old Harrison Hall.
The proposed relocation of the civic centre and library to a central location, adjacent to the RideCK transit terminal (which serves the old City of Chatham as well as many smaller population centres within the municipality) is certainly a more sustainable and equitable outcome than building a new civic centre outside the downtown core. It repurposes an existing building and helps to support downtown business. However, more housing, both on the surface lot and on any vacated civic properties would help bring even more people into the downtown core, which can use the boost. Though retailers may not flock back into the mall once renovations are complete, the storefronts offer flexible space for community programs and small business incubators.
For a small city like Chatham, this is likely the best outcome.
1992 Tenants
Below is the list of tenants at Downtown Chatham Centre in 1992, obtained from the 1993 Canadian Directory of Shopping Centres, published by Maclean-Hunter.
Fashions and footwear Children’s wear: Just Kids Unisex/family wear: Cotton Ginny, Le Château, Pantorama, Stitches, Work World Ladies’ wear: Addition-Elle, Born Free, D’Allairds, Fairweather, Irene Hill, Just Petites, Lady Foot Locker, The Lady’s a Champ, Mariposa, Northern Reflections, Pennington’s, Personally Yours, Reitman’s, Ricki’s, Station Cotton, Suzy Shier, Thyme Maternity Menswear: Tip Top Footwear & leather goods: Foot Locker, Joggers, Kinney, The Shoe Place Jewellery/accessories: Lady Jewellery Company, Ostranders, Young’s Jewellers
Other retailers Books: Classic Bookshop, Coles Drugs/health & beauty: Pharma Plus, The Soap Emporium Department/mass merchandiser: A Buck or Two Electronics: Radio Shack Gift: Den For Men, Things Engraved Hardware/paint & paper: Tool Den Housewares: Junor’s, Stokes Music/Records: Sam the Record Man Pet: Pet Paradise Photo/Camera: Black’s, Japan Camera 1 Hour Photo. Restaurant/fast food: A&W, Crumbles Muffins, Frankfurters, Lumberjack Restaurant, Manchu Wok, Mulligan’s Roadhouse, Sorrento Specialty Food & Drink: Bright’s Wines, Laura Secord, The Gourmet Cup Stationery/Card: Carlton Cards, Hallmark, Willson Stationers Toy: Toys & Wheels Variety/Convenience: News Room Dry Cleaners: La Moderna Dry Cleaning. Hairstyling/Esthetics: The Golden Razor Theatre/Entertainment: Fun & Games Miscellaneous: Infoplace
2014 Tenants
The 2015 Canadian Directory of Shopping Centres tenant list was shorter, though still much more robust than former Eaton’s-anchored downtown malls in comparably-sized cities like Sarnia, Brantford, or Peterborough at the time.
On June 29, 2023, the City of Brampton announced a naming rights agreement with Metrolinx to rename the Brampton GO Station to “Brampton Innovation District GO” for a 10-year period. This was Metrolinx’s second naming rights agreement, after renaming Oshawa GO Station for Durham College in 2022. The name change took effect in September, with new signs installed.
The Brampton Innovation District is a city-led project in Downtown Brampton to support higher education and entrepreneurship. It includes co-working spaces such as BHive and the Brampton Enterprise Centre incubator, the Rogers Cybersecure Catalyst, as well as partnerships with Sheridan College, Toronto Metropolitan University, and Algoma University. Rogers has committed to relocating its Brampton offices to the downtown core, while the city is planning the Brampton Centre for Innovation, which will include a new central library. There are a lot of interesting things happening in Downtown Brampton, though without the exposure more established tech hubs enjoy.
Through increased awareness of the Brampton Innovation District, this partnership with Metrolinx will further enhance Brampton’s position as an innovation and technology event destination to host tech sector events and international delegations, and enhance Brampton’s unique ability to attract highly skilled tech talent from both Toronto and Waterloo.
Unlike “Durham College Oshawa GO,” at least “Brampton Innovation District GO” is at the place it is named for. Having the name show up on maps, signage, and announced by GO Transit staff will raise awareness of the district’s current and future potential, especially once some of the built infrastructure, such as the Centre for Innovation, the new downtown transit hub, and the new Rogers campus, is constructed.
The “GO Brampton” sign has been replaced by “Brampton Innovation”
But at the same time, I still feel uneasy about renaming stations and transit lines. The new, longer names are harder to fit on maps and signage. They can lead to confusion, and in this case speak more to the city’s ambitions than what most travelers are actually looking for. It’s also interesting that the only two naming rights deals made by Metrolinx so far are with public-sector organizations: a provincially funded college, and a municipality.
I also note that VIA Rail, which also uses the station, still refers to it simply as “Brampton,” just as it still simply refers to “Oshawa.”
Curb lanes closed for condominium construction have defeated the purpose of Jarvis Street’s fifth reversible lane
Over a century ago, Jarvis Street was Toronto’s most fashionable address, and home to prominent families including the Masseys, who made their wealth from the farm equipment industry, and whose names live on through Massey Hall, Hart House, the Fred Victor Mission, and Massey College. The wide boulevards allowed for lush street trees to flourish, and without streetcars, there was no need for a wide roadway, despite the generous right-of-way.
Jarvis Street looking south towards Carlton Street in the 1880s. City of Toronto Archives: Fonds 1478, Item 12.
By the 1920s, though, Jarvis was no longer fashionable, with Forest Hill, North Rosedale, and Moore Park taking its place. Many of the old mansions fell into disrepair or were converted into apartments or businesses. The street became lined with low-rise apartment buildings, budget hotels, and missions to the poor and unhoused. After the Second World War, the city government decided to extend Mount Pleasant Road south of St. Clair Avenue to Bloor and Jarvis Streets and widen Jarvis Street to accommodate the increased traffic. Along with building the Dundas Street East extension, widening Dufferin Street, and pushing through Eastern Avenue, the City of Toronto was bending to the whims of the automobile, several years before the creation of Metropolitan Toronto in 1954.
Jarvis Street looking north from Carlton Street, January 1947, just before the street trees were removed and the street widened. City of Toronto Archives, Series 372, Item 1725.
By the 1960s, Jarvis Street became the preferred address of federal institutions such as the Moss Park Armoury, the regional Unemployment Insurance offices at Dundas Street, and the brutalist Ontario headquarters for the RCMP. The provincial government expanded the old Juvenile Court with a new modernist building, and Simpsons-Sears, the predecessor of Sears Canada, built a new imposing office building at 222 Jarvis, adjacent to the Simpsons warehouse on Mutual Street.
Victorian rowhouses stand next to the brutalist RCMP building on Jarvis Street, north of Shuter Street in 1979. The RCMP building later became the home of the Grand Hotel, which installed a glass veneer over the imposing west façade. The Unemployment Insurance office, at the corner of Dundas Street appears in the far left. Both the RCMP/Grand Hotel and the UIC (later Hilton Garden Inn) building were recently demolished, but the rowhouses still stand. Photo by Harvey R. Naylor. City of Toronto Archives, Fonds 1526, File 61, Item 27.
Jarvis Street was also the home of several of the CBC’s scattered radio and television studio spaces until they were consolidated at the CBC Broadcasting Centre on Front Street, and it was also the location of the first Four Seasons Hotel, when it started out as a chic motor hotel.
Jarvis Street looking south from north of Carlton Street; the Four Seasons Motor Hotel at 415 Jarvis Street and St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church are visible in the background. Note the centre lane indicator above. Creator: Skinner, Dorothea Skinner. City of Toronto Archives Fonds 492, Item 170.
By the early 1960s, Jarvis Street was reconfigured further to include a new reversible centre lane between Queen Street and Mount Pleasant Road at Charles Street. Then, as now, the centre lane was designated for southbound traffic, except during weekday afternoon rush hour, when the flow is reversed. Parking is prohibited at all times on the east side of the street, while on the west side, street parking is permitted except during the morning and afternoon peak periods. This, at least in theory, allows for two lanes of unobstructed traffic in both directions at all times, and in the rush hours, three lanes of peak-direction traffic. This, of course, depended on strict enforcement of parking and stopping prohibitions, and the lack of construction or other obstructions.
As Jarvis Street rebounded and new residential development and commercial development began to line the street between the mid-1980s and the present day, the five-lane traffic arterial layout became less suitable. In 2009, City of Toronto staff recommended, with extensive public input, that it was desirable to remove the reversible centre lane, narrow the roadway, and widen the sidewalk on the east side of the street to improve the public realm and address the needs of the thousands of new residents who were moving into the east end of Downtown Toronto. The additional space would have allowed for tree planters and wayfinding signage that would highlight the street’s history. Studies conducted by city staff found that there was no need for the fifth lane to provide adequate traffic movement along the street.
Cyclists, however, were unhappy that the road redesign did not include cycling lanes and they were able to convince council to alter its plans. As a result, in 2010, the road was not reconstructed, but the reversible lane was removed, with new painted cycle lanes on both sides of the street.
When Toronto elected Rob Ford as mayor that October, he promised an end to “the war on the car,” even inviting now-disgraced hockey commentator Don Cherry to give the inaugural speech, which turned out to be a controversial rant against “pinko cyclists” and “left wing kooks.” In 2011, with the support of suburban councillors, Rob Ford reversed the decision to install bike lanes on Jarvis Street (along with Pharmacy Avenue and Birchmount Road in Scarborough), and the reversible lane was re-installed.
Ironically, the demand by cyclists for bike lanes made it easy to restore the auto-oriented configuration, while widened sidewalks would have been much more difficult to remove.
Between Dundas and Gerrard Street, the lanes shift to accommodate a lane closure for a new condominium tower on the east side of Jarvis Street.
With much needed watermain and road reconstruction in the last few years, the traffic advantage provided by the reversible lane was negated because of the construction barriers. Several condominium towers being constructed along the street, at Carlton, Gerrard, and Shuter Streets, have further affected the ability of that fifth lane to move motorists quickly, effectively, or safely. Between Dundas and Gerrard Streets, the lanes temporarily shift for a long-term lane closure on the east side, just south of Gerrard. This lane shift adds additional confusion to an already confusing road layout.
Looking north to Shuter Street, with the curb lane temporarily marked for right turns only.
At Shuter Street, the construction of the Hyatt Place hotel and condominium apartment development has seen the northbound curb lane closed for several years. Approaching Shuter, the curb lane is marked as a right-turn lane, but it is used as an illegal bypass of traffic waiting at the light or turning left onto Shuter towards St. Michael’s Hospital and the Eaton Centre. This, combined with the hidden sightlines caused by the construction hoarding on the northeast corner, makes it especially dangerous for southbound motorists as well as pedestrians and cyclists crossing at this point. Beyond the construction hoarding, the right lane is used for construction crew parking, as well as staging for vehicles such as cement trucks.
Looking down towards the Hyatt Place development, showing the obstructed northbound curb lane, as well as a grey SUV crossing into the centre lane, which was reserved for opposing traffic when this photo was taken.
The long-term closure of lanes on Jarvis Street should make it clear to city officials that the outdated and unsafe middle lane is of no practical use, and it finally has got to go.
At Jarvis and Shuter Streets, the northbound right turn lane is used by impatient motorists, including a City of Toronto garbage truck, a taxi cab, and the driver of a speeding Lincoln Navigator.
Collisions are common on Jarvis Street because of the reversible centre lane — which exists nowhere else in Toronto, and in only a few places elsewhere in Canada — because of driver confusion, impatience, negligence and incompetence. As Jarvis Street becomes home to thousands of more residents in the next few years, is beyond time that the street becomes safer and more attractive to live, work, and enjoy life on.
Main entrance to Hamilton City Centre, on James Street North. Note the awkward spacing of “City” over the entrance; it originally read “Eaton.”
On December 26, 2022, Hamilton’s former Eaton Centre, opened just 32 years ago, will close for good. Early in the new year, demolition will begin on the failed downtown mall, making way for a new residential development.
Hamilton Eaton Centre, fully opened in October 1990, was one of several downtown malls built in Ontario through a partnership between Eaton’s and commercial developer Cadillac Fairview, hoping to replicate the success of the Toronto Eaton Centre, which opened in phases between 1977 and 1979. It was the second major shopping centre to open in Downtown Hamilton; it followed the construction of the massive city-led Jackson Square development in the 1970s and 1980s in which entire city blocks were cleared to make way for urban renewal.
With support from the Ontario and municipal governments, the T. Eaton Company and Cadillac Fairview built new malls in Ottawa, Peterborough, Brantford, Kitchener, Thunder Bay, Sudbury, Sarnia, Hamilton, and expanded London’s existing Wellington Square. These private-public partnerships seemed to be beneficial; smaller cities worried about the decline of their downtowns would get an attractive new shopping centre after expropriating and demolishing existing buildings and/or providing municipal lands for the project. The municipality would finance new parking garages to support the new development. Meanwhile, Eaton’s would help finance the construction and provide a lead anchor for the new development. Cadillac Fairview, which specialized in retail and office development, would arrange the construction and the leasing for the mall stores. (There were a few downtown shopping centre projects in Ontario that did not have Eaton’s involvement, including malls in Chatham, Cornwall, Tillsonburg, and Waterloo.)
The old Eaton’s Hamilton Store in the 1920s, looking southwest from James Street North and (now disappeared) Merrick Street (Hamilton Public Library)
Unlike malls in Kitchener, Sarnia, Brantford, or Guelph, the Hamilton Eaton Centre was mostly built upon lands already acquired by Eaton’s itself, much like the larger and more successful Toronto Eaton Centre (the city of Hamilton assisted by closing Merrick Street between York Boulevard and James Street and transferring the right-of-way for the new development). The first phase of the project, built on the site of the Merrick Street parking garage and the old Hamilton Farmers Market, became the home of a new four-storey Eaton’s store to replace the dilapidated building on James Street. When the new store opened in April 1989, the old store was quickly demolished to make way for the mall itself, which opened just 18 months later.
The new Eaton’s Hamilton store on York Boulevard soon after opening in 1989. The store had exits to both Jackson Square and once completed, the new Eaton Centre mall. (Hamilton Public Library)
At first, Hamilton’s Eaton Centre was able to attract prestigious tenants such as HMV and Eddie Bauer thanks to Cadillac Fairview’s expertise and new office development in Downtown Hamilton, including a new CIBC office complex. The new mall was also able to attract existing downtown businesses out of storefront retail and the older Jackson Square mall.
YouTube video showing the exterior and interior of the old Downtown Hamilton Eaton’s store prior to closing, as well as its demolition in 1989 to make way for the new Hamilton Eaton Centre (via Hamilton Sight & Sound YouTube channel)
However, as I discussed previously on this website, the malls developed by Eaton’s and Cadillac Fairview did not do well in most markets. New, full-line Eaton’s stores were a poor fit for smaller, industrial cities like Peterborough, Brantford, and Sarnia. The malls themselves were more difficult to get to by car, and shoppers usually had to pay for parking. The established suburban malls were typically larger, and they offered ample free parking. By 1990, the old, large industries were in decline due to free trade and industrial automation, and in the 1990s, a new retail format — the big box “power centre” — emerged as serious competition during a major recession. And in 1994, Walmart entered the Canadian market.
The former Hamilton Eaton Centre (known as Hamilton City Centre since 2000) from the corner of James Street North and York Boulevard. The clocktower on the corner is an homage to the old Hamilton City Hall, which was demolished in 1960. The clocks themselves were originally installed in the old city hall and will be preserved when the current building is demolished.
With low traffic and many national retailers unwilling to renew their leases, Cadillac Fairview divested itself of most of its downtown malls. It sold its half-stake of Hamilton’s Eaton Centre to the T. Eaton Company in 1995 (Of its downtown malls, Cadillac Fairview would only hold onto the flagship Toronto Eaton Centre, and the Rideau Centre in Ottawa). According to a Hamilton Spectator article from that year, one of the mall’s three floors was already closed, just five years after its grand opening.1 Among the tenants that left the mall early was upscale men’s clothier Harry Rosen. By 1996, only 50 of the 120 stores outside the Eaton’s department store were still occupied, with another six stores closing early that year.2 A McMaster University business school lecturer predicted that one of the two downtown malls — Eaton Centre or Jackson Square — would close within 10 years. (He was only 15 years off the mark.)2
In February 1997 — after years of mismanagement and neglect by the fourth generation of the Eaton family — Eaton’s entered bankruptcy protection, allowing it to settle debts and restructure. Though stores in other downtown malls in Brantford, Sarnia, and Kitchener were among the first to go, the Downtown Hamilton store was left off the closure lists, as Eaton’s itself owned the property – losing the department store anchor would not help the mall in case of a property sale. In the meantime, Metrus Developments — which purchased the neighbouring Lister Block in 1989 — evicted its remaining tenants and boarded up the six-storey commercial building, hastening Downtown Hamilton’s visual and commercial decline.
In 1998, the Region of Hamilton-Wentworth (dissolved in 2001 after amalgamation) began leasing space on the formerly vacant third floor of Hamilton Eaton Centre, partly to help maintain the department store’s presence and support Eaton’s, which still owned the property. The City of Hamilton agreed to provide two hours of free parking at the attached York Boulevard garage and planned for the construction of a new store entrance to the Hamilton Farmers’ Market. This was just enough to keep the department store open until the company collapsed in 1999; the store closed for good in October of that year. The mall was rebranded Hamilton City Centre the year after, sold to a private real estate firm.
View from the third floor in Hamilton City Centre; the conversion of retail space to offices on the top level is apparentThe central atrium. All remaining stores must close by December 26, 2022.The connection between Hamilton City Centre and Jackson Square. This was originally the main route between the old Eaton’s store and the first phase of the 1970s-era mall. The largerJackson Square will undoubtedly benefit from the residential re-development of the Eaton’s site.
After Eaton’s closed, part of the massive retail space was renovated and turned into a fitness club. The City of Hamilton leased additional space in the old Eaton’s store, especially as it undertook renovations to its modernist 1960s-era city hall. New windows were punched into the brick facade to provide natural light to the new occupants. But the remaining national retailers like HMV, Fairweather, and Eddie Bauer left the mall, while a few small, independent retailers came in, attracted by cheap rents.
A fresh labelscar on the south-facing roof of the Eaton’s store, as seen from the patio on top of Jackson Square. Until 2021, a forgotten and unmaintained Eaton’s sign was left alone, hidden from street level.
The new development will have 1,940 residential apartments, along with street-level retail and office spaces, constructed in three phases. Walkways will allow the public to cut through the property, with one of those roughly following the old Merrick Street alignment. Unfortunately, it is being developed and planned independently of the rest of the Jackson Square superblock bound by James, King, and Bay Streets, and York Boulevard, and which also contains the farmers market, the central library, and Copps Coliseum, the sports venue built for an NHL franchise that never arrived.
But with the influx of new residents, Jackson Square — which, despite is retail vacancies, holds its own due to the attached office, hotel, and civic functions, as well as the full-service Nations supermarket — will only benefit from the demise of its newer downtown competitor.
Rendering for the new development on the Eaton Centre site by SRM Architects.
“Eaton eyes the future after buying centre” Hamilton Spectator 13 July 1995: D12.
John Burman. “A tough sell: Struggling Eaton Centre looks for new direction” Hamilton Spectator 13 Feb 1996: A1
The Metrolinx parking lot at Elizabeth and Railroad Street is nearly complete
Over the last few years, I have followed the purchase and demolition of over a dozen houses in Downtown Brampton, in the block bounded by George, Nelson, Elizabeth, and Railroad Streets. Metrolinx, the provincial transit planning and operating agency, acquired the block for a new surface parking lot for the neighbouring GO Transit station.
At first, the parking lot was intended to replace parking spaces lost due to construction of a new post-secondary education campus — a joint venture between Ryerson University and Sheridan College — on the main GO Station lands. Though the provincial government pulled funding for the campus in the fall of 2018, Metrolinx continued work on the parking lot, completing the demolition, clearing the land, and building the parking area.
Now, it is possible that the parking lot will never open.
At the Brampton City Council meeting on January 26, 2022, councillors considered a request by Rogers for two Minister’s Zoning Orders (MZOs) in order for it to relocate its existing Brampton offices at 8200 Dixie Road in Bramalea to a new build in Downtown Brampton. The particular property Rogers looks to acquire for its new campus is the same one Metrolinx acquired, cleared, and partly constructed its new parking lot.
Part of the existing Rogers campus at 8200 Dixie Road
The property at 8200 Dixie Road was built in the 1963 as a Northern Electric (later Northern Telecom) plant, which produced switchboards and other telecommunications equipment. In 1995, the plant closed, and the building was refurbished to become the headquarters for Nortel Networks. In 2005, during Nortel’s infamous fall into bankruptcy, the property was sold to Rogers, which uses it today for its business operations and technical offices, with 3,000 workers stationed there.
Rogers is interested in the downtown site for several reasons. The new campus would be adjacent to several transit links, including the GO Transit Kitchener Line, with links to Downtown Toronto (where Rogers has its head office) and the Kitchener-Waterloo technology hub. In its submission to the city, Rogers also notes the proposed LRT extension into Downtown Brampton (now in the design phase, either as a tunnel or a surface route) and planned bus improvements. Though it is served by Brampton Transit, the 8200 Dixie Road site is almost entirely dependent on its employees driving to work.
The new Rogers downtown site would support Brampton’s goals of becoming a cybersecurity centre of excellence and landing a major postsecondary education campus — Ryerson University continues to be interested in expanding in Brampton and the University of Guelph has expressed interest in relocating its Humber College presence to Brampton to better serve its student base.
There are also several development proposals for Downtown Brampton. The City of Brampton is still planning to build a new Centre for Innovation to support education and business development. The new facility, located adjacent to the downtown transit terminal, will include a new central library. New highrise developments will bring thousands of new residential units to downtown Brampton, walkable to local businesses, the GO station, and Rogers’ planned new campus.
Map of Metrolinx/Rogers lands in Downtown Brampton, with surrounding active development plans
The new office campus — proposed to be 200,000 to 500,000 square feet — would have a smaller footprint than the Dixie Road site. By relocating its offices, Rogers would then be free to sell or redevelop the old Nortel lands for housing and new industrial uses, likely for warehousing and logistics. The development of the old land would certainly finance the new property.
Proposed redevelopment of the Rogers lands at 8200 Dixie Road, with mixed residential development on the east side, towards Balmoral Drive, and new industrial uses on the west side.
Rogers wanted municipal support for the MZOs so it could move quickly towards designing its new office complex. In response to a question from council, Rogers indicated that it had already been talking with Metrolinx about purchasing the land, and that Metrolinx itself was supportive. Mayor Patrick Brown indicated that he has been speaking with Metrolinx CEO Phil Verster, and that Metrolinx would submit its own letter of support.
MZOs have a controversial reputation. In Ontario, the Minister of Municipal Affairs has the authority to issue a zoning order over any property that overrides the normal zoning process. Traditionally, MZOs have been used infrequently, often in an emergency situation (such as after a disaster, such as the collapse of the Algo Centre Mall in Elliot Lake), or to fast track the construction of a major employer or housing development, typically issued at the request of the municipality.
The Doug Ford-led Progressive Conservative government have issued MZOs much more frequently, often for projects with significant opposition. This included the site of a proposed Amazon warehouse on the Pickering/Ajax border, which was strongly opposed by environmentalists and Ajax politicians, yet supported by Pickering officials. Meanwhile, a MZO requested by the City of Toronto, for an affordable housing project in North York, has yet to be issued. (It is worth noting that the project is in a PC-held riding, represented by Associate Minister of Transportation Stan Cho.)
But, in this case, with a unanimous vote of endorsement from Brampton City Council, with support from Metrolinx and local business groups the new Rogers relocation should prove to be less contentious than other recent MZOs.
There are still a few questions that will have to be answered in due time:
Will Metrolinx be able to provide all-day, two-way GO train service to Downtown Brampton by the time Rogers is ready to relocate its Brampton operations? Right now, the Kitchener Line is constrained through Brampton as it uses a busy CN freight corridor. A third track and platform at Downtown Brampton will be needed to support commuters arriving from Toronto in the morning. Though the planned new transit hub at Main and Nelson Streets will support this expansion, work has yet to begin on that project, including a temporary bus facility as the old terminal and office building above is demolished.
Will Brampton agree on the Main Street LRT extension, whether it will be in a tunnel or at-grade in Downtown Brampton? If so, will it be able to secure funding from the province and the federal government? As transit access is key for Rogers’ proposal, and for potential new educational instructions, closure on this long-running matter is important.
How many workers will be on site at Rogers’ new complex? Though 200,000 square feet will be enough space for about 1,000 employees, which is just one-third of its Brampton workforce. Perhaps Rogers is looking towards a hybrid model of work, where employees are on site only part-time.
Finally, it is interesting how Metrolinx, a public agency, was determined to assemble land and build a new parking lot, only to see that land sold to a large private company. However, having major employers located adjacent to regional transit hubs is a good thing, especially as it represents a shift away from GO’s traditional model of transporting commuters to Union Station in the morning and back to the suburbs in the afternoon.
For Downtown Brampton, Rogers’ plans for relocating to the urban core is a badly-needed shot in the arm. Locating a major employer to the core will support existing and new businesses. After many attempts to revitalize downtown, this latest plan might be the catalyst that changes everything.
Cutting down trees to make way for a surface parking lot in Downtown Brampton
Earlier this April, contractors hired by Metrolinx cut down trees on its Downtown Brampton property, where twelve houses once stood. The work, originally scheduled for the week of March 22, did not begin until April 12.
The tree removal brings Greater Toronto’s regional transit operating and planning authority one step closer to building a new 200-plus surface parking lot in a city that hopes to renew its downtown core.
Starting in 2016, Metrolinx purchased over a dozen homes along with two four-storey office towers in an area bounded by Railroad, Nelson, and Elizabeth Streets, immediately south of the Brampton GO Station. It vacated and demolished the houses between 2016 and 2019, and left the two office buildings vacant. Metrolinx’s plan was to build a new surface parking lot to expand parking capacity, though in early 2018, the Liberal provincial government announced a new Ryerson University/Sheridan College campus on the existing main parking lot on the north side of the station. Metrolinx’s acquisition of occupied homes — including heritage-listed buildings and a rooming house — made more sense.
After the election of a new Progressive Conservative government led by Doug Ford, funding for the educational campus was pulled, though the City of Brampton and Ryerson University continued to advance plans for the downtown area. The city bought up more of the downtown core, including the southeast corner of George and Nelson Streets, across from the vacated office buildings, as well as the thirty-year old office building at 2 Nelson Street West, below which is the Brampton Transit downtown terminal. These newly acquired lands would be home to a larger bus terminal that would link to an expanded GO station and a proposed extension of the Hurontario LRT, and an Innovation Centre that would serve the education campus and include a new central library.
The old plans for the Ryerson Unversity/Sheridan College building on the GO Transit parking lot, and a Centre for Innovation on the southeast corner of George and Nelson Streets. The Metrolinx lands are in the block between the Centre for Innovation and the GO Station/proposed Ryerson building
Already, there are several high-rise developments in the downtown area under construction or in the planning phase. More development lands will be unlocked with the Riverwalk project, which will improve flood protection along Etobicoke Creek while providing an improved public space.
A two-tower rental highrise development is progressing on the old Dominion Skate Factory lands, across the tracks from the GO Station, bringing hundreds of new residents to the downtown core and right to the station.
Given Brampton’s urban aspirations for its downtown core, another surface parking lot — adding 200 spots to the existing 861 spaces — is not the right idea.
At Bramalea Station, construction has nearly finished on a 1,300 spot parking garage, part of a larger project that also includes a new, larger station building, a larger bus terminal, additional pedestrian tunnels, and improved platforms and security features. Bramalea already has over 2500 parking spaces, but unlike in Downtown Brampton, this is a logical space for parking expansion. The station is surrounded by warehouses and factories, at the intersection of two major truck routes, and close to highways. It is not a place that is easily urbanized. However, improved pedestrian and cycling access is very much warranted.
New garage nearly complete at Bramalea GO Station
With the expansion of parking at Bramalea GO, why is Metrolinx eager to add another parking lot in Downtown Brampton, especially with Ryerson’s downtown plans on hold?
Metrolinx-owned houses on Railroad Street, Brampton
Over the last three years, I have been following developments in Downtown Brampton, especially lands surrounding the Brampton GO Station. In April 2016, Metrolinx, the provincial agency responsible for GO Transit, began buying properties in the northwest corner of Brampton’s downtown core, including twelve houses and two low-rise office buildings. The land assembly was for a new surface parking lot, an odd choice for a transit agency that was otherwise interested in promoting compatible land use and transit connections in designated urban centres.
It was later revealed that Metrolinx, Ryerson University, and the City of Brampton were working on a new downtown satellite campus, with the main academic building to be constructed on part of the GO parking lot, north of the rail corridor. While the construction of more surface parking in a downtown core was still a bad idea, at least there was a reason behind the land assembly. The new Ryerson site would make use of other city resources, such as the Rose Theatre and the planned Centre for Innovation (CFI). The CFI would include academic space and a central library, to be built on city-owned land south of the GO station and bus terminal.
Previous plans for Downtown Brampton, including the Centre for Innovation and the Ryerson campus on the GO Transit lot. Replacement parking would be built on land assembled south of the rail corridor.
The CFI will now be built on the north side of Nelson Street West, between Main Street and George Street, on the site of the existing downtown bus terminal, a 6-story office building constructed in 1989, and an older two-storey commercial block. The office building, though only thirty years old, is reported to be in poor condition. The new 15,700 square metre (170,000 square feet) CFI will include the central library, education space, event space, and retail. It may also include additional floors for offices.
The bus terminal will be expanded, as the existing facility is too small to accommodate GO and Brampton Transit buses. There will also be room for a new third track through Downtown Brampton, essential for frequent two-way GO service between Toronto, Brampton, and Kitchener.
The City of Brampton will likely build a temporary terminal on the south side of Nelson Street to accommodate the demolition of the existing structures and the construction of the CFI and terminal. This land, also owned by the city, is currently occupied by a surface lot and an old commercial building that was originally a Loblaws store. Retail tenants are being evicted from all of the above properties.
The city is also interested in using the two office buildings purchased by Metrolinx for short-term academic and administrative purposes as the new CFI is being built.
The houses on Nelson, Elizabeth and Railroad Streets acquired by Metrolinx will still be torn down, but without the imminent construction of the Ryerson building, a new parking lot is no longer planned. It is possible that the block will see transit-oriented development in the long term.
Vacated office buildings at George and Nelson Streets that may see new life under the city’s new plans
The map below illustrates the revised downtown plans.
It remains a shame that Metrolinx decided to buy up a whole city block and displace dozens of residents (among the properties it acquired were two heritage houses and a rooming house), especially now that the Brampton Ryerson campus is being scaled back. But the city desperately needs a central library, and happily, Ryerson remains interested in partnering with Brampton. It’s good to see that transit expansion, including a larger bus terminal and GO rail expansion, are part of the plans.
At the end of 2014, despite some disappointing results in that year’s municipal election, I was feeling optimistic about 2018. In 2014, there were a number of great candidates running for city council, and I expected many would try again in 2018. After council finally approved the recommended 47 ward model for the 2018 election, I was excited. Downtown, which was badly underrepresented under the 44 ward model, would get three additional wards. Vacancies left by departing councillors, including Mary-Margaret McMahon and John Filion, would further improve the chance for fresh new voices to join city council. At least eight wards across Toronto would not have an incumbent running.
Of course, we all know what happened to that dream.
Downtown tends to elect some of Toronto’s hardest-working and most progressive councillors. They’re hard-working out of necessity: old Ward 27 had the largest population in the city, and all four old downtown wards struggled with pressures caused by massive new development and social concerns, especially as older, affordable housing stock is replaced by new condominiums. (Similar pressures exist in North York Centre and Midtown.)
The last council term
In 2014, four councillors were elected downtown. Mike Layton was re-elected in Ward 19, which ran from Dovercourt Road in the west to Bathurst Street in the east, including Exhibition Place, Fort York, and the Mirvish Village redevelopment site at Bathurst and Bloor. Layton was first elected to council in 2010. Layton is the son of respected long-time councillor and federal NDP leader Jack Layton.
Joe Cressy was elected in old Ward 20, which was located between Bathurst Street and University Avenue, and included the Annex, University of Toronto, the Entertainment District, City Place, and much of the waterfront. The previous elected councillor in Ward 20 was Adam Vaughan, who resigned in 2014 to run in a federal by-election in Spadina-Fort York. He is now the Liberal MP for Spadina-Fort York. A long-time political activist, Cressy is the son of former city councillors Gordon Cressy and Joanne Campbell.
Kristyn Wong-Tam was re-elected in Ward 27, which included Rosedale, Yorkville, the Church-Wellesley Village, Ryerson University, and Moss Park. A local business owner and an advocate for both LGBTQ and Asian-Canadian community issues, Wong-Tam was first elected in 2010.
Pam McConnell was re-elected in Ward 28, which included Cabbagetown, Regent Park, the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood, much of the Financial District, and the Distillery District. She was first elected as a Metro councillor in 1994. She is credited for many local improvements, including the Regent Park redevelopment and the revitalized Berczy Park. Sadly, McConnell died in 2017. She was replaced by council appointee Lucy Troisi in a controversial vote.
The promise of new representation
At the beginning of 2018, with three new wards, each of the seven downtown races were starting to shape up.
Mike Layton planned to run for re-election in Ward 19, whose boundaries were similar to the ward he was first elected to in 2010. Joe Cressy planned to run in new Ward 24, and Kristyn Wong-Tam planned to run in Ward 22. Despite her promise not to run for election after her appointment, Lucy Troisi registered to run in Ward 23, against former Liberal provincial cabinet minister and 2010 mayoral candidate George Smitherman. Also running in Ward 23 were Megan Willson, an entrepreneur and community organizer; Khuram Aftab, a local convenience store owner; and Walied Khogali Ali, a progressive community activist in Regent Park and St. Jamestown.
Ward 20 had an especially crowded field of candidates, with eleven council hopefuls. Among the most prominent was local TDSB trustee Ausma Malik, a rising political star. Malik, like other Muslim women and men, faced targeted attacks during the 2014 municipal election. Her win was one of a few bright spots in a nasty campaign season. Malik was backed by many progressives, including Layton and Cressy.
Other high-profile candidates included businessman, transit advocate, and naval reserve officer Kevin Vuong; lawyer April Engelberg; former television journalist and Conservative Karlene Nation; disgruntled restaurateur Al Carbone; second-time candidate Dean Maher, founder of two local neighbourhood associations; and Sabrina Zuniga, federal Conservative candidate for Spadina-Fort York in the 2015 election. Late to register was Han Dong, a local Liberal MPP defeated in the June provincial election. Dong’s entry into the race was supported by former councillor and Liberal MP Adam Vaughan.
Candidates in Ward 21, which encompassed Corktown, the Distillery District, and St. Lawrence Market, included Jennifer Hollett, a former broadcaster and provincial NDP candidate in University-Rosedale; and Suzanne Kavanagh, past president of the St. Lawrence Neighbourhood Association and advocate for local public spaces, including Toronto’s waterfront.
In Ward 25, which included the Yorkville and Church-Wellesley neighbourhoods, there were several well-known candidates, featuring several activists within the local LGBTQ movement. These included Chris Moise, a local Toronto District School Board trustee; Niki Ward, director of the 519 Community Centre; and Ryan Lester, a director of development with the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion, and former director at Egale Canada.
Downtown voters were spoiled by choice, and there were many worthy and qualified candidates.
But then, of course, Doug Ford seized control of the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party and won the provincial election in June. One of his first acts was to unilaterally cut Toronto City Council to just 25 wards, with the promise to invoke the Notwithstanding Clause of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms to get it past any legal challenge.
The four downtown wards and their representatives, 2014-2018
The six downtown wards and where each incumbent registered
The three wards under the 25-ward structure, and where each incumbent decided to run. The old four wards highlighted in yellow
Seven downtown wards were reduced to just three. Councillor Joe Cressy decided to run in Spadina Fort-York, while Mike Layton registered in University-Rosedale. Kristyn Wong-Tam ran in Toronto Centre, along with appointed councillor Lucy Troisi.
Many allied progressive candidates, including Ausma Malik and Jennifer Hollett, withdrew their candidacies. Chris Moise decided to run for re-election as TDSB trustee, which he won. Other candidates who withdrew included Han Dong,
Ward 10
There were 14 candidates running in Ward 10, Fort York-Spadina, including Joe Cressy, April Engelberg, and Kevin Vuong. Cressy won with 55.8 percent of the vote, with Engelberg coming in second place with 11.6 percent and and Vuong with 10.5 percent. Cressy placed first in all but seven polls, most of which were condominium buildings in the Harbourfront and Liberty Village neighbourhoods. The top three candidates all supported the King Street Pilot, while Al Carbone got a mere 1.8 percent of the vote.
Poll results in Ward 10
Ward 11
The new Ward 11 was a very different ward from the one in which Mike Layton had run in 2010 and 2014. Only a fraction of old Ward 19 was included in University-Rosedale, which includes neighbourhoods such as the Annex, Yorkville and Rosedale, areas previously represented by Councillors Cressy and Wong-Tam. Layton was challenged by Niki Ward and by latecomer candidate Joyce Rowlands, an occupational health nurse, writer, and policy consultant, and the daughter of former City of Toronto mayor June Rowlands.
Despite the change in ward boundaries, Layton won easily with 69.6 percent of the vote, while Rowlands placed second with 13.2 percent, and Ward in third with 9.1 percent. Layton came first in every poll, but Rowlands did best in Rosedale, almost winning Polls 027 and 029. This was the same area in which Wong-Tam had the least support in 2014.
Poll results in Ward 11
Ward 13
The new Ward 13, Toronto Centre, had much more of former Ward 28 than Councillor Wong-Tam’s old Ward 27. The Rosedale and Yorkville sections of Ward 27 became part of new Ward 11. While Ward 13 is geographically smaller than old Ward 27 (the only instance of this happening under the 25-ward model), it still has a larger population, and has many different challenges than the old ward, as it now includes St. Jamestown, where hundreds remain displaced after a fire, and Regent Park, which is still undergoing redevelopment.
Wong-Tam won with 50.3 percent of the vote, with other high-profile candidates doing quite poorly. George Smitherman got just 15.2 percent of the vote, while Lucy Troisi, the Ward 28 incumbent, got just 8.6 percent. Wong-Tam placed first in all but seven polls, while Troisi didn’t place first anywhere. It’s clear by the poll results map below that Wong-Tam’s support was lowest in St. Jamestown and in the Regent Park neighbourhoods while strongest in old Ward 27 and the area south of Queen Street.
This speaks to the challenges for many councillors elected to new, larger wards. At least Kristyn Wong-Tam is one of Toronto’s most effective and hardest-working councillors, so Ward 13 is in good hands.
Poll results in Ward 13
Conclusion
Downtown Toronto is fortunate to have experienced, dedicated, and hard-working councillors, but concentrating all the work in just three wards is unfortunate. Not only is the population of central Toronto growing faster than most other parts of the city, it has additional needs: an increasing share of the city’s employment that requires additional infrastructure such as a Relief Line Subway, and pressing social needs especially as new development downtown squeezes out affordable rental housing and the institutions that support marginalized people.
I also think of all the great people running for council who never got a fair shot at running for council. Though re-electing Councillors Cressy, Layton, and Wong-Tam is the best result especially considering the circumstances, I was excited by many of the new voices who put their names forward in good faith earlier in 2018. Hopefully, they remain active in the community and get a fair chance in the future.
Boarded up houses on Elizabeth Street, Downtown Brampton
Earlier this year, the provincial government announced the location of Ryerson University’s Brampton campus, a partnership with Sheridan College, to be built on the GO Station parking lot in Downtown Brampton. Meanwhile, Metrolinx quietly purchased several houses and office buildings south of the station for new GO Transit surface parking, replacing the spots that Ryerson will build upon.
The merits of a satellite university campus are open to debate – some smaller satellite campuses have struggled to attract students and faculty and distinguish themselves. Brampton’s the planned campus site was, by far, the best one for both the City of Brampton and Ryerson University.
But today, the Progressive Conservative provincial government, elected in June, cancelled three planned suburban post-secondary education campuses — the York University/Seneca College campus in Markham, the Wilfrid Laurier University/Conestoga College campus in Milton, and the Ryerson University/Sheridan College campus in Brampton.
This announcement came only one day after the October 22 municipal elections. While Toronto elected a smaller 25-ward council and returned John Tory to the mayor’s office, the voters Brampton elected former Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown as mayor, narrowly defeating incumbent Linda Jeffrey. Brown had just moved to Brampton after his campaign for the elected Peel Region Chair was cancelled at the same time Brown’s successor as PC leader, Premier Doug Ford, imposed the new 25 ward structure on Toronto. We can only speculate if the animosity between Brown and Ford was a factor in this announcement. It’s more likely that the decision to cancel the three campuses was already made, with the announcement timed to take place after the municipal elections. In any case, mayor-elect Brown’s job has already become more interesting.
Brampton’s satellite campus, which had a 2022 opening date, would have hosted 2,000 undergraduate students. Though this is tiny compared to Ryerson’ downtown campus, which 36,000 undergraduate students currently enrolled, it was the best possible site, adjacent to the GO station, several Brampton Transit routes, the Rose Theatre, and local shops and restaurants and recreation facilities. The school would have made use of the the planned Centre for Innovation, a proposed new central library to the corner of George and Nelson Streets.
The York University/Seneca College campus in Markham was also strategically located, on a site adjacent to Unionville GO Station, in the mixed-use Downtown Markham development. In contrast, the Milton site was in a greenfield far from transit links. It’s fair to say that I’m not too disappointed on Milton’s behalf.
With Brampton’s campus dead, for now, there’s still the land on the south side of the station. Three homes are already knocked down, while two office buildings and several houses are boarded up, awaiting demolition.
Will Downtown Brampton see nothing more than additional GO Transit surface parking now that the campus is cancelled? Or will a new opportunity come along?
The existing GO Transit lot at Brampton Station, where the Ryerson University/Sheridan College campus was planned
Vacated office buildings at George and Nelson Streets that may see new life under the city’s new plans
Poll results in Ward 11
Poll results in Ward 13
The existing GO Transit lot at Brampton Station, where the Ryerson University/Sheridan College campus was planned
Sean Marshall 