Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc. is in the works of details for a major expansion of Vancouver’s Oakridge Mall. Plans include transforming the 56-year-old shopping centre into more of a community, and using all of it’s 11.5 hectare site to help achieve that.
So far, it seems that a broad range of housing which varies from luxury, to affordable, alongside more retail space, office space, parks, bikeways, walking paths and a library are just some of the new additions which are in hopes to be added to the Oakridge site. According to Senior Development Director Gordon Wylie, most of the work will be done on the mall’s enormous parking lots. In addition, a new underground parking system will replace the current underground parkade.
Vancouver city hall staff recommend that Ivanhoe Cambridge Inc. ask the opinions of the public before preceding. Residents have concerns, especially when it comes to the word “affordable” being mentioned as a part of their housing campaign, as many are left unclear as to what exactly affordable is these days.
There also are concerns involving the Canada Line, which has a convenient stop right outside of Oakridge Centre. The concern is, will the Canada Line be able to support the new population, if residencies were to be put on Oakridge land, as the Canada Line itself is running close to capacity already. Other major shopping malls, such as Richmond Centre have apartments which reside on the mall’s property, which hasn’t appeared to have many issues.
What are your thoughts on the expansion, and on the new housing ideas?