A new $1.7 billion megamall proposal in the Town of Mount Royal is being billed as an “urban experience.”
Assuming that the project gets municipal approval, the Royalmount Mall by developer Carbonleo will become the largest shopping centre in Quebec and will be built on a 2.5 million square foot site just southwest of juncture of the Decarie and Metropolitain highways.
It will include a water park, a performing arts space with 3,000 seats, an indoor cinema complex and outdoor cinema on a green roof, an outdoor skating rink, two hotels, several office towers as well as restaurants and terraces, developers announced Wednesday.
“It’s a project that's outward facing, that potentially rolls 24 hours a day, that embraces all those various components of lifestyle, as opposed to segregating, I think that's what's needed,” said Carbonleo developer Andrew Lutfy.
Construction would begin in 2017 and the mall would open in 2021.
The developers say that the complex will also have plenty of retail, including banners not found elsewhere in Quebec. It will contain about 8,000 parking spots.
The main entrance will be located on Royalmount near an outdoor square with a three floor complex with a green roof which will include water slides.
The developers plan to build a pedestrian bridge over the Decarie Expressway to link foot traffic more easily to the de La Savane metro.
Town of Mount Royal Mayor Philippe Roy is thrilled.
“For years and years, Montrealers, if they wanted to have a lifestyle experience, they need to cross bridges, go to Brossard, Blainville, Laval. Now we're going to have our own lifestyle centre right here in the middle of the island, connected to a subway station,” said Roy.
But added car traffic spells trouble for the West End, according to veteran city councillor Marvin Rotrand.
“The number of visitors per year will be about 22 million and using standard mall algorhythms, that means 40,000 to 50,000 additional cars at Decarie and the Metropolitain every day. If that’s true we’re going to have absolute gridlock and this project will be the opposite of sustainable development.”
The developer said that a study by WSP Global indicates that traffic will only rise by five percent.
Project Montreal Plateau borough Mayor Luc Ferrandez urged Town of Mount Royal residents to actively oppose the zoning changes in a municipal referendum. "If they change the zoning, it means hundreds of millions in profit for the developer even if he doesn't build anything," Ferrandez told CTV Montreal.
He called the proposal "a less-than-Dubai-style development," and warned that it would lead to many commercial vacancies downtown.
Veteran politician Robert Libman embraced the plan. “It would consolidate the urban fabric of the area which is a completely under-valued conundrum right now," said Libman, an architect who served on Montreal's Executive Committee under Mayor Tremblay and is now running for the federal Conservatives.
But added car traffic spells trouble for the West End, according to veteran city councillor Marvin Rotrand.
“The number of visitors per year will be about 22 million and using standard mall algorhythms, that means 40,000 to 50,000 additional cars at Decarie and the Metropolitain every day. If that’s true we’re going to have absolute gridlock and this project will be the opposite of sustainable development.”
The developer said that a study by WSP Global indicates that traffic will only rise by five percent.
Project Montreal Plateau borough Mayor Luc Ferrandez urged Town of Mount Royal residents to actively oppose the zoning changes in a municipal referendum. "If they change the zoning, it means hundreds of millions in profit for the developer even if he doesn't build anything," Ferrandez told CTV Montreal.
