“It’s less about e-commerce than it is about how people want to live and what they want to experience [...] People want to connect, they want to be social, so we’re trying to give them more reasons and more opportunities to do that.” — The Globe and Mail
The movement is not without its detractors, however, as planning experts like the University of British Columbia’s Dr. Penelope Gurstein balance the media’s mostly effusive coverage for such projects with criticism that they are marketed towards affluent retirees and wealthy overseas buyers whose apartments are vacant much of the year.
The government has attempted to mitigate this via a new ban on foreign property ownership. Still, most feel the industry is well-positioned to adapt, as evidenced by the 420 units of below-market-rate units that were included in the 28-acre Henriquez Partners master-planned Oakridge Park development in Vancouver.
“Ten years ago, I was expanding malls, 20 years ago I was building malls, five years ago we were talking about demolishing malls,” one developer tells the Globe and Mail. “You can’t predict the future.”
2 Comments
Putting high-density residential near commercial spaces is not a new concept.... been doing this for decades. The only new thing is the death of the supercentre & big box fields of asphalt. Now those boxes are under the condo towers instead. We have at least 6 similar large scale residential/commercial projects active at the moment (SD phase).
Strange that this is "canada" specific tho. Maybe it's just some are making better use of the land than keeping these functions separate?
I can see the appeal of Mall-Towns. They have everything you need closeby, restaurants, coffee, shopping, etc. For those who don't live in downtowns and want walkable living areas where you don't have to drive every time you need a bit.
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