Del Grande calls development plan 'too huge'

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A condominium developer has a plan to put a dozen buildings in the parking lot at Bridlewood Mall, area councillor Mike Del Grande says.

Malibu Investments Inc. has not yet applied to build anything at the mall but last week Del Grande, who represents Ward 39 (Scarborough-Agincourt), said company representatives revealed a proposal to him.

The councillor has told constituents near Bridlewood that the buildings Malibu envisions would add about 1,600 apartments to the mall property at Warden and Finch avenues.

"It's just very high density, very high," said Del Grande, adding his first reaction "is that it's just too huge a development" for the area.

He has called a Town Hall Meeting for 7 p.m. next Tuesday, June 5, to discuss Malibu's plans at L'Amoureaux Collegiate Institute, 2501 Bridletown Circle.

Del Grande's letter to residents says mall owner T.G.S. Asset Management Group has a tentative agreement to sell two parcels to Malibu Investments.

According to Del Grande, the plan, which requires a zoning change, includes three condo towers on the Finch side, from 26 to 38 storeys, along with four three-story buildings with retail stores on their ground floors. On the north side, where a postal building now stands, the developer plans five buildings, three of seven storeys, one of 10 storeys and one of 20, he said.

Calls to Malibu Investments office in Toronto this week were not returned.

Suggesting "Malibu is just fishing at this point" and looking for community reaction, Del Grande said he told the builder the mall needs more retail space and he would support a big-box store there.

Bridlewood is "one of two enclosed malls in the area that basically appeals to everyone," he added. "I call it a rough diamond that could really be a crown jewel."

Ward 40 Councillor (Scarborough-Agincourt) Norm Kelly also sent a letter to residents near the mall mentioning the possible development but this week said it's "probably too early to sound the alarm."

"You love to get community feedback but you want it on something concrete," he said, "and there's nothing solid about this."

The city's plan to add a million more residents to Toronto in 25 years means some intensification is coming and mall properties are candidates for it, Kelly said. However, he added such developments should not overwhelm neighbourhoods and what Malibu apparently wants at Bridlewood "appears to be a density no one would have anticipated for that site."

Bridlewood Mall property manager Jeff Nelson said he was not in a position to release proposal details before the Tuesday meeting.

A widely-circulated Israeli report last November said the Jerusalem Economic Corporation, one of Israel's largest real estate companies, bought Bridlewood Mall five years earlier and had signed a development deal with a third party. The Ynet report said the project "will consist of 1,100 apartments and 1,200 stores on a plot of land currently used as a parking lot for the mall" but gave no further details.