City takes next step in bold new plan to transform downtown core in Mississauga

Next steps in a bold new plan to dramatically transform Mississauga’s downtown core for generations to come will be discussed next Wednesday at city council.

Having approved in principle in March a sweeping concept that would dramatically remake the area directly north of city hall, on lands anchored by the Living Arts Centre, council will consider a proposal from senior city staff on June 24 on how best to proceed from this point.

Essentially, the mayor, councillors and staff will discuss how they’ll take the wide-ranging plan to members of the community — businesses and residents — for critical feedback in the coming months and beyond.

In a report to be tabled at council on Wednesday, Andrew Whittemore, the city’s planning and building commissioner, recommends a series of steps starting in July that includes “structured industry briefings, roundtables, public information sessions, pop-up outreach and online tools — culminating in a ‘What We Heard’ report to council” in early 2027.

A new performing arts centre that would replace the LAC and rival the largest in Canada and a highrise hotel and convention facility as big as 500,000 square feet are highlights of the city’s vision that would permanently reshape Mississauga’s downtown.

Rendering of what a new downtown Mississauga could look like. (Image: City of Mississauga)

The new-look downtown core of Canada’s seventh-largest city, should it come to fruition in the years ahead, would rise up on 12 acres of City of Mississauga-owned land just steps to the north of city hall and anchored by the large parcel of real estate currently occupied by the LAC, senior city staff said in their initial report to council in early March.

In his latest report, Whittemore also notes that “concurrent with public engagement, staff will advance comprehensive business cases for the convention centre and hotel, and the music venue, incorporating financial analysis, economic impact assessment and market sounding.”

The concept that dramatically reimagines the city’s downtown area has already received enthusiastic approval from Mississauga’s business community.

The Mississauga Board of Trade said in March the proposed vision represents “a futuristic view of how to put Mississauga on the map as an entertainment, cultural and business destination.”

In staff’s first report, brought to council on March 11, Whittemore said Mississauga’s downtown “is at a pivotal moment of transformation, driven by major transit investments, sustained population and employment growth, and increasing demand for culture, tourism and employment infrastructure. 

“City-owned lands, particularly the LAC property and surrounding civic lands, represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the downtown’s long-term economic, cultural and civic role.”

Core components of the proposed vision include:

• A new state-of-the-art music hub that would include a 2,500-to-5,000-capacity performance venue to replace the LAC (current capacity of 1,120 rising to 1,680), recording studios and a music school located on the 3.4-acre Community Common park parcel of land.
• A 400,000-to-500,000-sq.-ft. convention centre and hotel to be “positioned as a regional economic and tourism catalyst.” The highrise hotel would include some 400 rooms.
• New nine-storey office and 20-storey rental housing developments to support employment growth and downtown vitality.
• A redesigned and widened Princess Royal Drive and abutting atrium-style open space “that will prioritize programming and events and retail activity to animate the downtown and to generate more pedestrian activity.”
• A precinct-based parking strategy including 1,500 to 3,000 new underground parking spaces beneath Community Common “to support shared civic, cultural and commercial uses and tunnel connections.”
• A signature Sky Park and enhanced programmable Community Common urban park, “strengthening downtown open space and civic identity.”

A plan to be discussed again next week at city council calls for the Living Arts Centre, which opened in 1997, to be replaced with a much larger venue.

Initially, the city revealed plans last year to redevelop the area around the LAC, Mississauga’s largest performing arts and culture facility, and simply improve — but not replace — the performing arts venue itself.

That initiative included large-scale renovations to the Living Arts Centre that included a move to increase seating in the main hall from 1,120 to 1,680.

Staff’s March report noted that while the LAC, which sits on roughly six acres of land, “remains a cornerstone of Mississauga’s cultural infrastructure,” the building itself “is outdated and requires significant investment (a minimum of $120 million as noted in recent studies) to make it viable to meet the needs of a modern city.

“Additionally, the suburban nature of the LAC site layout limits opportunity to introduce new uses for optimizing lands for other priorities.”

In the end, the report reads, “rather than approaching the LAC property through incremental or piecemeal upgrades, staff were asked to contemplate situating the LAC lands and the other city-owned lands within a broader downtown vision.”

In addition to the LAC site, the report points out there are four other parcels of city-owned land in the immediate area that total another six acres. Those areas are currently used for parking lots and passive open space.

“In total, there is an opportunity to transform almost 12 acres of land in the city’s downtown core,” the March report stated, adding city staff suggest “these lands collectively represent a rare and strategic opportunity to reshape the future civic, cultural and economic identity of the downtown core.”