NANAIMO — While details are scarce, it appears the owner of a Nanaimo mall is committed to making substantial investments, including housing.
Vancouver based Shape Properties Corp., owner of Nanaimo North Town Centre (NNTC) on Rutherford Rd., outlined a brief overview of its “major redevelopment” plans on its website.
In addition to housing, Shape Properties states it’s preparing to create “open-air retail and new community spaces” to the 61-acre property.
Repeated attempts made to contact Shape Properties for further information were unsuccessful, while an NNTC employee redirected NanaimoNewsNOW’s inquiries to Shape Properties head office.
A brief write-up from Shape Properties promotes a pending transformation at Nanaimo North Town Centre. (Shape Properties)A formal development application has not been submitted to the City of Nanaimo.
Mayor Leonard Krog said merely the concept of further investments made to NNTC are intriguing.
“I would be very excited by the prospect of more housing on that site and better utilization of the land generally — massive parking lots are not the future,” Krog said.
Housing density around major urban commercial centres is a key aspect of Nanaimo’s Official Community Plan, commonly referred to as City Plan.
Establishing housing density in conjunction with a range of services creates more livable communities, Krog emphasized.
“The potential of this kind of development is enormous, I think it would be welcomed by Council, welcomed by the City generally and it is accordance with City Plan.”
NNTC, formally known as Rutherford Mall, first opened in 1967.
The mall was purchased by Shape Properties In 2006, which oversaw significant capital investments, including the construction and opening of Canadian Tire in 2014.
Multiple other detached anchor tenants have been added at the NNTC property since Shape Properties purchased the mall.
Aside from periodic seasonal and election use, the Sears department store at the south end of NNTC has been vacant since closing in January 2018, leading to continuous speculation of the sites future use.
NNTC is the city’s fourth highest valued property, with its most recent BC Assessment valuation listed at nearly $79 million.
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