Beaconsfield Shopping Centre plans unveiled

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

Following an ill-received proposal to turn the Beaconsfield Shopping Centre into a strip mall about four years ago, council and developer First Capital Realty presented the reconstruction plans to the public during a special meeting held Monday evening.

“This council was convinced that the bottom line was the citizens wanted an inside mall,” Mayor Bob Benedetti said. “I think that we finally got a real good plan out of this guy. There are some people who don’t like some parts of it, but that’s always going to happen.”

While the three-stage plan will maintain the shopping centre’s closed design, there will be some major changes both inside and outside the building.

“It’s an old and tired shopping centre,” said Francois Le Rouzes of First Capital Realty, adding the redevelopment is a long time coming. “It’s really what the tenant wants today, and it’s the best we can offer to the people of Beaconsfield.”

The first stage of the project involves relocating the Royal Bank into a stand-alone building, or pad, in the centre’s parking lot, like the SAQ. The current bank will be demolished to house a 42,000 square foot Metro Plus grocery store, which has signed a 20-year lease. Le Rouzes added moving the grocery store from one end of the building to the other will help eliminate traffic tie-ups caused by people looking for parking and loading groceries into their cars at the centre’s entrance on St. Charles Blvd. The current Metro store will open up a 28,000 square foot space to a yet-undetermined tenant. According to Le Rouzes, however, First Capital is currently in negotiations with Pharmaprix.

A number of smaller tenants will have to be relocated in the building to make way for a fully-glassed interior promenade.

“Right now, you can’t see inside the mall. You have small units, like the [magazine store] and the jeweler...We’re keeping these guys, but we’re moving them inside,” Le Rouzes said. Other tenants like WimGym, however, will have to move completely.

“We’ll make sure that WimGym has a new home,” Le Rouzes said, adding First Capital is working with the non-profit gymnastics club to find a suitable new location about

10 kilometres from the Beaconsfield Shopping Centre.

The parking lot will also be redesigned to include more trees and 10 per cent greenspace. With the installation of greenspace “islands,” the Royal Bank building and a third pad, parking spaces will be reduced from 608 to 519.

“Today, the parking lot is a sea of asphalt. It’s not something we like,” Le Rouzes said. Plans also include more signage encouraging people to exit the centre at Beaurepaire Drive instead of St. Charles Boulevard, better circulation paths and directional ground lighting to avoid light pollution. Eventually, a third pad will be built between the Royal Bank and the SAQ to possibly house a coffee shop. Le Rouzes confirmed Starbucks turned down the space due to location concerns, and added the building would not be big enough for a sit-down restaurant.

“But we’re in no hurry to [fill that spot]. We have to make sure the big players are all in place and that the parking lot works perfectly,” he said. For the time being, the planned spot will remain a parking area or a greenspace island until plans for the third pad are finalized.

“I’m quite excited about it. I think we’ve accomplished quite a bit with the developer in order to maintain a closed mall and come up with an interesting design,” Benedetti said, describing the mall’s look as “ultra-modern,” while the pads will maintain a more “rustic” design, mimicking the nearby train station’s architecture. Benedetti also pointed out the centre will be built to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) regulations, but that it will not be up for LEED certification due to the existing structure the developer is working with. Some of the LEED standards include a landscape design requiring minimal watering, optimal energy performance, and the use of environmentally friendly construction materials.

Some residents in the audience raised concerns about the noise the bigger, modern grocery store will cause in the neighbourhood due to its cooling systems and fans. Benedetti explained the centre must comply to municipal bylaws regarding noise levels, and added the modern systems that will be used, as well as a sound barrier running along the store’s delivery zone should eliminate any noise problems. A handful of citizens pointed out possible traffic problems the centre’s new entrance and exit design could cause. Drivers taking the loop by the gas station off Beaurepaire to get onto Highway 20 from St. Charles will get frustrated with traffic tie-ups and look for alternate routes, especially during rush hour, one man said. A number of Kenwood Road residents pointed out drivers already take their street to detour around traffic lights, and said the new parking lot configuration will add to the problem.

“How will you control that?” one man asked. Benedetti answered that council will look into the concerns.

While the entire Beaconsfield Shopping Centre project is scheduled to be completed in 2009, the Royal Bank and Metro’s new locations and the redesigned parking lot should be up and running by fall 2008.