An artist’s rendering of the proposed Lakeview Common district at Lakeview Village in Mississauga. (Courtesy Lakeview Community Partners)

Lakeview Community Partners Limited (LCPL) has announced the six builders which will construct the first phase of the 177-acre Lakeview Village development on the shore of Lake Ontario in Mississauga.

Branthaven, Caivan, Greenpark Group, DECO Homes, Opus Homes and Tridel will begin the site’s transformation. Formerly occupied by a coal-fired power plant, it’s destined to become a sustainably designed and built mixed-use community offering housing, recreation, retail, employment, greenspace, arts and cultural features.

“With a project like this, in relation to its scale, importance and significance, it was really important to our partnership to bring top-of-the-class builders here,” Argo Development Corporation development vice-president and Lakeview Village development lead Brian Sutherland told RENX.

“Given the scale, we knew we needed more than just a single builder here.”

At full buildout, the site is envisioned to house up to 20,000 residents in addition to 1.9 million square feet of office and employment space, 200,000 square feet of retail and 12 acres of campus and cultural lands.

LCPL members have representation

LCPL, which acquired the former Ontario Power Generation lands in 2018 for $275 million, is a partnership involving TACC Construction Limited, Greenpark, CCI Development Group, Branthaven and Argo.

It’s therefore not a surprise Branthaven, Greenpark and the TACC-affiliated DECO and Opus are among the initial group of builders that will start constructing Lakeview Village. LCPL has also brought in two outside builders for the project.

“Caivan is expanding their horizons into the GTA now after doing a lot of amazing work in the Ottawa area,” said Sutherland, “and of course Tridel is one of the leading builders in the country.

“We think we’ve formulated a group here that’s really dynamic. Each brings its own unique aspects to the development and is fully aligned with the spirit and vision of what Lakeview Village is going to be.

“They’re all exciting, vibrant and forward-thinking builders that we know are going to be able to knock it out of the park with what we want to achieve here on the waterfront of Mississauga.”

Division of labour at Lakeview Village

This map shows the blocks to be developed during Phase 1 at Lakeview Village in Mississauga. Click this link to access a larger, pop-out version of the image. (Courtesy Lakeview Community Partners)

LCPL received draft plan approval, official plan amendment approval and zoning by-law endorsement from the City of Mississauga on Nov. 10, providing the impetus for Lakeview Village to take its next steps forward.

LCPL is advancing the detailed design engineering and preparing the site for servicing, roads, infrastructure and parks, which Sutherland anticipates should start by late summer or fall of 2022 and be completed by 2023 so building construction can begin.

Five development blocks have been earmarked for the first phase of Lakeview Village. DECO and Opus will collaborate on one block, while the four other participants will each have their own sites.

Tridel, Greenpark, Branthaven and DECO/Opus will start on blocks in the northwest quadrant. Caivan will work on a block along the waterfront in the area associated with Lakeview Square, where there will be retail, restaurants and other amenities.

“All of these builders have a vast amount of experience in delivering this kind of product,” said Sutherland. “But Tridel, for instance, has a very prominent block location that’s at the entry point to the community and will likely be the very first to get going and start building here.

“Their waterfront experience and their desire to create a real iconic entry point into the community and make a mark was important to us.

“Greenpark’s experience in high-rise development has guided them towards a block that has some of the taller buildings in Phase 1. Knowing the experience that Branthaven, DECO, Opus and Caivan all have in mid-rise and townhouse development, their blocks are more aligned toward mid-rise and townhouse development.

“There was quite a bit of thought taken into putting all of our builders in a position to really succeed.”

Lakeview Village’s parks and green space

Sutherland is looking at first occupancies in 2025 and 2026, which aligns well with getting Lakeview Village’s parks and waterfront area opened by 2025.

Lakeview Village’s 45-plus acres of green space will allow access to more than 450 acres of nearby parkland and the 64-acre Jim Tovey Lakeview Conservation Area.

An industrial pier which remains after the demolition of the coal plant and extends 600 metres out into Lake Ontario will be repurposed, amenitized and opened to the public as part of the waterfront park experience.

Lakeview Village Innovation District

LCPL will be doing plenty of work in the coming months with the City of Mississauga’s economic development office to forward the vision of Lakeview Village’s 20-acre Innovation District.

It’s anticipated to attract 9,000 jobs to the almost two million square feet of office, research and innovation space which will be integrated into the development’s residential, retail and park components.

Sutherland said timelines for the Innovation District’s construction and completion are still to be determined, but he would like to see them move forward as soon as possible.

“We don’t want to miss any opportunities,” Sutherland said. “We want to do the advance work with the City of Mississauga’s economic development office, Mayor (Bonnie) Crombie and councillor Stephen Dasko in championing the opportunity for companies to locate headquarters or post-secondary institutions locating satellite campuses in a location that’s so strategically located on the waterfront of Lake Ontario and integrated with a new community.

“It’s such an amazing opportunity for the city and we want to be ready for it and want to have the site serviced and ready to go as soon as possible. We know there’s going to be a lot of energy and excitement around the opportunity here and we’re quite bullish about the opportunity that this Innovation District can and will be.

“It’s such a vital component to the overall success of the Lakeview Village project.”

Lakeview Village will incorporate smart technology and a district energy and vacuum waste system to offset more than 6,000 tons of greenhouse gases annually.

The district energy system will incorporate networks of thermal hot and cold water pipes to heat and cool buildings and will use less energy than structures using individual boilers and chillers.