Could re-imagining malls help solve the GTA housing crunch?

Experts say mixed-use developments in and around existing malls are taking off in the GTA and are leading a trend as the region faces a housing crunch with demand outpacing supply.

Experts say mixed-use developments in and around existing malls are taking off in the GTA and are leading a trend as the region faces a housing crunch with demand outpacing supply.

Rob Spanier's real estate development advisory firm, the Spanier Group, focuses on large-scale mixed-use developments.

"What's happening with the continued demand and the stress for new housing is there's a lot of development going vertically, and it's going up instead of out. And certainly the malls present a really unique opportunity," Spanier said.

When malls are "high performing", the land around them is prime real estate for new housing and mixed-use developments, said Spanier, particularly because of existing transit and highway connections. In those cases, developments typically involve building up around a mall, often on existing parking lots, and moving parking underground.

In other cases, he said, parts of a mall — or the entire building — could be converted into a new use.

"In certain instances, the malls are doing great. In other instances, it's time for them to take on their new life," he said. "It may be that a mall actually needs to be 50 per cent the size that it is today. It may be that the mall is done."