Dixie Mall development could bring 9,800 residents to Mississauga

A residential development at Dixie Mall could bring around 9,800 people to the area.

The proposal, dubbed Plan Dixie, to convert Dixie Mall into a mixed-use, residential community has been in the works for several years.

Early in 2023, Slate Asset Management announced it was moving forward with the development application for a mixed-use community with more than 1,200 units in three buildings on the Dixie Mall property at 1250 South Service Rd.

Slate and Choice Properties own the property.

The plan involves demolishing approximately 13.5 per cent or 78,700 square feet at the northwest end of Dixie Outlet Mall.

At the same time, the City of Mississauga is preparing an official plan amendment that considers policies to guide development for the Dixie Outlet Mall site.

An update on the review of the official plan amendment came to the Planning and Development committee meeting on June 25.

Staff suggested there are concerns about adding too many residential units.

“The site has served as a key location for commercial and retail uses but lacks the infrastructure and services needed to support a new residential community as it was never planned for this function,” said Karin Phuong, a City of Mississauga policy planner during the June 25 meeting.

Phuong added that the site offers potential for residential development but it is not in a priority transit corridor and it faces constraints due to limited water and wastewater services.

A major redevelopment on the Dixie Mall site will require an increase in water capacity and the Region of Peel is currently working on a water and wastewater master plan.

However, Phuong said there is capacity to allow a development with 4,700 residential units and a total population of about 9,800 people.

The new development should have a mix of housing units including family-size units and below-market rent or affordable units. And plans should include provisions for fire and paramedic stations, a school, parks and pedestrian paths as well as roads.

Mayor Carolyn Parrish said she supports staff’s recommendations.

“I am a very big supporter of converting shopping malls to residential packages,” Parrish said.

But at least one area resident is not so thrilled with the project.

Kimberlee Hutchinson told the committee there would be traffic issues with the expanded population. The reduced retail space at Dixie Mall plus the new residents will leave the area without sufficient services, she added.

“It’s not nearly enough for what will be needed,” she said.

The project won’t benefit the current community, Hutchinson said.

“We are going to get more congestion, more traffic, more pollution, more crime, less transit because there is only a bus that services this area…” said Hutchinson.

Glenn Broll of Glen Schnarr & Associates Inc. who submitted the application on behalf Slate, said there is some confusion as the development application and the City of Mississauga’s policy review are happening at the same time.

The two processes are separate but the official plan amendment will impact future development on the site.

Slate submitted a revised development application in May 2024 and that application will be considered at an upcoming meeting.

Ward 1 Coun. Stephen Dasko said there are several things that need to be worked out before the project proceeds.

He also added an amendment, suggesting there shouldn’t be a road connection opening the development to Haig Boulevard.

“Haig Boulevard has been a problem for many years, decades,” Dasko said.

The amendment was passed.

The city’s Dixie Outlet Mall policy review – proposed official plan amendment is expected to go to another public meeting in September before the committee votes on it.

See the Planning and Development committee meeting here for the full meeting discussion.