One of Mississauga’s oldest malls is getting a facelift and new name as redevelopment plans simmer

The Sheridan Centre, one of Mississauga’s oldest shopping malls, has adopted a new name as it looks ahead to redevelopment.

A sign has already gone up indicating Sherwood Village is the name which can be seen as part of a new stone façade on the main entrance that looks out onto Erin Mills Pkwy.

The new name ties into the surrounding community which is known as Sherwood Forrest located in the northeast quadrant of Erin Mills Pkwy and the QEW.

Since the City of Mississauga launched the “Reimagining the Mall” project two years ago, long-range plans for the mall include a total redevelopment that would maintain the shopping centre but will add forms of housing including high-rise condominiums.

According to reports, the owners of the mall are currently developing a plan to present to Mississauga planning staff.

Opening as Sheridan Mall in 1969, the site was a major destination point back then for suburban shoppers in the brand new communities west of Toronto. Ironically, the name “Sheridan” was the early favourite for the name of the city that instead became Mississauga in 1974.

During those early years Sheridan Mall hosted car shows, antique fairs, Christmas carnivals and was the home of the Miss Mississauga Pageant.

However, in the 1980s the movie theatre was removed and some observers believe the mall was never the same after that.

Since then mall operators have tried to fill the void by bringing in Eaton’s department store (and renaming the mall Eaton Sheridan Mall). When Eaton’s closed its space was taken over for office use by Royal and Sun Alliance.

As well, there were failed attempts to bring in Walmart (it went to South Common Mall instead) and AMC Theatres (which decided to go to Winston Park at Winston Churchill Blvd. and the QEW) to revitalize the mall.

Most recently, a large addition was built to accommodate the introduction of a Target store in 2014, but a short time later the company pulled out of Canada leaving the Sheridan Centre with another large void to fill.