Waterfront developers want to nearly double condo units to 16,000 in Mississauga

A Mississauga waterfront development of condos and townhouses has asked to nearly double its density.

A group of developers known as Lakeview Community Partners Limited, which is developing a piece of lakefront land east of Cawthra Road — Lakeview Village — has put in a request to the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing for a Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO), according to a Planning and Development Committee report.

Lakeview Village’s plan, approved in 2021, was to build 8,040 condo units over the next 15 to 20 years.

But now they are seeking an MZO to increase the permitted density from 8,050 units to 16,000 units, permit unlimited heights, and eliminate site plan control, the report states.

An MZO allows the Province of Ontario to override municipal zoning decisions.

Other requests for the Lakeview development include:

• No density maximum on a block-by-block basis
• No requirement for townhomes
• Allow larger floor plates for towers
• No requirement for podiums
• No minimum front and/or exterior side yard setbacks for apartments buildings
• Further reduced amenity areas for apartment buildings
• Further reduced landscape areas
• Further reduced parking standards for residential, commercial and employment uses
• Building heights limited to 10 storeys for waterfront-facing buildings but unlimited everywhere else

Staff point out many concerns around doubling the density of the project, with traffic and transit being two of the biggest issues.

“Currently, there is not enough road network capacity to accommodate the approved 8,050 units,” the report notes.

There also aren’t enough schools or right-of-ways.

The MZO would undermine the extensive planning and community engagement process.

“The approved community plan went through multiple years of visioning, planning analysis and community consultation,” the report notes.

The property is 177 acres and has been planned and approved for a new mixed-used waterfront community with over 20 development blocks. Normally, MZO requests come at the “start of the planning process, not at the end,” the report notes.

There have been several MZO requests in Mississauga in the past, including 600 Eglinton Avenue East (to support long-term care housing on the site of a driving range) and 100 Queensway West (to support the Trillium Hospital expansion).

In these cases, the projects were for affordable housing, public health and/or significant job creation. The City of Mississauga council endorsed a staff recommendation that MZOs should not be used to support market-rate residential development.

Prices for condo units in the first phase of the Lakeview development are starting in the high $700K for one-bedroom suites.

City staff met with Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing staff for clarification on the process. The ministry is looking for feedback at this time and there is no structured process. The order is at the sole discretion of the minister.

The report will be discussed at the upcoming Planning and Development Committee meeting on May 15. For more information, see the report here.