Toronto malls are fast becoming an endangered species as new development opportunities take precedence over the gutted landscape of brick-and-mortar retail.

Skyrocketing land values and the rise of online shopping are just two factors threatening the very existence of low-slung, parking-heavy malls in Toronto and the surrounding region.

These factors, combined with a provincial push to introduce transit-oriented communities at sites well-served by rapid transit, have made SmartCentres Eglinton West (also known as Westside Mall) at Caledonia and Eglinton a favourable location for substantial intensification.

Owner SmartCentres first proposed redeveloping the mall in 2021, calling for a multi-phased community of eight towers that would see the existing shopping plaza demolished piecemeal, allowing businesses to continue operating during redevelopment.

Over two years later, the SmartCentres Eglinton West community continues to navigate Toronto's planning and approvals process. The project's third resubmission, detailing the latest plans for the sprawling site, was filed in early October.

The current proposed master plan from architects Turner Fleischer divides the mall into six parcels, which would be built out with eight towers, a pair of mid-rise buildings, new public streets and private driveways, and several public spaces, including a plaza, two parks, and a pedestrian mews.

The towers are proposed in a height range spanning from 24 up to 60 storeys, housing a combined 4,045 residential units across the site.

Locals fearing the loss of community staples like the current FreshCo location within the strip mall can breathe easy, as plans specify a substantial food store measuring 43,373 square feet, or 4,029.5 square metres.

Such drastic change may not be everyone's cup of tea. However, Westside Mall's position immediately adjacent to the planned Caledonia GO station on the Barrie GO Line and the overdue Caledonia LRT station on the Eglinton Crosstown line makes it ripe for intensification.

By the time these towers come online, area residents will have easy connections across the city and broader region via these new GO and TTC stations.

Despite the readily available transit connections, the developer has opted to include a staggering total of 2,106 parking spaces in the development, which would be housed within a three-level underground garage.

According to a planning report, the developer based this decision on 2016 auto-ownership rates for condos in the surrounding area, averaging 0.35 vehicles per household — a figure logic suggests will drop when these new transit connections open.

Toronto malls with planned or active redevelopments (but not necessarily demolition) now include Westside Mall, Scarborough Town Centre, Yorkdale, Sherway Gardens, Fairview Mall, the ongoing redevelopment of Galleria Mall, Yorkgate Mall, Jane Finch Mall, Agincourt Mall, Atrium on Bay, Dufferin Mall, Centrepoint Mall, Cloverdale Mall, and Malvern Town Centre.

Several malls outside of the city are also targeted for major changes, including Square One, Bramalea City Centre, Dixie Outlet Mall, and the Sheridan Centre.