Plan to demolish Toronto mall for huge condo development falls flat after no one buys

One of the numerous Toronto-area shopping centres on track to be converted into a sprawling condo development has suddenly been left in limbo after the companies involved found themselves unable to sell enough units to justify construction.

The 1956-built Cloverdale Mall at Highway 427 and the QEW was one of the first in a growing pack of "dying malls" in and around Toronto whose valuable properties are being reconsidered for use as high-density housing. 

A plan tabled in 2020 imagined 4,050 units along with tons of retail and community space across the 12-hectare site, and, over the years, the vision has been updated with a more modern, refined design for a complete neighbourhood.

But, the first phase of the project, called Clove condos, has just come crashing down at the final hour in light of the present housing market, with virtually no one willing to buy in. Less than 10 per cent of the site's thousands of homes managed to pre-sell ahead of construction, which is far below the usual 70 per cent threshold.

Mattamy Homes and QuadReal, the forces behind the sprawling multi-tower complex, broke the news in a statement to media, telling the Star that the development failed due to "economic uncertainty, shifting government policies and rising construction costs [that] have significantly impacted demand in the GTA condominium market."

The cancellation, though abrupt, was perhaps foreseeable given how poorly the sector has been performing for many months now, with numerous complexes deferred or put into receivership, and sales volumes for both new and resale homes plummeting double-digit percentages year-over-year.

Meanwhile, there are more active listings than ever before as owners look to liquidate and non-owners balk at the market, all of us dealing with high interest rates and overall cost of living, inflation, tariffs, an unemployment epidemic and impending recession, etc.

Those few who did invest in a home in the Clove will be reimbursed for their deposits with interest, and while some may be disappointed, others are surely breathing a sigh of relief considering the current state of Toronto real estate and the economy generally.

As for Cloverdale, stakeholders are still expressing intent to eventually transform its Etobicoke site at 250 The East Mall.