The owners of the Wembley Mall property in Parksville have come up with some plans for a future redesign.
Leo Mariotto, of ICR Projects Inc., brought up the subject when he appeared before Parksville council with a presentation about a proposed residential addition to the mall.
The plans come after a councillors discussed the idea of making some improvements to mall during a meeting in January, Mariotto said, which prompted “a master plan, a future vision for the entire Wembley Mall property.”
The master plan includes a possible revamp of several parts of the mall, highlighted in a drawing submitted to council's agenda, including the section home to several small businesses, north of the Canadian Tire, as well as the parking areas on either side.
Two small parcels in the south end were also highlighted in the drawing, close to where the proposed residential building would be built.
“That could be a total reconstruction of that whole area [highlighted in blue on the drawing] in the future,” Mariotto said during council's March 3 meeting.
The idea would be to add more small retail units — personal services that "people like Amazon cannot provide," he added. “That is our goal.”
Parksville Properties Corp. has proposed a future application for a "comprehensively planned phased development", according to a document submitted to council's March 3 agenda.
The benefits of a master plan include the preparation of design guidelines to ensure consistency and location of housing options, as well as new commercial uses and "pedestrian linkages", according to the document.
"Parksville Properties Corp. proposes a phased development that will in stages, over time, create a distinctive mixed-use neighbourhood," the document said. "With connected open spaces, pedestrian connectivity, retail opportunities, a diversity of housing typologies, increased density and increased building heights while maintaining the existing major retail tenants and access to Oceanside Arena sport activities."
The changes won't be coming any time soon, however, as the document notes the plan will require a lengthy effort from architects, urban planners, transportation planners, landscape architects, development consultants and City of Parksville staff, before it comes to council for consideration.
Council was not able to discuss the wider vision of the mall, and members were reminded by the mayor to keep their comments to the proposed residential building application on the table.
