It’s a reno Etobicoke residents have been pining for – a new development to replace the existing mall with a cluster of buildings housing everything from affordable housing units to health care facilities to retail.

QuadReal Property Group, who held an open house this past May, is currently gearing up for the public unveiling of a massive new project that will happen over several years in a series of phases.

“We’re really looking to embellish the sense of place that it has now with net new uses that will hopefully make this new Cloverdale a hub for the community,” Ben Gilbank, director of development at QuadReal, said.

The new plans will also recall the Cloverdale facility of the 1950s by bringing back an open-air centre on site. There will be a range of high, mid, and low-rise buildings with both condo and rental units available to meet the needs of a range of demographics.

“We’re taking the generational approach,” said Gilbank. “QuadReal is looking at it from the perspective of a mix of typologies and tenures of the residential that makes it a real, complete community.”

The area has a high density of seniors in the area and Gilbank addresses this as well, saying, “It would be an appropriate place for seniors in term of accessibility and design.”

People like Connie Laguan, a senior who has lived in the neighbourhood for 45 years, looks forward to the new developments and welcomes the possibility of accessible units surrounded by the promise of outdoor green space.

“I would like to see lots of beautiful trees,” she said. “If there are not beautiful trees, people don’t feel like going outside — they don’t feel like sitting on a bench.”

Laguan added that she would love to see more public spaces to promote community gatherings.

“As far as I’m concerned, seniors don’t like to be isolated,” she said, noting she currently takes rec classes at the Cloverdale Mall. “I like these classes. It’s like we’re in school.”

But Laguan also worries about the trend towards luxury condo developments.

“Seniors are on a fixed income,” she said. “They have to have affordable housing.”

Longtime Etobicoke resident Rosalind D’Costa agreed, adding that she can only hope the seniors’ units that will be built will not be too small.