Carbon-neutral mall paves the way for sustainable development

As part of a new mixed-use project aiming to be fully carbon neutral, a snazzy new shopping and dining complex – dubbed Royalmount – has opened in Montreal on a site formerly dominated by industrial property.

The first phase of the $7-billion, privately financed project is an 824,000-square-foot shopping mall that currently has more than 50 stores, with more slated to open by this spring. Its developer, Montreal-based Immobilier Carbonleo Inc. (Carbonleo), expects there to eventually be as many as 170 stores, including 60 restaurants and cafés, as well as an aquarium. Carbonleo’s chief executive officer, Andrew Lutfy, has said there are also plans to add a luxury hotel and five Class A office towers to the site.