Quebec mall redevelopment to take landscape-first approach

A new, repurposed mall in Gatineau, Que., is leading the charge of retail centre reinvention amid the rise of e-commerce and the changing ways Canadians are shopping.

The $1.3-billion project, named Espace Canevas, is redeveloping a 16-acre site with 192,000 square feet of retail space, 180,000 square feet of office and community space, and 2.4-million square feet of residential space, equivalent to about 2,600 units. Espace Canevas also includes 120,000 square feet of parks and public space, and 1,600 new trees, putting 33 per cent of the site under an urban tree canopy.