SmartCentres Receives Approval for City of Cambridge Minister’s Zoning Order

TORONTO, Oct. 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SmartCentres Real Estate Investment Trust (“SmartCentres” or the “REIT”) (TSX;SRU.UN), one the largest real estate companies in Canada, is pleased to announce that, with the support of the City of Cambridge, the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing has issued a Minister’s Zoning Order (“MZO”) for the REIT’s property at 22 Pinebush Road in the City of Cambridge, Ontario.

As a result of the MZO, SmartCentres’ 73-acre Cambridge property, currently zoned only for retail uses and operating as a retail shopping centre, now permits various forms of residential, retail, office, institutional, and commercial land uses to create a complete vibrant urban community. Today’s announcement adds to SmartCentres’ exciting development program to redevelop and intensify existing properties owned by the REIT.

This large urban redevelopment, adjacent to Highway 401, will begin immediately and is anticipated to continue build-out over the next 10 - 20 years. Upon completion, the community created by this MZO will include up to 10,000 new residential units across a variety of housing types, including rental apartments, condominiums, townhouses and seniors housing. With this MZO legislation now in place, SmartCentres will commence the process of transitioning the 22-year old retail shopping centre into a world-class mixed-use development comprising over 11 million square feet.

“We are very pleased that, with the support of City of Cambridge elected officials and senior staff, Minister Steve Clark has agreed to issuing the MZO,” said Mitchell Goldhar, Executive Chairman of SmartCentres. “Both the Minister and Mayor Kathryn McGarry recognize the significant economic benefits of accelerating our redevelopment plans including the tens of thousands of jobs that will be created and sustained over the 20-year period.”

“We believe this significant new community will help address demand for housing located strategically around the Greater Golden Horseshoe Area,” said Mr. Goldhar. “Working with staff, our goal is to begin Phase 1 in 2021. SmartCentres will continue to proactively change it’s property uses to align with ever-evolving communities and marketplaces across Canada.”

“Our government is committed to connecting people to places and to build healthier, safer communities to give our economy a boost on the road to recovery,” said Minister Clark. “With the support of the City of Cambridge, we are proud to accelerate the creation of jobs and more than 10,000 much needed homes in Cambridge.”