Local developer Westdell buys White Oaks Mall for undisclosed sum
With new ownership, White Oaks Mall gains new ambition for more office, residential
London, Ont.,-based Westdell Development Corporation says it has purchased White Oaks Mall, the city's largest shopping centre, for an undisclosed sum while signaling vague yet ambitious plans for its future expansion and growth.
First opened in 1962, White Oaks mall has survived the death of anchor department stores such as Eaton and Sears, the rise of online retailers such as Amazon, and the COVID-19 pandemic to remain one of the city's most popular retail destinations.
Now, the mall's new owner has signaled he wants to also to test the 61-year-old shopping centre once again — by lending its name to the growing list of malls in the city looking to add apartments and/or office space to their vast urban footprints.
"This is pretty consistent with what is taking place throughout major shopping centres, throughout the city, the province and the country for that matter," said Iyman Meddoui, the president of Westdell Development Corporation.
Big plans for the mall, but no details yet
"You've got existing retail centres that have a lot of ground parking or extra parking where it could be used for additional development and it could be in any form, it could be office, it could be retail or it could be residential or it could be a mix of all three."
Westdell has yet to formulate a detailed plan that's ready to be released to the public, but Meddoui said whatever form it takes would be consistent with the London Plan, city hall's master plan for growth that emphasizes inward and upward development within the city, especially inside the city's four "transit villages."
"White Oaks is one of them," Meddoui said. "A lot of intensification you'll see in these nodes."
Meddoui said he was unable to disclose the sum paid for White Oaks mall, calling the number "confidential at this point."
White Oaks is now the largest commercial development in Westdell's portfolio, which already includes the Hyland Centre in the Masonville area, the Oxbury Centre at Oxford and Highbury area as well as properties in Ottawa and Windsor.