What should happen to Sunnyside Mall?

[Dmajackson]

What should happen to Sunnyside Mall?

As part of my ongoing series I think its about time to expand into other communities so Sunnyside Mall was a natural pick for me.

Currently the lot is home to Sunnyside Mall, Beford House and RBC. It is situated on the Bedford Highway between Dartmouth Road and Rocky Lake Drive on a highly visible corner in Bedford. It is served by four bus routes; 66, 80, 82 and 86. Nearby is the Chickenburger, many fast food chains, Bedford Place Mall, two mid-rise office towers and residential neighbourhoods. On the rear of the property there is the CN Railroad tracks.

PICTURES (All photos by me):

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Since I work in the mall I've spent way too many hours dreaming of what the site could be. It's not in bad shape right now with the combination of office and retail i think when the time comes it should look something like this;

-The retail aspect should be kept but moved to the street edge,
-On top of the retail theres should be some office,
-A bus terminal should be placed on the propoerty,
-A trail in the rear sohuld connect Dartmouth Road ro Central Street,
-Parkland and many trees in the rear,
-Two or three mid-rise residential buildings should be placed further back,
-Parking garage should be in an easy to reach lot away from the street.

I'm going to stress this point now, Currently there is nothing wrong with Sunnyside Mall. This is just what i think should happen if it were to be redeveloped. The site is chosen as a "suburban centre" on the regional plan and has been mentioned as ideal for a transit terminal.

Also if you have some interesting idea for the lot across the street (Smitty's/Sunnyside REstaurant) I'd love to hear it. One main difference between the two lots are size and Smitty's, proximity to the Sackville River and Smitty's has two office towers as neighbours.

[Keith P.]

There is a problem with Sunnyside Mall. The parking is severaly limited for the number of businesses and offices there. You sometimes simply cannot find a space. Ingress/egress to the parking lot is also often problematic. The retail part of the mall (excepting CTC) is very nicely done, perhaps the best in HRM. I think CTC should relocate, letting that building be demolished. Extend the mall minimally but use most of the space freed up for parking or a parking arcade.

[Dmajackson]

Good point about the parking. I've worked theree so long i know all the secrets to parking, mainly just park on the rooftop or in the parkade. I assume CTC means Canadian Tire. They are supposedly moving out of the mall as soon as thier new store in Bedford Commons is complete.

As for solutions to the parking there are some ways. One is to demolish CT. Anouther is to place a parking garage on the lot somewheres like next to RBC. The most feasible choice might be to extend the parking underground. Right now it is only under Bedford House. It should be extended down the mall especially near Marketside where most of the parking problems are. Hopefully some more buses will come soon and help deter as many people to driving to the mall.