- What Toronto’s Woodbine Mall is seeking bids of $250m in a court-ordered sale
- Why There is potential for 5.3m sq ft of mixed-use development
- What next Colliers has the assignment
A distressed Toronto mall with redevelopment potential is on the block for $250m, Green Street News can reveal.
Colliers has the assignment for Woodbine Mall, at 500 Rexdale Boulevard and 600 Queens Plate Drive in Etobicoke, on behalf of receiver Ernst & Young.
The valuation for the 51-acre parcel is $4.9m/acre. The site includes Woodbine Mall, which was completed in 1985, and a standalone retail building completed in 2013. Together, the assets span over 748,000 sq ft.
The mall is occupied by 73 tenants, including Baskin-Robbins, Best Buy Mobile and Hudson’s Bay. Fifty-three units are vacant. Per marketing materials, the building is in “average overall condition.” RBC occupies the standalone asset. There are 3,580 parking stalls.
There is potential for approximately 5.3m sq ft of mixed-use residential development on the site. Bordered by Highway 27 to the east, the transit-oriented parcel is within 3.5 km of Malton GO station, Etobicoke North GO station, Toronto Pearson International Airport and the future Humber College Station on the Finch West LRT.
The site is adjacent to Woodbine Racetrack, which is being developed into a new 648-acre master-planned community. The development will include approximately 29,000 homes and 13.5m sq ft of non-residential space, including light industrial, laboratory, retail, hotel and office space. Casino at Great Canadian Toronto and the future Woodbine GO Station, which will connect to the Kitchener line, are on the site.
Chris Hinn is the sole officer and director of Woodbine Mall Holdings Inc., the owner of Woodbine Mall.
Woodbine Mall Holdings Inc. and several other companies controlled by Hinn, including Birchmount Howden Property Holdings Inc. and Fantasy Fair and Kids Village Inc., were placed under receivership in 2023 after failing to repay loans to Romspen Investment Corp.
As of Aug. 22, 2024, the total owed to Romspen by all Hinn-controlled entities was $416.6m. As of February 2023, over $8.1m in unpaid property taxes were owed on Woodbine Mall for the years 2020 to 2022.
In early 2023, the mall was subject to a conditional agreement of purchase and sale, but the transaction did not close. During a 2024 marketing campaign, Colliers received non-disclosure agreements from 45 groups, but a deal did not transpire. Colliers relaunched the listing in February.
