Developer plans 500 modular homes atop Prince Albert mall

A developer wants to build 500 modular homes on the roof of the Gateway Mall in Prince Albert, Sask., replacing a rooftop parking lot, in a project it says could be ready in 2027, CBC News reported.

Louai Alrifai, president and chief executive of Toronto-based Alrifai Real Estates, said his firm bought the mall earlier this year. He said the one-bedroom units would each be about 329 square feet and aimed at students, young professionals and health-care workers, with rent of $1,000 a month including utilities.

Alrifai said the company plans to spend $40 million on the housing and a further $10 million on the mall interior, including fixing a leak and drawing new stores and study spaces. The company intends to build more parking to replace the spaces lost on the roof. Greg Dionne, a former mayor of Prince Albert, is an adviser to the firm.

The project has not yet been formally submitted. Alrifai said the company is preparing plans for the city and has had a positive reception from staff and officials. Michael Nelson, the city’s acting director of community development, said Prince Albert has a shortfall of housing units and is open to new ideas, but that a series of assessments and reviews will decide whether the plan is feasible. “Anything’s possible, it’s just all the proper reviews and approvals have to be in place,” Nelson said. He added that the company can apply for financial incentives.

CBC said it could not identify another case of modular housing being placed on top of an existing mall. Scott Bell, a professor of geography and planning at the University of Saskatchewan, said he has not seen a project like it. He described it as “not crazy, but it’s pushing the limits,” and said it fits a rise in dense housing built within city limits since the federal government increased incentives, including the Housing Accelerator Fund, which ties city funding to how much dense, central housing gets built.

Alrifai said the weight of the modules is less than the vehicles the roof now carries. “700 cars and light trucks weigh around 3,000,000 pounds. Our modules weigh much less,” he told CBC.

Housing supply is a live issue across the country, and we have also reported on the argument that affordability means more than building homes. In Regina, the city recently finished its 11th Avenue project on time and under budget.

If you find reporting like this useful, consider supporting Canada News Media, an independent Canadian newsroom with no corporate parent.