Some residents are beginning to complain about being left in the dark over project
Saint-Laurent property developer Rosefellow has started work at a large former section of a consumer retail megamall on the edge of Autoroute 13 in Sainte-Dorothée, in order to redevelop it into a modern industrial space providing infrastructure to strengthen Laval’s supply-chain and logistics corridor.
Last year, the company paid the megamall’s owners, RioCan REIT and Harden, $75 million for the underused retail and commercial property where the tenants had included designer apparel factory outlets, although occupancy over the years remained relatively low.
Demolition done
Last year, osefellow announced plans to spend around $200 million to develop 550,000 square feet of the property, including several industrial buildings, at the northern end of the Méga Centre Notre-Dame, with demolition of the last of the retail outlets near completion last week.
In 2025, when the mall owners announced it had gone ahead with the sale of the 27-acre portion of the Méga Centre Notre-Dame, Harden said the transaction marked a key milestone in the site’s transformation, supporting broader redevelopment efforts and reinforcing a long-term commitment to enhancing Laval’s economic and commercial vitality.
Harden co-owns the remaining area of the mall in conjunction with RioCan in a 50 per cent partnership. “The portion sold to Rosefellow was a less productive area of the site,” Harden acknowledged last year in their statement following the sale announcement.
“This strategic disposition enables targeted reinvestment into the retail core of Méga Centre Notre-Dame, accelerating its transformation into a productive, dynamic destination for residents, workers, and visitors alike,” they added.
Meeting a regional demand
Rosefellow’s planned redevelopment of its portion will see the construction of up to three state-of-the-art industrial buildings, meeting a growing regional demand for high-performance logistics and light industrial space.
The parties all firmly believe the development will complement the centre’s retail operations, creating a mixed-use hub that draws value from both sectors, while serving evolving needs.
The first phase of the project, a 144,316-square-foot building, is being designed to meet LEED Gold standards and the Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building Standards.
The development is expected to feature a hybrid steel-and-mass-timber structure, solar panels on the roof and facade, and a high-efficiency mechanical system.
Construction on the first phase is scheduled to begin before the end of June, with completion tentatively scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. A second phase, involving a 410,740-square-foot industrial building, is expected to begin by late this summer.
Nearby residents complain
In the meantime, some residents on streets immediately adjacent to the site (and who apparently were not aware of the proposed redevelopment, which was announced as early as May 2025) have begun expressing their alarm.
“The construction is very disruptive to the residents behind the mall,” said one resident who contacted The Laval News by e-mail.
“Was there any consultation about making an industrial park in a residential neighborhood?” they said. “Will there be trucks coming and going? How will this affect property values? How long will the noise and construction continue? Just wondering if anyone looked into this.”
The Laval News reached out to the city councillor for the district of Sainte-Dorothée, Ray Khalil, who is also responsible for development and territorial management dossiers on the executive-commmittee, for his response, but we did not hear back earlier this week in time for our deadline.
