A southern Ontario developer plans to open a new commercial plaza near the Tanger Outlets mall in Kanata that will include a “multicultural” grocery store and an indoor amusement park. Markham-based Sunny Group has filed an application to construct a 60,000-square-foot commercial plaza and three other retail buildings for a total development area of 84,000 […]
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A southern Ontario developer plans to open a new commercial plaza near the Tanger Outlets mall in Kanata that will include a “multicultural” grocery store and an indoor amusement park.
Markham-based Sunny Group has filed an application to construct a 60,000-square-foot commercial plaza and three other retail buildings for a total development area of 84,000 square feet at 3075 Palladium Dr. The 6.4-acre property is located north of Highway 417, just west of the Tanger Outlets mall and less than a kilometre from the Canadian Tire Centre.
The plaza would be anchored by a 37,000-square-foot grocery store operating under the firm’s Sunny Foodmart banner.
Sunny Foodmart, which bills itself as a “multicultural grocery chain,” currently operates four locations in the Greater Toronto Area. According to the company’s website, it specializes in “ethnic grocery products” that include halal meats aimed at Muslim customers as well as prepared food such as sushi, dim sum and other dishes with “hard-to-find ingredients” from around the world.
Plans also call for the plaza to include a 17,000-square-foot indoor amusement park similar to the new Funhaven facility that is in the works at Hazeldean Mall, just a few kilometres east on Eagleson Road. Hazeldean Mall also has a new T&T Supermarket that specializes in Asian food products.
Ottawa development consultant Peter Cai, who is working with the Sunny Group on the proposal, says he’s “very confident” it will succeed.
Citing the property’s easy access to Highway 417 and its close proximity to fast-growing neighbourhoods such as Stittsville as well as communities west of the city like Carp and Arnprior, Cai says early feedback suggests consumers are “very excited” about the potential addition of another ethnic grocery store and kids’ entertainment centre in Ottawa’s far west end.
“We know that Stittsville has lots of development on the south side of the 417,” he told OBJ on Wednesday morning. “We are quite optimistic about the future of this project.”
Cai said plans call for the plaza to be built first, followed by three more commercial buildings of up to 8,000 square feet each.
He said Sunny Group ultimately hopes to sell the additional buildings to other property management companies. The firm is eyeing a wide range of commercial tenants for the properties, he added, listing spas, restaurants and even a music school as potential uses.
“There are so many commercial plazas that look exactly the same,” Cai explained. “We’re trying to make it more (diversified). It depends on the market.”
Cai said Kanata North Coun. Cathy Curry is “very supportive” of the project. The company expects to begin site preparation work next month, he added, and is targeting a completion date of early 2026 for the commercial plaza.
However, Cai conceded the timeline could be “a little bit aggressive.” City officials have yet to approve the site plan, and the indoor amusement park will require a separate zoning bylaw amendment.
In addition, Cai noted that new counter-tariffs on U.S. steel and aluminum products are “going to be a big issue” once construction begins.
“Last year we got a preliminary price, and it was OK. But now, I don’t know,” he said, adding the company might look to import steel and aluminum products from China if prices of U.S. or Canadian materials exceed its budget.
Once complete, the new development is expected to create at least 300 jobs, including about 100 at the grocery store, Cai said.
Meanwhile, the Sunny Group plans to keep growing its footprint in Ottawa.
The company is scoping out sites in Barrhaven for a second Sunny Foodmart location in the National Capital Region, Cai said. It also owns a seven-acre plot of land on Richardson Side Road, just north of its planned commercial plaza in Kanata, where it plans to build a warehouse to serve its Ottawa grocery stores.
The Kanata development is Sunny Group’s first large-scale commercial construction project, and the company has “learned a lot” from the endeavour, Cai added.
“Hopefully, the next project is going to be easier,” he said.
