Plans to tear down the Living Arts Centre in Mississauga’s downtown core and replace it with a performing arts venue that would rival the largest in Canada have been put on hold following Monday’s election of a new mayor.
Speaking to the media at Celebration Square steps away from the LAC the morning after being declared the next mayor of Mississauga, Alvin Tedjo reiterated what he’d said countless times during the 2026 mayoral campaign — that residents are clamouring for lower taxes, affordability, better transit, safer neighbourhoods and other things that impact their daily lives.
Building an entirely new — and costly — downtown core that would include a major convention centre, hotel and performing arts facility, as proposed earlier this year by outgoing mayor Carolyn Parrish and city council, shouldn’t be a top priority during tough financial times, the mayor-elect said.
“I have no plans to change the Living Arts Centre at the moment,” Tedjo said Tuesday, adding that once the new term of council begins in mid-November he and councillors will move forward “on what the appropriate next steps will be.”
Prior to defeating Parrish, the incumbent, and former mayor Bonnie Crombie on Monday night in what had been a hotly contested mayoral race, Tedjo served as Ward 2 councillor since joining city council in 2022.
Starting the mayoral campaign earlier this year as an underdog, Tedjo gradually made up ground on Parrish and Crombie and ended up winning in convincing fashion.
Tedjo garnered 74,479 votes to defeat Parrish (51,853 votes), Crombie (43,191 votes) and Ward 7 Coun. Dipika Damerla (11,500 votes).
Rendering of what a new downtown Mississauga could look like under a plan explored by city council earlier in 2026. It’s not yet clear if the transformative plan will move forward following this week’s election of a new mayor. (Image: City of Mississauga)
Though bold plans to dramatically transform Mississauga’s downtown core for generations to come were in the very early stages, City of Mississauga officials had attached a $2.5-billion estimate to the downtown redevelopment proposal.
Parrish told INSAUGA Canada during the campaign that she stood firmly behind the downtown proposal, in particular a new performing arts venue, noting City of Mississauga staff have “worked on this plan for over a year.”
Parrish said senior staff “are 100 per cent behind it rather than patching up the LAC at $120 million so it can continue losing $2 million a year because it only has 1,000 seats.”
Another rendering of what a revamped downtown Mississauga could look like under a plan proposed by city council earlier this year. (Image: City of Mississauga)
Mississauga city council approved in principle in March 2026 a sweeping concept that would dramatically remake the downtown area directly north of city hall, on lands anchored by the Living Arts Centre.
The new-look downtown core of Canada’s seventh-largest city, should it come to fruition in the years ahead, would rise up on 12 acres of City of Mississauga-owned land just steps to the north of city hall and anchored by the large parcel of real estate currently occupied by the LAC, senior city staff said in their initial report to council in early March.
“Pivotal moment” for the City Centre
In staff’s first report, brought to council on March 11, they said Mississauga’s downtown “is at a pivotal moment of transformation, driven by major transit investments, sustained population and employment growth, and increasing demand for culture, tourism and employment infrastructure.
“City-owned lands, particularly the LAC property and surrounding civic lands, represent a once-in-a-generation opportunity to shape the downtown’s long-term economic, cultural and civic role.”
Core components of the proposed vision include:
A new state-of-the-art music hub that would include a 2,500-to-5,000-capacity performance venue to replace the LAC (current capacity of 1,120 rising to 1,680), recording studios and a music school located on the 3.4-acre Community Common park parcel of land.
A 400,000-to-500,000-sq.-ft. convention centre and hotel to be “positioned as a regional economic and tourism catalyst.” The highrise hotel would include some 400 rooms.
New nine-storey office and 20-storey rental housing developments to support employment growth and downtown vitality.
A redesigned and widened Princess Royal Drive and abutting atrium-style open space “that will prioritize programming and events and retail activity to animate the downtown and to generate more pedestrian activity.”
A precinct-based parking strategy including 1,500 to 3,000 new underground parking spaces beneath Community Common “to support shared civic, cultural and commercial uses and tunnel connections.”
A signature Sky Park and enhanced programmable Community Common urban park, “strengthening downtown open space and civic identity.”
Initially, the city revealed plans last year to redevelop the area around the LAC, Mississauga’s largest performing arts and culture facility, and simply improve — but not replace — the performing arts venue itself.
That initiative included large-scale renovations to the Living Arts Centre that included a move to increase seating in the main hall from 1,120 to 1,680.
Staff’s March report noted that while the LAC, which sits on roughly six acres of land, “remains a cornerstone of Mississauga’s cultural infrastructure,” the building itself “is outdated and requires significant investment (a minimum of $120 million as noted in recent studies) to make it viable to meet the needs of a modern city.
“Additionally, the suburban nature of the LAC site layout limits opportunity to introduce new uses for optimizing lands for other priorities.”
Staff looked at the LAC “within a broader” vision
In the end, the report reads, “rather than approaching the LAC property through incremental or piecemeal upgrades, staff were asked to contemplate situating the LAC lands and the other city-owned lands within a broader downtown vision.”
In addition to the LAC site, the report points out there are four other parcels of city-owned land in the immediate area that total another six acres. Those areas are currently used for parking lots and passive open space.
“In total, there is an opportunity to transform almost 12 acres of land in the city’s downtown core,” the March report stated, adding city staff suggest “these lands collectively represent a rare and strategic opportunity to reshape the future civic, cultural and economic identity of the downtown core.”
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