Montreal-based Rosefellow is redeveloping a 1.2-million-square-foot portion of the Méga Centre Notre-Dame mall site in Laval, Que., into two industrial buildings with more than 550,000 square feet of leasable space, Sustainable Biz Canada.

The first phase of the project, a 144,316-sf building, is being designed to meet LEED Gold standards and the Canada Green Building Council’s Zero Carbon Building Standards, according to Sustainable Biz. 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.

Mike Jager, co-CEO of Montreal-based Rosefellow, told Sustainable Biz that the project reflects growing demand from multinational tenants with environmental, social and governance commitments.

“There are a lot of these multinational companies that we’ve been doing deals with recently, (that) have their own internal ESG initiatives that they have to respect,” he told his interviewer.

According to Jager, the use of mass timber is expected to reduce the building’s embodied-carbon footprint by about 180 tonnes. The solar installations are projected to generate about 10% of the building’s electricity needs, while the energy recovery ventilation units are expected to be 92% more efficient than industry standards.

GKC Architecture & Design is collaborating with Rosefellow on the project’s design and sustainability features. The design highlights the use of mass timber in administrative spaces while combining a high-performance building envelope of metal panels “express through a restrained and controlled architectural lainguage,” said GKC in a LInkedIn post.

“It’s just additional ways that we’re able to give some kind of benefits to the users and occupiers in the building, because these are not savings to Rosefellow,” Jager told Sustainable Biz. “They’re savings for those occupying the building.”

Construction on the first phase is scheduled to begin in June, with completion targeted for the first quarter of 2027, Sustainable Biz reported, noting that work on the second phase, a 410,740-sf industrial building, is expected to begin in late summer 2026.

The project comes after Rosefellow acquired the land parcel for a reported $75 million from RioCan REIT and Harden in 2025 while planning to build a $200-million industrial campus on the property adjacent to the mall.

Jager said told Sustainable Biz that sustainable development can also reduce costs through financing incentives and collaboration with municipalities on lower-carbon construction materials.

“So in turn, they’re able to be amendable when it comes to the finishes they expect to see on a building, which reduces our cost on the product, which offsets the additional cost to get the certification,” he told his interviewer, adding that the sustainability features do not cost the company more or impact rental rates.

Pictured: Future Rosefellow mass-timber building adjacent to the Méga Centre Notre-Dame mall in Laval, Que.

Rendering: GKC/Rosefellow