A Saskatchewan Mall's Roof Is the Proposed Site for 500 Modular Homes
Alrifai's firm bought the Gateway Mall in Prince Albert, Sask., earlier this year and has announced plans to build 500 modular housing units on its roof, replacing a parking lot. In Alrifai's framing, a struggling mall in central Saskatchewan has a future that comes down to arithmetic.
Louai Alrifai, whose firm bought the mall, puts the case for the roof this way: “700 cars and light trucks weigh around 3,000,000 pounds. Our modules weigh much less.”
The company says each unit will cover 329 square feet and rent for $1,000 a month.
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Measuring your housing project against three million pounds of cars and light trucks is a genuinely charming piece of advocacy: the engineering claim is boring in the best way, which is probably why he leads with it.
Weight answers one question. Scott Bell, a geography and planning professor, says he has not seen a project that puts housing on top of an existing structure, and Alrifai is still preparing the formal plans for the city — a warm reception from staff is not a yes.