They’re typical of the shops in a suburban shopping mall. But the Starbucks, A&W restaurant, nail salon and assorted clothing stores and boutiques gathered just west of the Wilson subway station have an unusual landlord: the City of Toronto.

The Shops at Wilson Station, officially opened on Thursday, is the first — and maybe the only —shopping mall developed entirely by the city’s real estate development firm, Build Toronto.

Typically, Build sells off the city’s surplus property to other developers. The revenue goes into the city’s capital funds to pay for municipal infrastructure.

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But the unusual zoning designation as an airport hazard area meant Build needed to act as its own developer to maximize the value of the plot, an old TTC parking lot, said CEO Bill Bryck.

The mall, which sits southeast of Downsview Airport and a few kilometres east of the old Sunrise Propane explosion site, will be sold. But for now, the stores are the city’s tenants.

“We’ve had potential buyers look at it. We haven’t consummated a deal yet,” he said.

The 4.5-acre property has generated about $1.3 million in development charges and will bring in about $800,000 annually in property taxes.

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Although Build is a joint owner with Tridel of a condo at 10 York St., the mall is its first sole construction project.

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Bryck didn’t rule out the possibility there could be others in the future. But, he said, “our activities will generally be limited to the development of land — creating the development opportunity.”

The Shops at Wilson Station was billed on Thursday as a step forward in transforming the city’s surburban landscape.

City councillors touted its tunnel connection to the TTC, short-term and long-term bike parking, bike pump and repair station, wider footpaths and landscaping — calling it a departure from the typical big box centres such as the Home Depot and Costco across the street.

“This is part of a complete community. We’re very happy we’ve added 130 new jobs to this neighbourhood. These jobs are within walking distance of several of our neighbourhoods and an easy subway ride,” said Councillor Maria Augimeri (Ward 9, York Centre).

“Our city needs better pedestrian connections within the neighbourhood to make it livable, to make it vibrant and we have plans for a bridge that will connect the Ancaster neighbourhood (northwest of Wilson Station) with Downsview Park. These shops will help achieve that connectivity,” she said.

The bike connections will come as the city builds out its cycling plan over the next 10 years, said Augimeri.

“It’s still a shopping mall, but it’s much more than that,” said Willowdale Councillor David Shiner, chair of the Build Toronto board.

Gesturing to the crowded Starbucks, he referenced the Joni Mitchell song, “Big Yellow Taxi.”

“We took the parking lot and, although I wouldn’t call this the perfect paradise, it’s come back to be part of the urban environment — to provide that space that’s much needed to support people living in these communities,” he said.

The mall will soon be surrounded by nearby residential development, including affordable housing, and commercial buildings that will attract downtown workers who can easily commute by subway, said Bryck.

“The city is just discovering the area,” he said.

Toronto’s planning no longer supports having commuter parking lots in the city, but rather plans to concentrate them at the ends of transit lines. The Wilson stop is on the same line as the new York-University-Spadina subway extension scheduled to open next month.