Shops at Don Mills

Shops at Don Mills, corporately identified as CF Shops at Don Mills, is an open-air lifestyle shopping centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It occupies the former site of the Don Mills Centre at the intersection of Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue East. Cadillac Fairview owns and manages the property. The centre was developed as a response to the decline of the former enclosed Don Mills Centre. Competition from other shopping malls, together with the closure of the T. Eaton Co. department store that had served as the principal anchor, reduced the earlier mall’s revenues and contributed to the departure of fashion retailers. Cadillac Fairview chose to replace the enclosed format with a more urban, open-air retail environment rather than develop another traditional enclosed mall. The redevelopment also sought to intensify the site through structured parking, new public spaces and residential development around the retail centre. Shops at Don Mills opened on April 22, 2009. Its physical design presents storefronts along a network of privately managed internal streets arranged around a central town square. The square includes a fountain, a clock tower and interpretive plaques relating to the history of the surrounding Don Mills community. Surface parking is located along portions of the internal streets and on the east side of the property, while a multilevel parking garage occupies the western side. The centre contains approximately 47,550 square metres of retail floor space and has been described as having 72 retail stores. Its tenant mix combines fashion, specialty retail, food, entertainment and services. Notable tenants cited in descriptions of the centre include McEwan Fine Foods, Anthropologie and Eataly. The location has also included a Cineplex VIP cinema. Eataly opened a Toronto location at Shops at Don Mills in May 2024, occupying two retail spaces with a combined area of approximately 910 square metres. The centre’s identity is supported by public art and references to local history. Its approximately 10-metre clock tower was designed by Canadian artist Douglas Coupland and is topped by miniature houses that evoke the planned residential character of Don Mills. A piece of wall art on the Lawrence Avenue frontage was retained after the demolition of a nearby 1962 Eaton’s building. Several internal roads and lanes carry names associated with local settlers, civic figures and the development history of Don Mills. Cadillac Fairview has positioned the shopping centre within a broader mixed-use master plan that includes adjacent condominium projects, a park and additional public spaces. Residential development connected with the site has involved FRAM Building Group and Lanterra Developments. In 2017, the centre completed a reported $21 million renovation focused on accessibility, the outdoor environment and seasonal programming. Shops at Don Mills therefore functions not only as a retail property but also as a privately managed neighbourhood-style public realm within the Don Mills area.

Shops at Don Mills was developed on the site of the former Don Mills Centre, a traditional enclosed shopping mall in Toronto’s Don Mills neighbourhood. The earlier property faced increasing pressure from competing malls and changing retail patterns. The departure of T. Eaton Co., its principal anchor, weakened the centre’s commercial appeal and was followed by declining revenues and the loss of fashion retailers. In 2003, property owner and developer Cadillac Fairview decided to redevelop the site. Rather than reconstructing an enclosed mall with a dominant department-store anchor, the company proposed an open-air lifestyle centre with a more upscale and specialty-oriented tenant mix. The plan also involved intensifying the property by replacing extensive surface parking with a parking garage and making portions of the site available for future residential development. Community consultation preceded approval by the City of Toronto. The resulting centre opened on April 22, 2009. Its layout was designed to resemble a neighbourhood retail district, with shops facing private internal roads and pedestrian-oriented spaces rather than a single enclosed corridor. A central square became the visual focus of the development. It contains a fountain, historical interpretive plaques and a clock tower designed by artist Douglas Coupland. The tower’s miniature-house motif references the planned residential development associated with Don Mills. The site also preserves wall art on its Lawrence Avenue frontage from the vicinity of a demolished 1962 Eaton’s building. The early tenant mix included McNally Robinson, which operated a large bookstore and an 80-seat restaurant. The retailer later closed the location in 2009 while undergoing bankruptcy restructuring. Over time, the centre continued to combine fashion, food, entertainment and service tenants. Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills opened on August 15, 2014, adding a five-auditorium premium cinema with capacity for approximately 500 people. In August 2017, Shops at Don Mills completed a reported $21 million renovation. The work improved accessibility, refreshed aspects of the outdoor environment and supported seasonal programming. The centre remained part of a wider Cadillac Fairview master plan involving condominium development, public spaces and a park adjacent to the retail property. Residential projects associated with the plan have involved FRAM Building Group and Lanterra Developments. The property continued to evolve as a food and lifestyle destination. On May 30, 2024, Eataly opened a location at Shops at Don Mills, using two former retail spaces with a combined area of approximately 910 square metres. The addition reinforced the centre’s emphasis on destination dining and specialty food alongside conventional retail. The development’s internal roads also preserve local references through names associated with settlers, merchants, councillors and figures connected with the creation of Don Mills.

• 2024

  Eataly joins the tenant mix

  [1]Shops at Don Millsen.wikipedia.org

  Eataly opened its third Toronto location at Shops at Don Mills on May 30.

• 2017

  Renovation completed

  [1]Shops at Don Millsen.wikipedia.org

  A reported $21 million renovation improved accessibility, the outdoor environment and summer programming.

• 2014

  Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills opens

  [1]Shops at Don Millsen.wikipedia.org

  A five-screen premium cinema opened at the centre on August 15.

• 2009

  Shops at Don Mills opens

  [1]Shops at Don Millsen.wikipedia.org

  The redeveloped centre opened on April 22, 2009, introducing its open-air streets, central square and lifestyle-oriented retail format.

• 2003

  Cadillac Fairview announces redevelopment direction

  [1]Shops at Don Millsen.wikipedia.org

  Cadillac Fairview moved toward replacing the declining enclosed Don Mills Centre with an open-air lifestyle centre and a more intensive mixed-use site plan.

An open-air, mixed-use lifestyle centre combining upscale and specialty retail, dining, entertainment, public art and neighbourhood-style streetscapes.

• Retail · 2009

  Retail and specialty shopping

  The centre’s principal offering is a collection of fashion, specialty, beauty, food and service tenants arranged along open-air internal streets. The format is intended to provide a neighbourhood-style shopping experience rather than the enclosed-mall environment of the former Don Mills Centre.

• Food and beverage · 2009

  Dining and gourmet food

  Dining is a central component of the centre’s lifestyle positioning. Notable food-related tenants include McEwan Fine Foods and Eataly, whose Toronto location opened in 2024 in two combined retail spaces totaling approximately 910 square metres.

• Entertainment · 2014

  Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills

  Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills is a premium cinema facility with five auditoriums and a combined capacity of approximately 500 seats. It opened at Shops at Don Mills in August 2014 and broadened the property’s role as an evening and entertainment destination.

• 2024

  Add Eataly as a destination food tenantProduct launch

  Background

  The centre continued to emphasize specialty food and destination dining within its lifestyle retail mix.

  Action taken

  Eataly opened its third Toronto location at the property on May 30, 2024.

  Aftermath

  The opening expanded the centre’s food-hall and gourmet-market offering.

  Source

• 2017

  Invest in accessibility and outdoor programmingOther

  Background

  The open-air property required ongoing investment in its public-facing environment and visitor experience.

  Action taken

  The centre completed a reported $21 million renovation addressing accessibility, outdoor improvements and summer programming.

  Aftermath

  The renovation refreshed the centre and strengthened its seasonal, public-space-oriented positioning.

  Reported renovation investment. $21 million (2017)

  Source

• 2014

  Add a premium cinema destinationProduct launch

  Background

  The lifestyle-centre format supported the addition of entertainment uses alongside retail and dining.

  Action taken

  Cineplex opened VIP Cinemas Don Mills with five auditoriums on August 15, 2014.

  Aftermath

  The cinema added a premium entertainment component to the centre’s tenant mix.

  Source

• 2003

  Replace the enclosed mall with an open-air lifestyle centreStrategy

  Background

  The former Don Mills Centre was losing commercial momentum because of competition, the closure of its main department-store anchor and the departure of fashion retailers.

  Action taken

  Cadillac Fairview proposed demolishing the enclosed mall and creating an open-air retail district with structured parking, intensified land use and potential residential development.

  Aftermath

  Following community consultation and city approval, the new Shops at Don Mills opened in 2009.

  Source

• 2024

  Eataly opens its third Toronto location at Shops at Don Mills[1]Shops at Don Millsen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Eataly opened at the shopping centre on May 30, 2024, occupying two retail spaces totaling approximately 910 square metres.

• 2017

  Shops at Don Mills completes a major renovation[1]Shops at Don Millsen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The centre completed a reported $21 million renovation that addressed accessibility, the outdoor setting and summer programming.

• 2014

  Cineplex VIP Cinemas Don Mills opens[1]Shops at Don Millsen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch

  Cineplex opened a VIP cinema at the centre on August 15, 2014. The venue has five auditoriums with a combined capacity of approximately 500 seats.

• 2009

  Shops at Don Mills opens as a replacement for the former Don Mills Centre[1]Shops at Don Millsen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  Cadillac Fairview opened the redeveloped property on April 22, 2009, replacing the former enclosed shopping mall with an open-air lifestyle-centre format.

• 2009

  McNally Robinson closes its Shops at Don Mills location[1]Shops at Don Millsen.wikipedia.org

  Bankruptcy

  McNally Robinson was an early tenant but later closed its location during the same year amid the Canadian bookseller's bankruptcy restructuring.

1. 1Shops at Don Millsen.wikipedia.org