Information about the dining and retail facilities at the ‘Shops at Don Mills’ as well as a list of upcoming activities and events in the town square can be found on the Cadillac Fairview web-site.
News and Events
Shops at Don Mills store list

Phase II of the re-development will add residential buildings and additional commercial/retail facilities to the site. For the latest information please refer to Cadillac Fairview’s web-site.
Residences at Don Mills

DMRI Executive members after their tour of the SHOPS AT DON MILLS construction site. Among the features of this new and exciting Don Mills landmark are the varying types of bricks and brickwork that were incorporated to bring variety and ambience to the complex. Another architectural feature is the colourful tile mural depicting the community and the four seasons on the wall between the LCBO and McEwan’s on Lawrence Avenue. This is the original mural which was on the north face of Eaton’s Department Store.

THE RE-DEVELOPMENT of the DON MILLS CENTRE
In early 2011, revisions to the Toronto Official Plan and Zoning By-laws that were necessary for Cadillac Fairview (CF) to proceed with the Phase II re-development of the Don Mills Centre site were approved. Construction of the first condo building will begin in late spring 2011. The long road to this conclusion is summarized below.

PHASE I
2001 – As part of its objective to represent the views of the Don Mills community, the DMRI formed a Task Force of local volunteers to respond to the first CF re-development proposal. This Task Force included architects, engineers, a traffic specialist, community planners and other interested citizens, each with their own expertise and all dedicated to the well-being of the community. In the ensuing years this Task Force spent many hours in consultation and negotiation with Cadillac Fairview and a second, revised proposal was developed and presented to the City.
At a subsequent public meeting, CF presented this proposal to the community and indicated that they would consider the comments from that meeting and revise the proposal accordingly.
2005 – After many years of silence, in November, CF announced to the City their decision to redevelop the mall in two phases. Phase I would see the demolition of the old mall replacing it with a ‘lifestyle outdoor shopping complex’. Phase II would add residential and additional commercial/retail facilities to the site. The DMRI was unaware of this decision and through correspondence and direct meetings with CF presented the many concerns of the community to the Phase I proposal, especially the loss of the covered mall. However, as the site was already zoned for commercial use, all that was required was the City’s approval of the Site Plan, and under the existing zoning, Cadillac Fairview was entitled to implement this plan on their property. The DMRI made a number of suggestions for changes, some of which were included in the final version. The final proposal for Phase I was approved by the OMB. ‘Shops at Don Mills’ opened in April of 2009.

PHASE II
2007 – In December of 2006, the proposal for the Phase II development was filed with the City. Representatives of the DMRI met with representatives of CF in late January 2007 and after further consultation with the City, the proposal was modified slightly. Also at this time the Phase I multi-storied parking garage was modified to incorporate commercial space at the street level fronting on The Donway West.
In August, the City announced that it would form a Community Advisory Group consisting of individual residents and representatives of local community organizations. who were tasked to work with the City Planning Staff and Cadillac Fairview, towards a resolution of the community concerns of Phase II. In spite of the progress that the DMRI had made negotiating directly with Cadillac Fairview, it was agreed that direct negotiations would cease and that the DMRI would work within the Community Advisory Group on the remaining issues and concerns. In mid-November, Cadillac Fairview withdrew from the Community Advisory Group citing concerns that the City was not respecting confidentiality agreements. The DMRI continued to participate in the group discussions through January 2008. Upon their withdrawal from the working group, Cadillac Fairview invited the DMRI to continue direct negotiations on the remaining items. City Planning staff were informed and indicated that they had no objection to this. After numerous meetings, an agreement in principle on the main issues was achieved near the end of December 2007.

2008 AGREEMENT IN PRINCIPLE The agreement in principle was announced by the DMRI at public meetings on January 15th and 16th. There was strong community support expressed for it at these meetings.
Summary
Density
1,386 units in a total of seven building complexes including 75 The Donway West. Not counting the additional units in 75 The Donway, the number of units was reduced from 1,500 to 1,260. The distribution of the buildings would be along the Donway West from the Canada Post land to the intersection at Don Mills Road, and towards the centre of the site immediately behind 75 The Donway. Two “point” towers would be built there.
Height The proposed height of the two Point Towers was reduced from 32 stories to 26 storeys. Other buildings along the Donway West would range from 12 storeys closest to the Post Office to 16 storeys opposite Burdock Lane and 14 at the corner of Don Mills and The Donway West. All buildings to be set on a two story podium with the upper part of the buildings stepped away from the street. The smaller buildings would have one step, the larger buildings two or three to lessen the visual impact of the height at street level.
Traffic/Parking As a certain amount of the new construction is residential and produces less peak hour traffic than retail/commercial, the estimated new traffic volume is expected to meet the traffic standards for the already approved zoning. All parking for Phase II, with the exception of a few spaces on the southern entrance road, will be underground. There are city standards for the number of parking spaces required. The final traffic impact analysis is expected to confirm that the volume generated from the site will meet the City standards and may actually be less than the standards allow.
Environmental The DMRI pushed for the development to meet environmentally friendly guidelines to continue the Don Mills tradition of a ‘garden city’. Although there are no compulsory guidelines as yet, there are suggested guidelines established by the City of Toronto and the voluntary ‘LEEDS’ standards that have been established by the industry. Cadillac Fairview and the DMRI agreed to work together with the City to implement as many of these standards as was practical.
75 The Donway West The decision of CF to convert this building to residential units concerned many residents using the medical/dental services in the building. Cadillac Fairview said that the medical/dental tenants would be offered space in ‘Shops at Don Mills’. As the decision to accept this offer rests with the medical/dental professionals, it is not known how many of these services will remain in the redeveloped site. CF has said it will make every effort to see that these vital services are maintained or enhanced.
Community Centre Previous DMRI surveys indicated that a major priority for the community is a Community Centre. A Community Centre on the Don Mills Centre site was a major objective in the DMRI negotiations with Cadillac Fairview. An agreement to build an approximately 34,000 square foot facility to include a swimming pool, physical fitness centre, walking rack and recreational facilities was reached. The Centre would be offered to the City for community use, but if the City chose not to accept ownership, it was agreed that a not-for-profit, incorporated body would be established to operate the Centre on behalf of the community.

SEPTEMBER 2009 – NORTH YORK COUNCIL MEETING At the North York Community Council meeting of Sept. 15th, 2009, there was no vote on the CF application for the proposed residential buildings along The Donway West, and the related proposal for a Don Mills Community Centre. The item was referred instead to the full City Council. City planning staff did not support this application citing a number of issues including; the amount of designated land for parkland or recreational use to be given to the City being less than required under the current bylaw, the height of the proposed buildings along the Donway West, and the overall density of the proposal. Cadillac Fairview indicated that they were prepared to meet the requirements of the designated parkland bylaw and in addition had offered a commitment of $17. million in 2010 funds for the construction of a Community Centre of approximately 50,000 square feet. The commitment of $17. million was contingent on the acceptance of the CF proposal by Community Council. If the application was not accepted, CF would proceed to the Ontario Municipal Board.

OCTOBER 2009 – CITY COUNCIL MEETING The application for the re-development of the DMC site was refused by City Council on a very narrow vote of 17 to 16.
VOTES in SUPPORT-Augimeri, Cho, De Baeremaeker, Di Giorgio, Feldman, Filion, Ford, Jenkins, Luby, Mammoliti, Milczyn, Palacio, Parker, Perruzza, Stintz, Walker
VOTES AGAINST-Ainslie, Bussin, Carroll, Davis, Del Gande, Giambrone, Hall, Holyday, Kelly, McConnell, Mihevc, Minnan-Wong, Pantalone, Perks, Shiner, Thompson, Vaughan
DID NOT VOTE-Ashton, Fletcher, Grimes, Heaps, Lee, Miller, Moeser, Moscoe, Nunziata, Ootes, Rae, Saundercook

2010 – NEGOTIATED SETTLEMENT Through the Provincial Government, the DMRI was able to arrange a facilitation process on the proposal that was voted down in October 2009. This was preferred to the scheduled OMB hearing in April 2010. It was almost certain that the OMB would find the original CF proposal in keeping with the permitted heights, densities and overall land use for this area. The OMB would not have had the authority to require a community centre and the plan that CF submitted to the OMB did not include a community centre. Because the resulting proposal did address a community centre and as the overall density was unchanged, the DMRI supported this plan. In the process, a design team that included representatives from the City, CF, three leading architects, and an urban planner, revised the proposal. This was presented to City Council on Feb. 23, 2010 where the vote was 37 in favour, 3 against. The dissenting votes were from Councillors Del Grande, Ford, and Minnan-Wong.

While the overall proposal and density is very similar to 2009 version, there were changes to the heights. Several of the originally mid-rise buildings along The Donway West were lowered in height, some townhouses were added to the project toward the middle of the site, and most dramatically, the 2 centre ‘point’ towers that were 26 storey’s became 1 of 24 storey’s and 1 of 32 storey’s. The agreement does include $17. million for a community centre as well as a contribution towards the cost of a new arena to replace the Civitan Arena. The location for the new arena is yet to be determined and representatives from Civitan, our Councillors, the DMRI, and City staff are actively looking at potential sites.

On Feb. 23, 2010 City Council voted overwhelmingly in favour of the revised proposal negotiated between CF and the City for the residential redevelopment component of the Don Mills Centre.