In the October 1, 2004 edition of Globe Real Estate, I wrote a commentary, "Whither the Don Mills shopping centre?" in response to an early rendering of the new retail complex proposed by Cadillac-Fairview. I questioned the motivation in creating a "U.S.-style 'lifestyle centre' dressed up in faux Victorian trim" when Macklin Hancock, the 27-year-old planner of Don Mills, had been so successful in creating a landmark community that already had a distinct architectural style - Modernist. I felt that any other approach would be an insult to the community.
Over the next few years, I attended public meetings, followed press releases from groups such as Don Mills Friends (not affiliated with the long-established ratepayer's group Don Mills Residents Inc.), who advocated for a portion of the new mall to be enclosed and, mostly, watched as the old mall was demolished and the new one took shape.
While I knew early sketches of a coach-lamp infested Olde English Towne had been cast aside, I was still fearful that Don Mills would end up with a gaggle of uninspired stucco boxes, much like those that have replaced the industries along Scarborough's "Golden Mile" on Eglinton Ave. About a year ago and much to my surprise, I began to really like what I was seeing.
The Shops at Don Mills has finally opened to the public.
This is no slap-dash stucco wonderland, but rather a twenty-first century modernist commercial district alive with wide, walkable streets — some closed to traffic — such as the one named for Mr. Hancock's father-in-law and boss, Karl Fraser. The buildings blend with the area's modernist architecture via flat roofs, playful fenestration with spandrel panels in very mid-century hues like mint green, and, most importantly, the use of brick, concrete block and metal.
There is a town square for concerts and a silly-wonderful, 35-foot tall clock tower by Canadian author/artist Douglas Coupland called "Starburst". Really a sputnik-on-a-pole, each antenna terminates in a 1950s-era home complete with its architectural floor plan visible on the underside. "It's a poetic and quite lovely haiku of a moment in Canadian history," Mr. Coupland says. "These houses gave rise to a period of unparalleled optimism and represented a moment in which radical new ways of using art and design promised a better future."
Beside a gorgeous water feature decked out in glass mosaic tile that is already a hit with bare-footed little ones, there are three heritage plaques that tell the story of Don Mills, which I assisted Heritage Toronto in preparing.
The original 1962 "Don Mills Montage" by Charles Staffer (commissioned by Eaton's for their first suburban location at Don Mills Centre and where I worked in the 1980s) has been restored, repainted, and reinstalled in a highly visible location on Lawrence Avenue between the LCBO and the as-yet-unopened McEwan gourmet grocery store. Abstractly combining many Don Mills roof-shapes, the long-ago-demolished "flying saucer" curling rink, apartment towers, houses, a big tree and a family, it has always been a favourite of mine.
While I'm unsure of the need for so many (and such tall) condominiums on site -- the proposed residential component will consist of towers ranging from 12 to 26 storeys for a total of 1,300 units -- I will concede that I am impressed thus far. As my interior designer wife likes to say, "this is a Don Mills Centre for the next 30 years, not the previous 30," and I couldn't agree more.
