History
E.P. Taylor of Argus Corporation originally bought the land for a brewing plant, but decided to make the site the focal point of the 2,100 acre (8.35 km²) planned community. Initial construction of the Don Mills Centre began in 1954. In 1955, a strip plaza was opened with a Dominion Supermarket, Kofflers Drug Store (the first Shoppers Drug Mart), Brewers Retail and a dozen other retailers.
Don Mills Centre was primarily intended to serve the local community, centrally located within walking distance of many rental units built around the core of the community. It quickly became a regional centre, drawing people from North York, East York and Scarborough. It also served as a meeting place for students from the nearby Don Mills Collegiate Institute.
As the Don Mills district was developed, the Don Mills Centre expanded to serve the increasing population. Eaton's opened one of its first suburban department stores in 1961. By 1965, the Dominion supermarket had relocated into a larger store at the south end, Zellers moved in and an outdoor mall expanded to 65 stores.
By the mid 1960s, other amenities had been added to the site, such as a post office, curling rink, movie theatres, hockey arena, service stations and a 15-storey office building.
In 1978, a major renovation was undertaken to enclose the mall. The mall was expanded from 400,000 to 462,000 square feet (37,000 to 43,000 m²). The number of tenants grew from 87 to 120. In 1986, the under-utilized curling rink at the south-west corner of the development was demolished. A four-storey office building and a small outdoor plaza were built in its place. In 1989, the service station at the north-east corner of the site was demolished, and replaced by a six-storey office building with retail on the ground floor.
After its closure in the 1990s, the lower level of the Eaton's store was converted to a Sears Canada outlet store, which later closed. The store once again stood empty for some time until it was leased by a sporting goods store, National Sports. The store then left the site after two years and was replaced by a patio furniture store and a used car dealership.
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