Don Mills Shopping Centre Redevelopment – LEA Consulting Ltd.
The Don Mills Centre is located in the southwest quadrant of Don Mills Road and Lawrence Avenue East in the City of Toronto. The Don Mills area, which is recognized as North America’s first planned community, is characterized by a hierarchy of streets and pedestrian walkways, parks, and green space.
The project involved transportation plans for the complete replacement of an aging shopping mall with a mix of higher-density residential uses and a “life-style” shopping centre, focusing on pedestrian walkways and linkages, open space and a public square. The design involved the placing of driveways and underground garage entrances in strategic locations that did not interfere with pedestrian movement and urban design. Main driveway aisles were designed to be pedestrian-friendly, with narrow pavements, on-street parking, and decorative pavement treatments. Phasing plans were developed, in order to maintain parts of the existing shopping centre during construction of the first parts of the development.