Vaughan Mills

Vaughan Mills
Location	Vaughan, Ontario, Canada
Address	1 Bass Pro Mills Drive; Concord, Ontario L4K 5W4
Opening date	November 4, 2004
Owner	Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc.
No. of stores and services	245
No. of anchor tenants	16
Total retail floor area	1,274,000 square feet (120,000 m2)
Website	Vaughan Mills

Vaughan Mills is one of the largest shopping centres in Canada located at the southeast corner of Highway 400 and Rutherford Road, in Vaughan, Ontario about 32 km north of downtown Toronto. The mall is located adjacent to Canada's Wonderland. Vaughan Mills opened on November 4, 2004, and was the first regional enclosed shopping complex in the Greater Toronto Area since the Erin Mills Town Centre opened in 1990. It has almost 1.3 million square feet (110,000 m²) of retail space.

The shopping centre was designed and built by Ivanhoe Cambridge and the Mills Corporation, the latter of which owns a portfolio of malls across the United States. JPRA served as the design architect for the center, with Bregman + Hamann Architects as the project architect. Like its American counterparts, Vaughan Mills incorporates a "race track" layout to maximize the exposure of the mall tenants. The complex has over 200 retail stores, restaurants, and entertainment outlets. Fifteen anchor retailers are present, including Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World, H&M, The Children's Place, and Urban Planet. Entertainment located on the site includes Lucky Strike Lanes and the first Legoland Discovery Centre in Canada.^[3]

In August 2006, the Mills Corporation sold its stake in Vaughan Mills to partner Ivanhoe Cambridge. In January 2013, plans were announced to add 150,000 square feet and 50 new stores to the mall which opened on fall of 2014.^[4]

Vaughan Mills is the 15th largest mall in Canada.^[when?]

YRT buses connect to this mall at Vaughan Mills Terminal.

History

When Vaughan Mills was conceived in fall 1999, it was meant to be a slightly larger complex at 1.4 million square feet (130,000 m²), with up to 18 anchor retailers and a combined 245 stores and services.^[1]

The shopping centre was intended to be a stepping stone for American retailers wanting to enter the Canadian market, however Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World was the only U.S. retailer to make its exclusive launch there, while other anticipated retailers such as Bed, Bath and Beyond, Off 5th Saks and Burlington Coat Factory ending up never came to Vaughan Mills.^[5] In September 1999, Bed Bath & Beyond and Sun & Ski Sports were among the six American retailers that were announced as Vaughan Mills' first anchor tenants. An ESPN X Games Skatepark was also planned as the main entertainment venue on the site. The mall had a projected opening date of Fall 2001.^{[citation needed]}

The mall had its 2 millionth visitor less than 2 months after its opening.^[6]

On October 23, 2014, the expansion of the mall with 50 new stores opened.^{[citation needed]}

On May 6, 2015, Saks Fifth Avenue Off 5th announced they would be opening a 35,000 sq. ft store in the mall in 2016.

Vaughan Mills visit over 13.5 million people per year.^[1]

Anchors

Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World (131,184 sq ft (12,187 m²))
Winners/HomeSense (61,494 sq ft (5,713 m²)
Toys "R" Us (47,042 sq ft (4,370 m²)
Designer Depot (36,722 sq ft (3,412 m²))
Home Outfitters (34,992 sq ft (3,251 m²)
Pro Hockey Life (31,708 sq ft (3,000 m²))
hr2 Holt Renfrew (29,570 sq ft (2,747 m²))
Lucky Strike Lanes (26,367 sq ft (2,450 m²))
Tommy Hilfiger (20,311 sq ft (1,887 m²))
The Children's Place (20,255 sq ft (1,882 m²))
Urban Behavior (20,057 sq ft (1,863 m²)
Forever 21 (20,056 sq ft (1,863 m²)
H&M (20,054 sq ft (1,863 m²))
La Senza (20,054 sq ft (1,863 m²))
Old Navy (20,000 sq ft (2,000 m²))
Joe Fresh (7,902 sq ft (734 m²)
Legoland Discovery Centre (39,691 sq ft (3,687 m²))

Two anchors closed in early 2012: Style Sense (20,703 sq ft (1,923 m²) and NASCAR SpeedPark (39,691 sq ft (3,687 m²)., 15,134 sq ft (1,406 m²). mezzanine, 54,503 sq ft (5,063 m²). total).

Exemptions to the Retail Business Holidays Act

The Region of York passed an exemption to Ontario's Retail Business Holidays Act to allow businesses in Vaughan to open on the following statutory holidays: New Year's Day, Victoria Day, Canada Day, Civic Holiday, Labour Day and Thanksgiving Day.^[7]

Vaughan Mills closes its doors only three days a year: Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Christmas Day.^[7]

Similar malls in Canada

Ivanhoe Cambridge stated in 2011 their strategic plan was to have four sister malls in Canada, with Vaughan Mills as the first, and additional locations to be located near Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal. As of the Summer of 2015, one additional mall has opened and another is under construction.

CrossIron Mills, located outside of Calgary, Alberta, opened on August 19, 2009. It has a number of the same retailers as the Vaughan Mills Mall, including Bass Pro Shops. The CrossIron Mills location opened in the spring of 2009, several months ahead of the main mall. The construction, leasing, and opening of the mall has paralleled Vaughan Mills to a degree, as it, too, has occurred during an economic recession. CrossIron Mills has a larger footprint than Vaughan Mills, but lacks any direct access to local transit services.^{[citation needed]}

Tsawwassen Mills, located in Delta, British Columbia, is currently under construction at Highway 17 and 52nd Street on Tsawwassen First Nation Lands south of Vancouver. Construction began in January 2014 and the mall is expected to be opening in fall of 2016. Tsawwassen Mills is designed in a similar format to it's sister malls and will include approximately 111,500 m2 (1.2 million ft2) of retail. Plans call for 16 anchor retailers, including the first Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World location in British Columbia announced as the first anchor tenant.

Ivanhoe Cambridge had originally planned to build what would have been called Laval Mills in Laval, Quebec near Montreal, at the intersection of Quebec Autoroute 440 and Quebec Autoroute 25. However after 3 years of planning and analysis these plans were abandoned in May 2011 citing that their criteria of feasibility and profitability were not met, partly because environmental issues as construction would have disrupted a number of wetlands on or in direct connection to the project. At the time the project was cancelled Ivanhoe Cambridge stated they would continue plans for a Mills mall to be built in the Montreal region.