Vaughan Mills is a regional

outlet mall An outlet store, factory outlet or factory shop is a brick and mortar or online store in which manufacturers sell their stock directly to the public. Traditionally, a factory outlet was a store attached to a factory or warehouse, sometimes allowin ...

located at the southeast quadrant of the Highway 400 and Rutherford Road interchange in

Vaughan Vaughan () (2021 population 323,103) is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located in the Regional Municipality of York, just north of Toronto. Vaughan was the fastest-growing municipality in Canada between 1996 and 2006 with its population increas ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, just south of

Canada's Wonderland Canada's Wonderland, formerly known as Paramount Canada's Wonderland, is a amusement park located in Vaughan, Ontario, a municipality within the Greater Toronto Area. Opened in 1981 by the Taft Broadcasting Company and the Great-West Life As ...

. It is one of the largest enclosed shopping centres in Canada, and the largest shopping mall in

York Region The Regional Municipality of York, also called York Region, is a regional municipality in Southern Ontario, Canada, between Lake Simcoe and Toronto. The region was established after the passing of then Bill 102, An Act to Establish The Regional M ...

with almost of retail space. The complex has over 200 retail stores, restaurants, and entertainment outlets. The mall is served by

York Region Transit York Region Transit (YRT) is the public transit operator in York Region, Ontario, Canada. Its headquarters are in Richmond Hill, at 50 High Tech Road. YRT operates 65 full-time, rush hour and limited routes, 35 school services, and six Viva bu ...

bus routes at the Vaughan Mills Terminal, with frequent service to Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway station, the northern terminus of

Line 1 Yonge-University Line most often refers to: * Line (geometry), object with zero thickness and curvature that stretches to infinity * Telephone line, a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system Line, lines, The Line, or LINE may also refer to: Arts ...

of the

Toronto subway The Toronto subway is a rapid transit system serving Toronto and the neighbouring city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada, operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC). It is a multimodal rail network consisting of three heavy-capacity rail ...

, to the south along

Jane Street Jane may refer to: * Jane (given name), a feminine given name * Jane (surname), related to the given name Film and television * ''Jane'' (1915 film), a silent comedy film directed by Frank Lloyd * ''Jane'' (2016 film), a South Korean drama fi ...

History

The shopping centre was designed and built by

Ivanhoé Cambridge Ivanhoé Cambridge Inc. is a Canadian real estate company based in Montreal, Quebec. With assets around the globe, its areas of activity are investment, development, asset management, operations and leasing. The company's real estate portfolio c ...

and the

Mills Corporation The Mills Corporation was a publicly traded real estate investment trust headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, United States, acquired on April 3, 2007 by an investment group composed of Simon Property Group and Farallon Capital Management. The ...

, the latter of which owned a portfolio of malls across the United States. JPRA served as the design architect for the centre, with Bregman + Hamann Architects as the project architect. Like its American counterparts, Vaughan Mills incorporates a "

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

" layout to maximize the exposure of the mall tenants. When Vaughan Mills was conceived in 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. The shopping centre was intended to be a stepping stone for American retailers who wanted 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 and

Burlington Coat Factory Burlington, formerly known as Burlington Coat Factory, is an American national off-price department store retailer, and a division of Burlington Coat Factory Warehouse Corporation with more than 1,000 stores in 40 states and Puerto Rico, with i ...

never opened at Vaughan Mills. In September 1999,

Bed Bath & Beyond Bed Bath & Beyond Inc. is an American chain of domestic merchandise retail stores. The chain operates many stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Bed Bath & Beyond was founded in 1971. It is counted among the Fortune 5 ...

and Sun & Ski Sports were among the six American retailers that were announced as Vaughan Mills' first anchor tenants. An

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...

X Games The X Games are an annual extreme sports event organized, produced and broadcast by ESPN. Coverage is also shown on ESPN's sister network, ABC. The inaugural X Games were held during the summer of 1995 in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island, ...

Skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairse ...

was also planned as the main entertainment venue site. The mall opened on November 4, 2004, and was the first regional enclosed shopping complex to be opened in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) since the

Erin Mills Town Centre Erin Mills Town Centre is a shopping mall located in Erin Mills, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, at the corner of Erin Mills Parkway and Eglinton Avenue West. It is the second largest mall in Mississauga, after Square One. The mall can be access ...

in 1990 as well as the first in the GTA built in the 21st century. The mall had its two-millionth visitor less than two months after its opening. Vaughan Mills receives over 13.5 million patrons per year. In August 2006, the Mills Corporation sold its stake in Vaughan Mills to partner

. In January 2013, plans were announced for an expansion of 150,000 square feet and 50 new stores to the mall, which opened in late 2014. On March 17, 2016,

Saks Off 5th Saks can refer to: *Saks (surname) *Saks, Alabama, a community in the United States *Saks, Inc., holding company of Saks Fifth Avenue *Saks Fifth Avenue, U.S. luxury department store See also * * *Sachs *Sachse (disambiguation) *Sacks (surname) *Sa ...

opened a store in the mall.

StyleSense The TJX Companies, Inc. (abbreviated TJX) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Discount store, off-price department store corporation, headquartered in Framingham, Massachusetts. It was formed as a subsidiary of Zayre, Zayre ...

and NASCAR Speedpark were closed in early 2012. They have been replaced by Calvin Klein and Legoland Discovery Centre. In 2018, Japanese retailer Uniqlo announced an expansion to open four new locations in malls, including Vaughan Mills, which opened on September 28, 2018, in the former HR2 location. Vaughan Mills Neighbourhood 1 seating area 2022.jpg , Neighbourhood 1 seating area Vaughan Mills Neighbourhood 2 seating area.jpg , Neighbourhood 2 seating area after the renovation Vaughan Mills Neighbourhood 4 2022.jpg, Shops in Neighbourhood 4 Vaughan Mills Expansion Area shops 2022.jpg, Expansion Area opened in late 2014 Vaughan Mills Roadside Picnic Food Court 2022.jpg, Food Court after renovation in 2017 Vaughan Mills Neighbourhood 6 2022.jpg, Uniqlo located in Neighbourhood opened in 2018

Public transport

The Vaughan Mills Terminal is a York Region Transit (YRT) transit terminal located at 1 Bass Pro Mills Drive, near the northeast corridor of Vaughan Mills near the intersection of Rutherford Road and Jane Street. As of 2017, ticket machines are installed at this terminal. Only YRT routes connect to this terminal.

Sister malls in Canada

stated in 2011 that 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.

CrossIron Mills CrossIron Mills is a fully enclosed shopping centre development just outside the northern city limits of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and immediately east of the hamlet of Balzac in Rocky View County. It was developed by Ivanhoé Cambridge, a major ...

, 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. Tsawwassen Mills, located in Delta, British Columbia, at Highway 17 and 52nd Street on Tsawwassen First Nation Lands south of Vancouver. Construction began in January 2014 and the mall opened on October 5, 2016. Tsawwassen Mills is designed in a similar format to its sister malls and includes approximately 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.

had originally planned to build what would have been called Laval Mills in

Laval, Quebec Laval (; ) is a city in Quebec, Canada. It is in the southwest of the province, north of Montreal. It is the largest suburb of Montreal, the third-largest city in the province after Montreal and Quebec City, and the thirteenth largest city in C ...

near Montreal, at the intersection of Quebec Autoroute 440 and

Quebec Autoroute 25 Autoroute 25 (or A-25, also called Autoroute Louis-H.-La Fontaine in Montreal) is an Autoroute in the Lanaudière region of Quebec. It is currently long and services the direct north of Montreal's Metropolitan Area. A-25 has one toll bridge, whi ...

. However, after three 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 directly connection to the project. At the time the project was cancelled

stated they would continue plans for a Mills mall to be built in the Montreal region.

Stores at Vaughan Mills

File:AdidasStoreVaughanMills.jpg, Adidas File:ASICSVaughanMills.jpg, Asics File:AéropostaleVaughanMills.jpg, Aeropostale (closed in 2016) File:ArmaniExchange.JPG, A/X Armani Exchange (closed) File:OutdoorWorld.JPG,

Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World BPS Direct, L.L.C, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held retailer which specializes in hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation merchandise. With headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, Bass Pr ...

File:Bath&BodyWorksVaughanMills.jpg, Bath & Body Works File:BellWorldVaughanMills.JPG,

Bell A bell is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be made by an inte ...

File:Build-A-BearWorkshopVaughanMills.JPG,

Build-A-Bear Workshop Build-A-Bear Workshop, Inc. is an American retailer headquartered in Saint Louis, Missouri that sells teddy bears and other stuffed animals and characters. Customers go through an interactive process in which the stuffed animal of their choice ...

File:ColesVaughanMills.JPG, Coles (closed in 2018) File:DisneyVaughanMills.jpg, Disney Outlet (closed in 2021) File:DrMartensVaughanMills.jpg,

Dr. Martens Dr. Martens, also commonly known as Doc Martens, Docs or DMs, is a German-founded British footwear and clothing brand, headquartered in Wollaston in the Wellingborough district of Northamptonshire, England. Although famous for its footwear, Dr ...

File:FCUKVaughan Mills.jpg,

French Connection The French Connection was a scheme through which heroin was smuggled from Indochina through Turkey to France and then to the United States and Canada, sometimes through Cuba. The operation started in the 1930s, reached its peak in the 1960s, and ...

(closed in 2016) File:Forever21VaughanMills.jpg, Forever 21 (closed in 2019) File:GeoxVaughanMills.JPG, Geox File:H&MVaughanMills.JPG, H&M File:HallmarkVaughanMills.JPG,

Hallmark A hallmark is an official mark or series of marks struck on items made of metal, mostly to certify the content of noble metals—such as platinum, gold, silver and in some nations, palladium. In a more general sense, the term '' hallmark'' can a ...

(closed in 2018) File:HMVVaughanMills2.jpg,

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

(closed in 2017) File:HoltRenfrewHR2.jpg, Holt Renfrew HR2 (closed in 2018, replaced by Uniqlo) File:LegolandDiscoveryCentreToronto.JPG,

LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Toronto LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Toronto is an indoor family entertainment center located in Vaughan Mills mall in Vaughan, Ontario just north of Toronto. The attraction includes 10 LEGO build & play zones, 2 LEGO-themed rides, a soft play area, a 4D ...

File:Levi'sOutletStore.JPG, Levi's Outlet Store File:NikeFactoryStoreVaughanMills.JPG,

Nike Factory Store Nike, Inc. (stylized as NIKE) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is head ...

File:ReebokVaughanMills.jpg,

Reebok Reebok International Limited () is an American fitness footwear and clothing manufacturer that is a part of Authentic Brands Group. It was established in England in 1958 as a companion company to J.W. Foster and Sons, a sporting goods company ...

File:StarbucksVaughanMills2.jpg, Starbucks File:SunglassHutVaughanMills-DLighting.jpg,

Sunglass Hut Sunglass Hut is an international retailer of sunglasses and sunglass accessories founded in Miami, Florida, United States, in 1971. Sunglass Hut is part of the Italian-based Luxottica Group, the world’s largest eyewear company. As of December ...

File:TheNorthFace.JPG,

The North Face The North Face is an American outdoor recreation products company. The North Face produces outdoor clothing, footwear, and related equipment. Founded in 1968 to supply climbers, the company's logo draws inspiration from Half Dome, in Yosemite ...

File:ToysRUsVaughanMills.JPG,

Toys "R" Us Toys "R" Us is an American toy, clothing, and baby product retailer owned by Tru Kids (doing business as Tru Kids Brands) and various others. The company was founded in 1957; its first store was built in April 1948, with its headquarters loc ...

Babies "R" Us An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

File:Trade Secrets - Vaughan Mills.JPG, Trade Secrets File:Yogenfruz3.JPG,

Yogen Früz Yogen Früz is a Canadian chain of frozen yogurt and smoothie stores that also serves healthy alternative food products. The chain is run through company-owned, franchised, and non-traditional partnerships. The chain operates worldwide and has b ...

References

{{Shopping Malls in the Golden Horseshoe Power centres (retail) in Canada Shopping malls in the Regional Municipality of York Shopping malls established in 2004 Buildings and structures in Vaughan 2004 establishments in Ontario Outlet malls in Canada Ivanhoé Cambridge