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In what Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua is deeming “the beginning of a new era,” Vaughan developers will take the first step Wednesday toward building the city’s much-anticipated downtown hub.

Years ago, like many of Greater Toronto’s suburban municipalities, Vaughan embarked on a mission to urbanize its core by transforming a car-centric, 300-hectare swath of land around Highway 7 and Jane Street into a walkable downtown, complete with businesses, residences, cultural facilities and pedestrian shopping areas.

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The first piece to begin falling into place is Expo City, a five-tower residential development complete with an urban square and retail galleria. A formal ribbon-cutting ceremony for the first tower is slated for Wednesday evening, with construction to start in the coming weeks.

The development, expected to accommodate about 4,000 residents, will be steps from the new Vaughan Metropolitan Centre subway stop, part of the TTC’s Toronto-York Spadina extension that is slated to be in service by 2015.