As the fledgling city grew, several midrise condominium buildings were constructed at the corner of Hurontario Street and Burnhamthorpe Road, overlooking the then-new Square One Shopping Centre.

Instead, the city's urban waterfront is located in Port Credit, one of Mississauga's original historic townsites,6 km (3.7 mi) south along Hurontario Street.

[citation needed] Originally there was an octagonal ring road encircling Square One Shopping Centre,[1] but later changes to the street pattern as development progressed resulted in parts of it being incorporated into the present City Centre Drive and Duke of York Boulevard or being replaced by Square One Drive.

[3][4] The intersection of Hurontario Street and Burnhamthorpe Road was once the site of a rural hamlet named Payne's Corners.

The new core was given an additional boost that year after a fire badly damaged the newly incorporated Town of Mississauga's municipal offices in the nearby community of Cooksville, prompting the municipality to move its offices (a move that was already being contemplated) to a new building constructed on a plot of land in the area exchanged with McLaughlin for the old Cooksville property.

[11] When McLaughlin's corporation ran into financial difficulties in the late 1970s, Mayor Hazel McCallion proposed that an iconic new city hall with a large civic square be built.

Most of this newer growth has occurred west of City Hall in the new urban centre, located along Confederation Parkway, in an area that was the last sector to develop but which has now become the most densely populated area in the core, and that most resembles a stereotypical downtown streetscape, with cafés, restaurants, and services lining the street.

Further east stands the residential Absolute World complex, located at the northeast corner of Burnhamthorpe and Hurontario.

The exchange district is a large 4-tower development located centrally on Burnhamthorpe road between Confederation Parkway and Hurontario Street.

Celebration Square is home to festivals and concerts, as well as frequent movie screenings for the downtown core's residents to enjoy.

Additionally, food trucks, a sports field, an amphitheatre, a splash pad (which doubles as a skating rink in the winter) and a garden.

Duke of York Boulevard and Square One Drive intersect south of Rathburn road, at which location exists the city's only roundabout.