Ajax is a new-town, squished in between Pickering and Whitby, initially created as a place to make shells during WWII and as a place to house the people who made shells during WWII. As such, Ajax does not really have a “centre” so to speak, although that is changing (slightly).
What is called Downtown Ajax is disappointing (mostly). Let’s start in the north and work south (from worse to better):
The north part of “Downtown Ajax” is an old strip mall that probably looked nice in the ‘50s or ‘60s, but now just looks old. It’s not bad, but it’s old. Up here there is also a nice library (that was closed à la COVID-19).
Walking south down Harwood, the mall continues to the right and there are nice (and similarly aged) apartment towers to the left. Harwood is lined with big old trees, which are really nice and shady!
South of Hunt St, we get a new mall! This mall is like the northern one, except it looks newer and is busier. The trees continue, but the apartment towers make way for apartment blocks instead.
The nicest part along here is the new Pat Bayly Square. It reminds me of North York Centre. There are some nice looking condos around it which provide shade, and lots of trees that should grow up to become nice and shady. There are some places to sit (although I think there could be more), and a big fountain that provides cooling spray. The fountain with the gardens on the hill in front of it is very nice, and I think the square is very well-executed. After COVID, the retail opportunities should open up which will provide much more liveliness and places to shop and eat. I look forward to seeing what this becomes, and would like to see it implemented elsewhere.
All in all, Downtown Ajax is pretty disappointing, although the new square does make up for a lot. New development around the square should also be providing more to do in the near future, but in the meantime, I think the lakeshore is much more worth the time to check out.