The newest addition to Toronto’s list of live music venues—Rogers Stadium—was announced this past September and is expected to open in the summer of 2025. However, it’s only the beginning of a larger hub for culture and community in the city at the former Downsview Airport (YZD) site.
Over the next thirty years, the 145-hectare former airport will be transformed into a mixed-use community consisting of seven districts. These districts will include mixed housing, retail spaces, parks, and community facilities.
“We’re really building a city within a city; a mixed-use city within a city,” Mitchell Marcus, the executive director of site activation and programming for Northcrest Developments, said. The company is overseeing the development of the former Downsview airport. “Which means it has to be a place that serves great places to live, great places to work, great entertainment, restaurants, retail and amenities. Just a really thoughtful approach to the public realm and the places where people play. We’re kind of building that mini-city with all of those elements.”
The first district in development is the Hangar District, located in the 12 hangars of the former airport. The district is planned to be a pedestrian-centred community, providing over 2,500 new homes with connections to Downsview Park.
“The history that’s in these buildings captures a whole chapter of Canadian innovation in aerospace engineering. I think that’s really the centrepiece of the first district, these hangers that have this amazing heritage value are going to be retrofitted and reimagined into new things,” Marcus said.
Development of the entire site is expected to be completed over the next few decades, and will use more than 210- hectares of both YZD property and Canada lands. In the meantime, developers are using the space to hold public events to show Torontonians its potential.
In addition to the construction of Rogers Stadium, the former airport grounds has held a free event called Play on the Runway for the past three years, where the public is encouraged to come down to the grounds and use the expansive space to do exactly what the name suggests: play.
“I had never been to the Downsview Airport before, and there was so much empty space, with the runway stretching across all sides,” Aswin Nair said. He attended Play on the Runway this past summer. “Finding out more about how they plan on using it, I thought it was a fantastic idea. They have so much empty space sitting idle because there isn’t an operational airport anymore, so the possibility that this area might be converted into a bustling neighbourhood is exciting to hear.”
Information about events being held at YZD can be found on its website.
