Northcrest Developments will soon transform northwest Toronto’s 370-acre former Downsview Airport site into a vibrant, mixed-use area. The land of the redevelopment, dubbed YZD, is currently 90-per-cent vacant.Supplied/Northcrest Developments
For Northcrest Developments, the challenge of transforming the former Downsview Airport site in Toronto lies in the sheer scope of the undertaking and the decades required to realize its vision.
It’s a dilemma other large development projects, such as the city’s waterfront revitalization, have faced as they require communities and investors to buy into ambitious plans that repurpose industrial zones and former military bases into modern, urban neighbourhoods.
“They’re trying really hard, and I think they have the ingredients,” Matti Siemiatycki, director of the Infrastructure Institute at the University of Toronto, says of Northcrest, lead developer of the $30-billion, 30-year project dubbed YZD.
“The challenge in a site that large, which is super unrealistic for real estate, is too much land, rather than not enough. The question is, ‘how do you phase it and make it feel lived in and vibrant as you go?’”
Northcrest calls the YZD one of the biggest urban redevelopments in North America, but it is not alone in its ambition. Developers are increasingly converting former industrial areas into mixed-use meccas, complete with housing, retail and office space, driven by support for urban growth and to combat sprawl.
Creating a vibrant community for new residents
Northcrest CEO Derek Goring was involved in the early days of Toronto’s eastern waterfront redevelopment. While building can be done in phases, Mr. Goring says one lesson learned is the importance of making sure the first batch of residents feel part of a community.
“One thing that made [the waterfront project] challenging was it was very incremental,” he says. “The first building sat there as a bit of an island for a number of years until the site started to build out.”
With 90 per cent of the YZD land empty, Mr. Goring says each construction stage needs to be successful in its own right.
The development includes 28 million square feet of residential space and seven million square feet of retail, office, advanced manufacturing, recreational, cultural and institutional space.
Located near Keele Street and Sheppard Avenue West, the project involves the redevelopment of a site that was the former home of a Canadian Forces base and a Bombardier Aerospace campus. It’s a 370-acre frontier of airplane hangars, warehouses and green fields.
Northcrest communications manager Kaleigh Ambrose says more than 5,000 tradespeople will be employed full time for each construction year. Once fully operational, YZD aims to provide permanent employment for more than 23,000.
The property’s initial commercial tenants are expected to arrive in 2028, with the first group of residents projected to move in by 2030.
In July, Toronto city council approved the first phase of YZD, to be called the Hangar District. The neighbourhood will cover more than 100 acres and retrofit two large hangars.Supplied/Northcrest Developments/Norm Li
Hanging in the Hangar District
Toronto city council unanimously approved the plan for YZD’s initial phase in July. The project’s first neighbourhood, to be called the Hangar District, will cover more than 100 acres and retrofit two large hangars for manufacturing, entertainment, recreation and cultural uses.
Some of the existing buildings will be replaced by built-to-suit commercial structures and low-rise, multi-unit housing, with at least 10 per cent of YZD residences defined as affordable, where shelter costs are to be less than 30 per cent of a household’s monthly income.
Mr. Goring also says the hangars allow for the space to set up modular-housing-parts manufacturers, retail outlets such as craft breweries, live music events, recreational activities and sites for film production.
He notes the district will be split nearly equally between residential and non-residential areas and “lean into” its aviation aesthetic as a unique selling point. Northcrest expects the Hangar District to provide 2,957 homes and generate 7,400 jobs.
To anchor the Hangar District, Mr. Goring says Northcrest is seeking potential tenants that could include a postsecondary institution along with Centennial College’s Bombardier Centre for Aerospace and Aviation, which is already located at the site.
The hangars and new structures will be linked to YZD’s future Wilson District – another phase of the project – by a pedestrian walkway, the redesigned airport runway.
Future plans and financing
The proposal for phase two of the development – dubbed the Wilson District, around the Wilson subway station at YZD’s southernmost point – is scheduled for submission to the city in early 2026. Subsequent phases of the project will “evolve over decades to come,” Northcrest says.
Funding for the project will be provided by the Public Sector Pension Investment Board and through yet-to-be finalized contributions from other partners, possibly including the federal government.
Mr. Goring says he’s confident the project’s amenities, parks, transit orientation, low-carbon materials and sustainable energy sources will appeal to occupants, suggesting YZD will be poised to benefit from a potential real-estate market turnaround in the coming years.
“Developments which bring people together – combining retail with residential, community spaces and attractions – are especially appealing to retailers,” says Santo Ligotti, vice-president of marketing and member services at the Retail Council of Canada. “These kinds of projects create vibrant destinations that support both community life and business success.”
A Northcrest executive says YZD’s Hangar District will ‘lean into’ its aviation aesthetic as a selling point and consist of nearly equal residential and non-residential space. The developer expects the Hangar District to provide 2,957 homes and 7,400 jobs.Supplied/Northcrest Developments/Norm Li
Consulting the community
Mr. Goring says meaningful consultation from residents and nearby businesses is crucial when it comes to the project’s plans. The YZD consultation is being carried out in conjunction with the city and Third Party Public, a public engagement firm that Northcrest hired at the beginning of the project.
Joe Pantalone, a retired former deputy Toronto mayor and city councillor, and current special adviser to the DUKE Heights BIA, a group of 4,000 businesses in the area north of the Northcrest development, says YZD could have been controversial because of its size.
Instead, he says, it has strong support from area businesses, partly owing to Northcrest’s and the city’s community engagement efforts, along with the fact the project promises to connect roadways and transit, as well as bring new foot traffic to the area.
Calling YZD a series of neighbourhoods with distinct cultural and commercial attributes, and where daily needs are within walking distance, Mr. Goring says the project presents a strong business case.
“The most important metric is demographics,” he says. “With more people moving here, there’s going to be demand for real estate. Given the fact that all of these new people are going to be here, I can’t imagine where businesses can’t see this as a huge opportunity.”