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Woodbine Entertainment is advancing a new redevelopment plan for parts of its massive site in North Etobicoke, replacing an evolving series of plans that started close to 20 years ago with what was originally dubbed 'Woodbine Live!' The new plan is at an early stage, envisioning a Transit Oriented Community clustered to the southeast of the racetrack, close to the future Woodbine GO station, now under construction on the Kitchener rail corridor just west of Highway 27. Designed by UK-based architecture and planning firm Allies & Morrison, known internationally for large-scale urban regeneration projects including London’s King’s Cross precinct, the concept outlines a new mixed-use district in the southeastern portion of the property.
The earlier Woodbine Live!-era plans concentrated development in the northwest corner of the site, close to the Rexdale Boulevard and Highway 427 interchange, before there were plans to construct a GO station in the southeast corner. With the GO station now under construction, the southeastern corner has become far more attractive as new neighbourhood lands for thousands of residents. Today, that area contains racetrack support functions like horse stables. They would move to the northwest corner of the site, allowing a new neighbourhood to take best advantage of the new GO station for good transit access.
Planning discussions on the redevelopment of the lands have spanned several decades. The Woodbine Live! concept envisioned a large entertainment and mixed-use district across portions of the property. It received City approvals and related zoning permissions in 2007. Subsequent planning work expanded the site's vision, with approvals granted in 2015 that allowed additional gaming uses. The first phase of the Woodbine Live! plan became the Great Canadian Casino Resort, which was built and opened just to the east of the racetack.
More recently, planning policy has shifted to support a transit-focused community, with the Province establishing the Woodbine Major Transit Station Area in 2025, encouraging a notable change in how development should be distributed across the property. Occupying roughly 777,849m² of the southeastern quadrant of the site, the new vision contemplates approximately 19,874 residential units with 1,620,678m² of Gross Floor Area, including 1,381,064m² of residential space and roughly 149,539m² of commercial uses, along with 38,940m² of retail and 51,136m² of institutional space.
The masterplan organizes development into three primary neighbourhoods dubbed Station Quarter, Park Village, and East Green. A central north–south corridor, Woodbine Boulevard, would act as the primary spine linking the neighbourhoods to the GO station while supporting retail and active uses. Within each district, development blocks would be arranged with a mix of residential buildings, employment space, and community facilities, supported by smaller civic squares, pedestrian routes, and mid-block connections.
The concept also identifies 11 hectares of public parkland, anchored by three major open spaces: Southlands Park, a roughly 52,102m² central park framing the approach to the GO station; Park Meadows, a 46,007m² sequence of meadow-like green spaces running through the neighbourhoods; and Woodbine Grove, a smaller 19,822m² landscaped area providing visual connections toward the racetrack.
Across the site, buildings are envisioned primarily as mid-rise forms ranging from three to sixteen storeys, with the tallest lining Woodbine Boulevard and framing the main streets. Residential blocks facing parks would be organized as Ribbon Blocks, intended to maximize views across green space, while Central Blocks would concentrate higher-density housing and active ground floors. Edge Blocks along Highway 27 would adopt a quieter residential character, and the Woodbine Social area along the southern edge is intended to accommodate employment-focused uses and flexible commercial space. Retail activity would be concentrated along Woodbine Boulevard and a ceremonial pedestrian corridor connecting the GO station to the heart of the community.
Woodbine GO station will accommodate capacity for four 12-car GO trains, an eight-bay bus terminal, and approximately 1,000 parking spaces. Longer-term regional transit planning also contemplates extending the Finch West Line 6 LRT south from Humber College to the Woodbine GO station, with a possible continuation to Pearson International Airport.
On the racetrack property itself, the 11-storey Casino Resort opened in 2023, adding gaming, hotel, and performance venues. Additional proposals within the lands include a two-storey Racetrack Ancillary Facilities Building, while earlier plans for a one-storey Woodbine Soccer Training Facility and Stadium are no longer moving forward. Offsite, east of Highway 27, other area proposals include a seven-storey Holiday Inn Express Rexdale and the eight-storey Tru by Hilton Etobicoke. To the northeast, a 17-storey mixed-use building is proposed at 750 Queens Plate Drive.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, including many more renderings, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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| Related Companies: | Crozier Consulting Engineers, RWDI Climate and Performance Engineering, Smart Density, Urban Strategies Inc. |
