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A revised vision for one of Toronto’s largest redevelopment sites is advancing in North York, as updated plans for the Downsview West District portion of the former Downsview Airport Lands refine a massive mixed-use community surrounding Downsview Park TTC and GO station. Masterplanned by Urban Strategies alongside SLA and Indigenous-led Trophic Design for Canada Lands Company (CLC), with heritage integration overseen by ERA Architects, the resubmission further develops the district framework following feedback from City staff and Toronto's Design Review Panel.
The 30.3ha site occupies a large portion of the former aerospace and military lands north of Downsview Park. Located to the south and west of Sheppard Avenue West and Keele Street, the site includes the existing Downsview Park TTC and GO station at its northeast corner, while the sprawling Cold War-era Depot Building, a roughly 875,000 ft² industrial structure currently accommodating interim uses including film studios and the Downsview Park Merchants’ Market, currently dominates the otherwise grassy site.
The long-term redevelopment of the former Downsview Airport lands is one of the largest urban transformation areas in North America. Planning for the wider Downsview framework was shaped through the id8 Downsview process led by Canada Lands Company and Northcrest Developments. Downsview West emerged in 2024 as the first major Canada Lands-led district north of Downsview Park to advance toward implementation, with the original district framework presented to Toronto’s Design Review Panel in February, 2025. Since then, the proposal has evolved through continued consultation with City staff, Indigenous communities, agencies, and local stakeholders, resulting in this March, 2026 resubmission of Zoning By-law Amendment and Draft Plan of Subdivision applications to the City of Toronto.
The revised framework organizes the site into three areas: Station Quarter near Downsview Park station, Heart at the Crossroads centred on 'Heart Park' and the northern portion of a divided Depot Building, and the lower-scale Mews neighbourhood to the south. The tallest buildings would continue to be concentrated closest to transit, where towers would rise to a maximum of 60 storeys or 197m.
This latest submission further refines tower placement and the transition between taller station-area buildings and the predominantly mid-rise southern blocks. The updated materials also provide more detailed studies of tower separation and floor-plate sizing, including flexibility for 800m² floor-plates for towers above 20 storeys while maintaining a minimum 30m separation distance, which provides for more generous 'breathing room' and privacy than the City's overall 25m guideline.
The proposal continues to target approximately 8,800 residential units, including 20% affordable housing, alongside a mix of employment, retail, institutional, and community uses. Earlier plans entailed approximately 120,000m² of non-residential Gross Floor Area (GFA) and roughly 25,000m² of retail, while the latest plans reduce non-residential GFA to 90,000m², including 65,000m² of institutional GFA, 16,000m² of office space, and 9,000m² of retail. These would include office opportunities adjacent to the transit station and retail concentrated along active frontages and the Depot Mews.
Plans continue to include one elementary school, three daycare centres, and approximately 930m² of community agency space. At the heart of the proposal remains the adaptive reuse of the Depot Building, which would be split by the Dovehouse Avenue Extension while retaining large portions of the structure for retail, employment, market, cultural, and community uses.
The revised submission further develops the concept for Depot Mews, a narrow shared street inspired by older urban retail corridors. Public realm plans continue to centre on a network of parks and open spaces, including Heart Park, Tuscan Gate Park, Fire Hall Park, Depot Plaza, Carl Hall Plaza, and the Bio Corridor, all tied together through the Indigenous-inspired Ancestors’ Trail.
An expanded and more fine-grained street network with extensive active transportation routes would connect the station to Downsview Park and surrounding neighbourhoods. The Dovehouse Avenue Extension would create a new east-west connection, diving beneath the Barrie rail corridor to connect with the future Downsview East District phase of the redevelopment. Sustainability targets entail Toronto Green Standard Tier 3 Version 4 performance, net-zero operational carbon ambitions by 2040, approximately 1,300 new trees, and a decentralized stormwater management strategy built around bioswales, green infrastructure, permeable surfaces, and landscape-based water retention. Phasing would generally proceed from south to north over more than a decade, beginning with blocks closest to Downsview Park and Carl Hall Road before progressing toward the station precinct.
Downsview Park station is served by University Line 1 and GO Transit’s Barrie line, which is currently being expanded to handle eventual two-way all-day service. New TTC surface transit routes are planned for the new street network. The plan also advances protected cycling infrastructure on major streets, off-street cycling routes through the Bio Corridor, and potential bridge connections linking the station directly into Downsview Park and future neighbourhoods east of the rail corridor.
Other major redevelopment proposals nearby are also advancing as part of the Downsview framework. To the west, CLC's Arbo community is planned with eight buildings reaching 20 storeys, while to the south, Northcrest's Hangar District would introduce 39 buildings rising to 23 storeys. Just outside of the former Downsview Airport lands, the Downsview LTC & Retirement Residence proposal west of the site would introduce three towers ranging from 9 to 16 storeys, while a 29-storey tower is proposed at 3374 Keele Street to the southwest. Further east, applications for a 15-storey mixed-use building at 1050 Sheppard Avenue West and for three towers ranging from 50 to 55 storeys at 20 De Boers Drive continue to add density.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow progress on this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more about it from our Database file, 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: | Aercoustics Engineering Ltd, Cicada Design Inc., EQ Building Performance Inc., ERA Architects, RWDI Climate and Performance Engineering, Urban Strategies Inc. |
