Northcrest Developments has completed early enabling infrastructure work at the 101-acre Hangar District, the first neighbourhood of the massive 370-acre YZD redevelopment of the former Downsview Airport in Toronto.

Completed infrastructure work at the site includes a construction access road, general site preparation and a temporary stormwater management pond. In the long term, the goal is to have all parks, green spaces and landscaped areas at YZD acting as a sponge to handle stormwater.

With the enabling infrastructure work completed, planning for roads, sewers and power systems could advance as soon as early next year. 

“We are looking at moving quickly to get that critical infrastructure in the ground so that we can begin to bring this project to life,” says Chris Eby, executive vice-president, corporate and public affairs at Northcrest Developments.

Northcrest, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP), is leading the planning and redevelopment of YZD. PSP Investments acquired the former Downsview Airport lands in 2018.

Market interest study for industrial lands

Cushman & Wakefield has been engaged to conduct a market-interest study of prospective tenants and buyers for the industrial North Hangar lands. The land comprises about 40 acres in the northern portion of the Hangar District and includes about 548,000 square feet of hangar space, with approximately 1.2 million square feet of permitted employment gross floor area. 

The 548,000 square foot Hangar complex, which will be adapted and reused, comprises five bays, featuring column-free, long-span bays with heights from 26 to 41 feet. 

We’ve started to have early discussions with interested parties,” Eby says. “I expect that will only heat up as we get into the fall. The early signs are very good.”

While there is no predetermined outcome for which employment-generating sectors will occupy the site, “we are looking at organizations and companies that share our vision for the site,” he says.

The vision is to create a thriving series of neighbourhoods with employment, housing, parks and shops in a transit-connected site.

Employment and housing hub

Overall, the Hangar District is expected to employ more than 7,000 people and have 3,000 homes, more than 40 per cent of which will be two bedrooms or more. At least 10 per cent of housing units will be affordable rentals.

Employment and housing at the site will be closely related, Eby says. “One will follow the other. The whole idea is to have the opportunity to live and work proximate to one another. We think that’s a huge value-driver.” 

Decisions on the condo and rental mix have not been made, he says, noting market conditions will dictate the type of housing. “If I had to sit here today, I would guess that rental would be the direction we’re going but that will be determined by the market.”

“This is one of the most exciting projects in real estate on the globe," he added. "It’s a chance to build a small piece of city and there just aren’t many projects like that.

“We’re in the beginning stages of that and we’re shifting the site from what it was – an industrial airport for the last number of decades – to what we want it to become, which is a thriving series of neighbourhoods and we’re starting with the Hangar District.”

YZD, the call sign for the former Downsview Airport, is one of the largest urban redevelopment projects in North America.

It will ultimately be home to more than 35,000 housing units and more than 66,000 residents in 28 million square feet of residential space. The communities are also to include seven million square feet of commercial and cultural spaces, and nearly 74 acres of parks, green and open spaces including a reimagined two-kilometre runway. 

The sprawling YZD property is to be transformed into seven neighbourhoods over the next 30 years. 

Earlier this year, following months of consultations with the public and key stakeholders, Northcrest submitted an application to the city for YZD’s Wilson District, at the southern tip and the closest district to the Toronto Transit Commission’s Wilson station. It will include a street network, housing and mixed-use buildings, parks and public spaces.

 “It’s very different from the Hangar District. It’s a higher density district, closer to transit, and more focused on residential,” Eby says.