HERE’S WHAT WE HEARD

Northcrest Developments and Canada Lands Company each own portions of the lands and have collaborated on one shared vision: the Framework Plan. This collaboration is referred to as id8 Downsview.

In 2018, Bombardier announced it would close its manufacturing and runway operations at the Downsview Airport Lands in 2024, presenting a unique opportunity to redevelop the area. PSP Investments bought the airport lands and established Northcrest Developments, as lead developer. Since then, Northcrest Developments and adjacent landowner Canada Lands Company have worked closely with the community and stakeholders to plan for the future of the Downsview Lands, in a process called id8Downsview.

The development presents a significant opportunity to create complete communities, positively impacting both the local area and the entire city. This comprehensive vision involves generating meaningful job opportunities, strategically locating essential social infrastructure like community centres, schools, childcare facilities, libraries, and cultural spaces near residential and employment areas. Northcrest and Canada Lands' own district plans incorporate diverse housing options, including affordable housing, catering to individuals at different life stages. Rooted in sustainability principles. The plans ensure long-term resilience by integrating 100 acres of new interconnected parks and open spaces, with Downsview Park at its centre, seamlessly blending the urban environment with nature. Our commitment to collaboration with the City of Toronto underscores our dedication to effectively address both current and future community needs. This approach aims to create complete communities that not only foster economic growth but also prioritize sustainability and the harmonious integration of city and nature. Downsview Park, as the heart of these new communities, remains untouched but will be enhanced and improved through new connections and increased accessibility. Importantly, we've actively engaged local neighbours through a robust consultation process, ensuring that their voices shape the development and align with the broader aspirations of the entire city.

The comprehensive development and build-out of the 520-acre site is a long-term endeavour that will span several decades. Immediate efforts are underway to attract new employers aiming to bring in high-quality, well-paying jobs to Downsview, as well as other interim activities. In the initial phases, the focus will be on developing three mixed-use neighbourhoods centred around Downsview Park, transit access, and the former runway. These neighborhoods will maximize existing uses and assets, creating a distinct sense of place with a variety of uses and amenities and new housing. The site's development will proceed in stages, with each district evolving independently, led by the respective companies. Temporary uses will contribute to building neighbourhood character and activating the site. It's essential to understand that the evolution of neighbourhoods, like those surrounding the site today, will take decades and is an ongoing process. Similarly, the development of this site will unfold over time, contributing to the long-term growth and transformation of the area.

In collaboration with the City, we are actively shaping our plans, with a strong emphasis on community benefits. These include enhancing economic opportunities, promoting workforce development, supporting social enterprises, and fostering community sustainability, among other considerations. These key themes will be prominently integrated into our comprehensive plans. To formalize our commitment to community benefits, we will engage in various projects within a broader community benefits framework. This framework is designed to offer a clear and transparent outline of the specific benefits we are undertaking, detailing when and how they will be implemented. Importantly, ongoing feedback from the community continues to play a vital role in shaping and refining this framework, ensuring that it accurately reflects the aspirations and needs of the community we aim to serve.

Our Framework Plan, for our collective 520-acres of land, forms part of the City’s overall Secondary Plan for ~800 acres in Northwest Toronto. The final Secondary Plan went before Council, in May 2024 and was unanimously approved in June 2024.

The planning process for the Downsview Airport Lands underwent a significant shift in April 2021, transitioning from Core Employment Areas to General Employment Areas and Regeneration Areas. This change triggered a comprehensive review of Official Plan policies, starting a deliberate planning journey. Our involvement in this process began with the submission of the first Official Plan Amendment application to the City of Toronto on September 27, 2021. This application served as the initial step in the review process, and presented our vision for the Downsview Lands. To formulate this vision, we engaged extensively with the community and stakeholders, involving over 3,000 individuals and 150 groups through multiple rounds of consultations. Following the submission, the City undertook a meticulous technical review of our application, seeking input from approval agencies and the public. Simultaneously, the City embarked on the Update Downsview process to review the 2011 Downsview Secondary Plan. The draft Secondary Plan received Council approval in 2023, prompting us to refine our application based on preliminary feedback. The City submitted the final Secondary Plan to Council in 2024, marking a pivotal step towards shaping the future development of the Downsview area in alignment with community needs and broader urban planning goals.

A Secondary Plan is a high-level plan, developed by the City of Toronto to provide the overall vision for an area. It outlines what the lands will be used for: transportation options including transit, streets and cycling routes parks; infrastructure including stormwater, sewerage, and energy; community benefits including public amenities like schools and libraries; and guidelines for what the area will look like.

Secondary Plans are developed or updated when there is a change in context, or policy. Update Downsview was triggered in 2021, following the official amendment plan jointly submitted by neighbouring landowners and developers, Northcrest and Canada Lands.

Once a high-level Secondary Plan is approved, the developer creates District Plans.

District plans are created by the developer and these plans zoom in on specific portions of Secondary Plan Areas, giving more detailed insights into areas including local streets and services, heights and sizes of buildings, and the size and location of parks.

Sometimes, the City will allow a District Plan and a Secondary Plan to be developed at the same time. This is currently happening for one of the first districts being planned by Northcrest: The Hangar District. All the jobs supported by the decommissioned airport and Bombardier operations will be lost. As such, the City agreed to allow for the District Plan, which covers the employment lands, to be developed in parallel with the Secondary Plan. This speeds up the replacement of jobs lost following Bombardier's departure in April 2024, with new employment uses. Canada Lands Company has also begun its first District Planning process for its Downsview West district allowing for the benefits outlined in the Framework Plan to realized sooner on this key district.