From runways to neighborhoods: Abandoned airport to become $21 billion city
The former YZD aerodrome in Toronto will become home to more than 66,000 people through a megaproject expected to take 30 years to complete.
Beginning in 2026, Toronto will start transforming its former Downsview Airport (YZD), located in the northwest of the city, into a highly developed urban district designed to house more than 66,000 residents. The project, led by Northcrest Developments, will completely reshape the area and redevelop the 370 acres once occupied by the runway and aviation facilities.
The site will give way to new neighborhoods, green spaces, and a small city known as “YZD,” a nod to the airport’s former name. The aerodrome fully closed in 2024 after decades of industrial use, including military production during World War II, when it served as a center for manufacturing warplanes.
In the 1990s, the Canadian aerospace company Bombardier acquired the airport. When Bombardier later relocated its operations, the company had no choice but to shut down YZD and end all airport activity.
Now, the land is set to become a residential area for more than 66,000 people. The development will include 70 acres of parks and open spaces. Completion is projected to take 30 years, following an investment of approximately $30 billion CAD, or about $21.6 billion USD, making it one of the most ambitious urban planning projects in North America.
“YZD’s many parks and open spaces will be interspersed throughout, all within minutes of homes and work. Its streets are designed for people, not only engines. Everything will be within reach: childcare, shops, schools and everyday services that are part of the richness of city living,” according to the project’s website.
Specifically, seven new neighborhoods will be built and connected by a pedestrian-focused network, featuring low-carbon buildings and the adaptive reuse of historic structures such as aircraft hangars. Sections of the former one-and-a-quarter-mile runway are planned to be converted into pedestrian promenades, bike lanes, and shared public spaces.
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