Event venue near Toronto faces demolition for huge redevelopment

A new proposal for a mixed-use development could signal the end of an event venue just north of Toronto, popular for weddings and business functions.

The July application from MPAR Developments seeks to redevelop the Bellvue Manor event venue at 8083 Jane Street, located on the southeast corner of Jane Street and MacIntosh Boulevard in Vaughan.

The plan proposes to replace the venue with a complex designed by architects SvN featuring a pair of towers rising to heights of 60 and 50 storeys, along with mid-rises rising 12 and 8 storeys.

Residential space makes up the bulk of the proposal, with the pair of towers planned to house up to 945 market-rate units and 150 affordable housing units. The residential component also includes a mixed program of up to 174 units of senior lifestyle housing within the 12-storey building.

Notably, the redevelopment includes over 6,000 square metres of new convention centre space that would allow the site to continue on hosting large functions decades into the future.

In addition to the residential and convention centre components, the complex proposes an eight-storey hotel measuring over 20,000 square metres of space, as well as more than 5,100 square metres of office space, and nearly 2,000 square metres of retail space elsewhere in the complex.

The plan also includes new community offerings, including an over 1,750 square metre public park and almost 1,600 square metres of public community space.

Plans for 8083 Jane were filed via an unconventional means, not directly to the City of Vaughan, but instead through a mechanism known as a Community Infrastructure and Housing Accelerator (CIHA).

According to the province, a CIHA order "can be used to regulate the use of land and the location, use, height, size and spacing of buildings and structures to permit certain types of development."

These provincial orders differ from the more controversial Minister's Zoning Orders (MZOs) that have made headlines in recent years for their unilateral nature.

These CIHAs stress community consultation and engagement with locals prior to seeking the Minister's involvement versus the Fordian decrees on land use that bypass local planning bodies with provincial MZOs.