Dazzling plan could transform downtown Vaughan into an architectural wonderland

Vaughan's emerging downtown could soon boast an impressive architectural showpiece.

The city's from-scratch downtown has been rapidly taking shape north of Toronto in recent years, with a growing collection of high-density projects centred around the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC) subway station that opened in 2017.

The biggest player in this new downtown is SmartCentres REIT, with the company's SmartVMC community spanning 100 acres and promising 20 million square feet of residential and commercial space.

SmartCentres is preparing to submit an application with the City of Vaughan for the community's next big steps with a new master-planned complex on a site known as VMC South Block B4, bounded by the subway station to the east, Highway 7 to the south, New Park Place to the north, and Edgeley Boulevard to the west.

The project team showed off its ambitious plan in a November 30 pre-application presentation to the Vaughan Design Review Panel, where panel members got a glimpse at a striking new collection of buildings from Danish architects 3XN.

The site in question is currently home to the SmartCentres head office, which was formerly a Future Shop and Home Outfitters, as well as the surrounding surface parking.

A trio of 20-storey towers are proposed for the site, along with smaller buildings of 16, 15, 12, and 8 storeys, with a total of 1.8 million square feet of space all organized around a central courtyard.

Two of the blocks were described as "prominent office buildings" in the presentation, one of which would easily become an architectural icon for the area.

At the east edge of the site closest to the subway, a stepped 20-storey office building known as the "gateway" would be constructed as the first phase of the seven-building complex.

SmartCentres recognizes the importance of this site, wedged between a subway station and the future central park that will tie the VMC community together, and went for an internationally acclaimed firm to design a bold visual statement for the community.

"It's a very prominent site, and we brought in great architects to make sure that we enhanced the architecture to meet the site context," said Paula Bustard, the executive vice-president of development at SmartCentres, during the presentation.

The heights and densities sought for the block are significantly lower than development proposals on surrounding blocks, with the project team emphasizing open spaces and a porous feel to the complex.

Ashton Stare of 3XN says the firm looked at several key design principles that guided the project, including transit connectivity and a focus on pedestrian and public space.

Stare explained how the buildings are designed to form an inverse peak that allows light to penetrate into the courtyard and reach the park planned to the north.

blogTO reached out to SmartCentres and 3XN seeking additional information about the upcoming proposal, though neither company was available to provide immediate comment in time for publication.