Breathtaking new park to take over 2km-long former Toronto airport runway

The coming transformation of the 370-acre former Downsview Airport lands (now known as YZD) took a big step forward this week when an award-winning designer was announced for a key role in envisioning the future of the district's over two-kilometre-long runway.

On Wednesday, Northcrest Developments announced that internationally-acclaimed firm Michael van Valkenburgh Associates (MVVA) has been selected as the winner of the YZD Runway Roadmap design guidelines competition, and will now move forward with long-term design guidelines that will shape the district for years to come.

The competition, launched in October 2024, generated initial interest from hundreds of design firms across the globe. Northcrest ultimately received 47 entries, representing more than 120 firms spread across over 20 nations.

News of MVVA's selection comes with conceptual renderings of how the new public spaces along the runway could look once realized.

Derek Goring, CEO of Northcrest Developments, said that "Reimagining The Runway was one of the first and most pivotal decisions we made when conceiving the vision for YZD. Given this, it was essential the team tasked with developing The Runway design guidelines shared our vision of transforming this historic landmark into an iconic pedestrian space."

Goring notes that Northcrest "knew we wanted a world-class team to help shape this essential piece of YZD," and cited "MVVA's track record of delivering internationally acclaimed projects both in Toronto and abroad" among the reasons for the firm's selection.

MVVA's role in the project will guide the development of The Runway, which Northcrest describes as "the connective tissue for the seven new YZD neighbourhoods," with the current runway infrastructure to be "transformed into a vibrant, sustainable, pedestrian-first public place."

"We're thrilled to be chosen to lead the roadmap to help transform YZD's 2.1-kilometre Runway from asphalt into a vibrant corridor and the future heart of a series of new neighbourhoods," said Emily Mueller De Celis, Partner at MVVA, calling it "a rare and exciting opportunity to shape a new kind of public realm in Toronto that prioritizes place and people."

Gullivar Shepard, Partner at MVVA, notes that "the most vibrant places in the world are those that grow over time," but adds that these guidelines "allow us to create a playbook to help shape a vision with structure and substance, while still allowing it to have flexibility to evolve alongside the communities it will serve through the years."

While this vision remains years away from realization, the disused runway has been repurposed with activations and events, and is even home to the temporary 50,000-seat Rogers Stadium in the interim as it awaits permanent redevelopment.