Northcrest Developments has officially launched a global design competition for The Runway at YZD in Toronto. Formerly home to the historic Downsview airport, YZD is among the most ambitious and significant city-building efforts in North America. The Runway at YZD Design Competition will task cross-disciplinary design teams with transforming the historic 2-km (1.3-mile) airstrip into the cornerstone of the future series of mixed-use communities across the expansive 370-acre site.  

The Runway at YZD is envisioned as an unparalleled outdoor experience – a continuous, pedestrian-focused and publicly-accessible corridor that will become a destination, attracting people from across the globe to experience its creative public spaces and wide range of programming. Not only will the former airstrip connect the seven complete communities at YZD, but it will also be animated by community uses, public amenities, and recreation opportunities for the 55,000 residents and 23,000 workers that will eventually live and work at the site, plus many more who will visit it every year. 

A test airstrip, military base and centre for aerospace manufacturing and innovation for more than 100 years, the Downsview Airport was sold by Bombardier in 2018 and formally handed over to lead developer Northcrest this past spring. One of the largest and most ambitious transformations in North America, YZD will critically stitch these industrial lands back into the city of Toronto. In tandem with the reimagining of The Runway, Northcrest is advancing its District Plan for its first neighbourhood, The Hangar District. 

The Runway at YZD Design Competition will task design teams with developing a holistic set of design guidelines for The Runway. Critical to the ongoing redevelopment at YZD, these guidelines will shape the future of The Runway and inform how it connects and interacts with the site’s neighbourhoods, all while becoming a landmark outdoor experience that stands as an international example of placemaking and innovation in adaptively reusing industrial infrastructure.
 
“This competition presents an extraordinary opportunity for design teams to make their mark by reimagining a cherished piece of Toronto’s industrial heritage into a world-class four-season public space,” says Kristy Shortall, Senior Vice-President of Development at Northcrest Developments. “The Runway is the heart of YZD. It will be the primary pedestrian corridor, and it embodies our ambitions of creating complete communities that are vibrant, sustainable and connected, prioritizing people at its core. We're excited to see the level of talent and creativity that will emerge to help bring this vision to life.” 

Award-winning urban designer, city-building advocate, and author Ken Greenberg will chair the competition jury, alongside other accomplished design, development and placemaking experts. 

“The Runway at YZD will be an enabler of social and cultural life and the heart of the seven communities it traverses. It will be unlike anything else in Toronto, calling for an imaginative approach to create and implement a vision for The Runway’s evolving multi-decade, multi-party context,” says Greenberg. “The transformation of this centrepiece reflects a growing understanding that reusing urban infrastructure can become a great source of identity and uniqueness for successful neighbourhoods. YZD is an incredible city-building opportunity for not only Toronto, but North America, and The Runway will set the tone for much of what’s to come.”
 
 The competition will consist of two phases. Phase one will see design teams submit Expressions of Interest. For phase two, Northcrest Developments will issue Requests for Proposals to shortlisted teams. Once selected by the jury, the winning team will begin work on The Runway Design guidelines in Q3 2025. 

A community-first approach has grounded Northcrest’s approach from the start. For several years, Northcrest has implemented a comprehensive Meanwhile Use strategy, activating various areas of the site not immediately needed for development with free community-focused events, pop-ups, partnerships with local businesses and arts, and other cultural and recreation opportunities. These include the annual Play on the Runway, where thousands of visitors explore, roll, skate, bike and play on the vast Runway; Hangar Skate, an outdoor skating rink experience in the winter, as well as landmark attractions such as the Rogers Stadium, a seasonal outdoor venue that will help meet the growing demand for stadium-level tours.  

“Our Meanwhile Use strategy has been instrumental in turning YZD into a vibrant community by opening this historically closed space and welcoming the public in. From our perspective, it’s a preview of the inclusive community we’re shaping, with The Runway poised to be a key magnet in the future. These activations are just the beginning of what YZD – and, critically, the future Runway – will offer as a destination for residents and visitors alike,” says Shortall.  

Interested teams can find more details about The Runway at YZD Design Competition at yzd.ca/runwaydesign. Submissions for Expression of Interest are due at 11:59PM EST on November 22, 2024.