Design competition kicks off for former Toronto airport runway

aerial view of a green patch of land with a runway strip
A design competition has been launched to reimagine Downsview Airport’s runway into a vibrant pedestrianized corridor. Photo courtesy Garcia Creative

The Runway at the YZD Design Competition aims to transform the decommissioned Downsview Airport’s runway into a centrepiece for the future 149-ha (370-acre) community.

The competition will assign cross-disciplinary design teams the task of transforming the 2-km (1.3-mile) airstrip into a future series of mixed-use communities.

The project is envisioned to be a pedestrian-focused and publicly accessible corridor that will become a destination that attracts people from across the globe to experience its creative public spaces and wide range of programming.

The competition will consist of two phases. Phase one will see design teams submit Expressions of Interest. For phase two, the developer 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.

Read more about the project here.

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