I can’t tell for sure, but it looks like the green space in the area is fairly minimized? Seems like they’re focusing on creating a “green network” using the runway as a spine?

I really would have liked to see Downsview Park expanded.
 
I'm 100% with allengeorge on this one. Developing Downsview was and is a huge urban planning mistake; silly and shortsighted beyond comprehension.

I would have bullied and spent to assemble as much of the land as possible. After absolutely emptying all funds and lying, cheating, bribing, black-mailing etc. I would put a fence around the property and let it go Chernobyl for a few generations. People would remember me as a saint.
 
allengeorge said:
The existing Downsview Park is pretty small IMO. And the trails are pretty linear, so...there’s actually not a lot of exploration potential.
Click to expand...

I'm a big champion of parks; though I clearly favour nature over the manicured spaces.

There needs to be space for tennis courts, playgrounds, and the like..........

But I'm all for nature.

That said..........If the public purse were open.............that's not what I would do here.

Put aside the substantial City-Building opportunities from connecting Dufferin and Sheppard (re route) through the site, which would divide any park into at least 6 chunks.

The formerly industrial and military nature of the land likely means material remediation will be required.

You've got 2-3 subway stops serving these lands (if you include Wilson).

The area also has significant park space to the west.

I mean if this is the only opportunity we're getting for another large-scale park, then sure.

Better here than nowhere.

But I think there are far more tempting spots.

I would prioritize based on natural heritage value.

In no particular order.

Expand Rouge Park along the main Rouge River up to Cedarbrae Golf Course which should become part of the park. - add 1,000 acres of parkland

Remove Island Airport - add 200 acres of parkland.

Daylight Taylor-Massey Creek north of Lawrence, create green belt 200M wide centred on the creek. (removes mostly low density SFH, serves under-parked area) - Add 70 acres of parkland

Create a green linear park along the Markham Branch of Highland Creek from the 401 north to its headwaters in the Finch Hydro Corridor. - add 100 acres of parkland.

Fill in the blanks on West Highland Creek in/around Timberbank park, add 70 acres.

Complete uninterrupted parkland along the top of Scarborough Bluffs add 350 acres (create one section Birchmount to Bluffers, another Bluffers to just east of Morningside). with existing parks, each over 500 acres.

Complete uninterrupted waterfront parkland in Etobicoke - 300 acres (Connect Col Sam Park to Marie Curtis, and then east to Mimico.

Fill in the large gap in parklands along Black Creek north and south of 401 - add 60 acres of parkland.

***

There's lots more.

But to me those all more interesting than Downsview in terms of large-scale parks.
 
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@Northern Light These are great suggestions, but I fear what we’ll end up with in Toronto is:

1. None of these suggestions
2. And no large urban park on the Downsview lands either

Given the above, I’d rather just bite the bullet and just go “park on Downsview”, because it’s achievable, it’s got scale, and we have very few tracts of land like this in Toronto.

I’m also quite frustrated because I _feel_ that at least part of the reason why we’re building on these lands is because we lack the political will to upzone SFH across the city. As a result, any inch of undeveloped land is seen as necessary to solve the housing shortage. And it won’t even solve it anyways, because when we do develop it, it’ll be low-ish density anyways because the neighbours will scream bloody murder if there are any tall buildings.

/rant off
 
allengeorge said:
@Northern Light These are great suggestions, but I fear what we’ll end up with in Toronto is:

1. None of these suggestions
2. And no large urban park on the Downsview lands either

Given the above, I’d rather just bite the bullet and just go “park on Downsview”, because it’s achievable, it’s got scale, and we have very few tracts of land like this in Toronto.

I’m also quite frustrated because I _feel_ that at least part of the reason why we’re building on these lands is because we lack the political will to upzone SFH across the city. As a result, any inch of undeveloped land is seen as necessary to solve the housing shortage. And it won’t even solve it anyways, because when we do develop it, it’ll be low-ish density anyways because the neighbours will scream bloody murder if there are any tall buildings.

/rant off
Click to expand...

I sympathize w/that point of view.

But I find it challenging to support what would view as 'second best'........when I would like to imagine 'best' is still within reach.

I realize that would take bold leadership............which certainly seems unlikely before 2022 at the earliest.

If the Mayor can support 'Rail Deck Park' with a straight-face.............(and I don't oppose it)............then we can reasonably talk about finding 1B to acquire parkland in the City.

For the most part, the locations I've identified at the lower end of Toronto pricing. < $5,000,000 per acre. (in some cases much less).

That's enough for 200 acres at least.

What Downsview would cost the City to acquire I can't begin to fathom.
 
Sub_Human said:
www.thestar.com

‘A new deal for Downsview’?: A new agreement sets the stage for a massive redevelopment, but some remain wary

The project now almost free to unfold — over decades, after community consultation and a raft of city hall approvals — is one of North America’s largest urban development sites — as big as Toronto’s downtown core.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com
Click to expand...

A couple of highlights from the article:

1613234064886.png


1613234181456.png


1613234091140.png


1613234144481.png


Finally, there's this:

1613234258257.png
 
Exciting? It sounds like it's going to become just like any other part of the GTA outside of the downtown core -- more housing, big box stores, etc.

Back when it was announced that Bombardier was putting the Downsview Airport land up for sale, a spokesman was quoted as saying, "We think that there's a better use for the land than a current airport and that could be to the benefit of not only the company but the city of Toronto and the people."
Probably wishful thinking on my part, but it had me hoping that in addition to housing, there might be something big, special, or different being planned -- something that could be an attraction for people across the GTA and beyond.
Housing, and the things listed under the heading of "Land Use" --

-Warehousing, wholesaling, distribution and storage
-Light manufacturing and processing
-Offices
-Utilities
-All types of retail and service uses ...

likely do not strike most people as being exciting.
 
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We're going to have to wait for additional details to be released on what exactly was negotiated and settled, but i'm very skeptical of the agreement to say the least. My hunch is that the city sold out to CLC, who ultimately just wants to max out their profits on any land disposition.
 
The settlement agreement is here: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2021/cc/bgrd/backgroundfile-162903.pdf f
It's linked in the article too.

Affordable housing is 20% land (read land value/cash equivalent) OR 10% Units at affordable rent for 20 years operated by the developer OR 5% units provided direct to the city.

City is pushing aggressively on the phasing side to ensure the developer actually build the employment uses at a reasonable rate:

1613270089137.png
 
SOS_Urbanist said:
The settlement agreement is here: https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2021/cc/bgrd/backgroundfile-162903.pdf f
It's linked in the article too.

Affordable housing is 20% land (read land value/cash equivalent) OR 10% Units at affordable rent for 20 years operated by the developer OR 5% units provided direct to the city.

City is pushing aggressively on the phasing side to ensure the developer actually build the employment uses at a reasonable rate:

View attachment 299937
Click to expand...

There's a fair bit of good stuff in there.

While there are some useful pre-conditions for certain development; I do find a lot of wiggle room at this stage; probably more than desirable for a site so large and impactful.
 
Would they allow it to be used for one more SARSstock type of event? (And it definitely was the airfield that was used for it and the visits by the Pope, in spite of the website referring to it as Downsview Park.)
www.id8downsview.ca

SARSStock Rocks Downsview

It was the biggest rock concert in Canadian history, and one of the largest outdoor ticketed events ever staged in North America. On July 30, 2003, nearly half a million people flocked to Downsview Park for an eleven hour rock extravaganza featuring some of the biggest names in music: AC/DC, The...
www.id8downsview.ca www.id8downsview.ca
www.blogto.com

The time Toronto held a rock concert for 500k people after the SARS epidemic

Picture being surrounded by nearly 500,000 people, all rocking out to the Rolling Stones after the end of an epidemic. This is exactly what happene...
www.blogto.com www.blogto.com
 
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