Once a bustling hub during the Second World War, an abandoned airport has a rather different future ahead of it.
Downsview Airport, located in north-west Toronto, Canada, closed in 2024 but has an interesting history.
It first opened in 1929 and was operated as a base for the Royal Canadian Air Force.
Years later, it was used as a test site by aircraft manufacturer Bombardier Aviation.
The site is now owned by Northcrest Developments, which shut the airport back in 2024.
They have ambitious plans for the area, aiming to transform it into a huge city worth over £16 billion ($21 billion).
Construction is expected to begin this year, CNN reported.
The city council green-lit the plan in May 2024.
A former bustling hub during the Second World War might have a new purpose
Northcrest Developments, which shut the Downsview Airport in 2024, has big plans for the area and hopes to transform it into a huge city worth over £16 billion ($21 billion)
The sprawling community spread across 370 acres of land should be big enough to house 83,500 residents.
Split into seven neighbourhoods, developers believe the city will support 41,500 jobs.
The area will be called ‘YZD’ and is expected to cost $30 billion Canadian dollars (£16 billion or USD $21 billion).
Downsview Airport will not be completely erased from the site and will instead become a focal point for the city.
Northcrest is preserving 11 airplane hangars and more than a mile of runway to give its first neighbourhood a unique feel.
The runway will be converted into a park for pedestrian use and will connect the seven neighbourhoods.
Chief executive of Northcrest Developments Derek Goring told CNN the site’s history as well as the new community will be brought together while also ‘respecting and celebrating the aerospace legacy of the site’.
The developer’s website reads, ‘A chance like this to build a city within a city comes along once in a generation.
Downsview Airport won’t be completely erased from the site and will instead become a focal point for the city
According to CNN, the runway will sit as a park used by pedestrians and connect the seven neighbourhoods
‘We’ll ensure that it changes forever what it means to live in Toronto and what true community brings to big city life.’
Plans for the city include making use of what already sits on the site.
Goring explained: ‘There’s a lot of embedded carbon in the existing buildings and rather than tearing them down and building everything new, there’s a big carbon benefit to retaining those buildings.’
This includes old hangars being used as commercial buildings, among other things.
