City councillors in the Toronto suburb of Vaughan, Ont., have approved the master plan for a massive mixed-use development project.

Toromomont Industries plans to develop 17 towers on the 27-acre site located at the southwest corner of Highway 7 and Jane Street

The company aims to transform Vaughan’s city centre with towering skyscrapers, parkland, and pedestrian-friendly spaces. The tallest tower is slated to reach 74 storeys.

The development would be built in five phases over 10 to 25 years and introduce up to 10,000 housing units, alongside retail, office, and green spaces.

Emma West, partner at Toronto-based Bousfields, the planning consultant for the project, previously told The Globe and Mail that the master plan aims to align with the city’s vision for a walkable and livable downtown.

Planners have focused on designing an accessible urban space that fosters community interaction.

“We’re creating a large, linear park, something with human scale that people can walk along and be close to retail and to outdoor amenities all the way along,” Nicola Casciato, principal at WZMH Architects, which is helping to design the development, told the Globe.

In addition to housing, the site is expected to feature a 38,254-square-foot grocery store, daycare spaces, a hotel, restaurants, and an office component.

“We’re still not sure about how much office space will go in because the market for office space is still soft and uncertain,” Casciato told the Globe previously.

The design draws inspiration from Vaughan’s agricultural roots, incorporating an “apple-basket” concept that integrates parkland, trails, and orchard-like tree placements, West told the Globe.

“We’d like the design to create smaller moments for people within a large park space, so they can weave in and out – the feeling of being in a basket,” she added in her interview with the publication.

With a focus on sustainability, the development will prioritize insulation over glass-heavy structures and incorporate electric, heat-exchanging ventilation systems, the Globe reported previously.

Pictured: Toromont Industries’ future 17-tower mixed-use project in Vaughan, Ont.

Rendering: WZMH Architects

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