The runway lights have been turned off at the Buttonville Municipal Airport in Greater Toronto as Cadillac Fairview prepares to redevelop the site.

Buttonville officially closed this week as Transport Canada officially decommissioned it. A new era awaits the Markham, Ont., property, which includes 350,000 square feet of hangar and office space.

Aviation International reported that demolition work has already begun on the airfield, including the removal of fuel storage tanks. As Connect previously reported, Toronto-based CF decided to redevelop Buttonville only as industrial space after initially proposing a mixed-use community comprising 10 million sf.

After scrapping the original plan in 2020, CF submitted a new draft plan to the City of Markham that outlines a smaller, 2-msf phased buildout of 11 buildings ranging in size from 38,000 to 816,000 sf.

CF purchased the airport outright from the Sifton family after originally partnering with it.