Toronto city council has unanimously approved the first phase of the massive redevelopment of the former Downsview Airport Lands.

The first phase is known as the Hangar District and is slated to contain a combination of multi-residential, retail, industrial and office properties, along with amenities. Future phases will contain the same asset mix.

The overall $30-billion redevelopment project is now known as YZD in tribute to the former airport’s call sign.

The Hangar District comprises about 100 acres. About 50% of the area is slated to receive employment-related development. The remaining 50% is slated to contain mixed-use properties, including multi-residential, retail and office components.

Retail spaces will be concentrated into a “main retail spine” (in other words, a shopping district) known as the Taxiway. All mixed-use buildings will also contain ground-floor retail spaces.

There will be no standalone big-box stores, because Northcrest wants to create a complete community with daily amenities that can be accessed within an easy 15-minute walk, bicycle ride or “roll” from a user’s location.

Northcrest expects about 2,850 new homes within mostly mid-rise buildings to be brought to district. The broader YZD project is slated to provide for 54,000 people and create 30,000 homes and 23,000 jobs.

The Hangar District and all future phases will incorporate existing buildings that were part of the former airport.

“Part of Northcrest’s initiative is to think about sustainability, and the preservation of these buildings will really help with reducing our embodied carbon impacts to the site. And, we think that they’re pretty unique spaces, to be honest,” said Shortall.

Northcrest is deploying a meanwhile-use strategy whereby the company is hosting public events to give access to lands that were previously inaccessible for 100 years. Some buildings are also being leased to help cover their taxes and operating expenses.