The Hangar District celebrates the site’s aviation and manufacturing history through a unique mix of ‘old and new’. The district vision integrates the adaptive reuse of approximately one million square feet of existing hangars, coupled with new midrise buildings, to deliver almost 3,000 homes and over 5,000 jobs. The masterplan thoughtfully integrates the ground floors of buildings together with the public realm to create seamless indoor-outdoor workplace environments. It also features a series of short laneways together with special public realm elements including parks and urban squares, shared green streets, atriums, and supersized canopies, to create a comfortable environment year-round.

The Hangar District has sustainability at its core: contributing to a low-carbon future by maximizing re-use, leveraging innovation in buildings and infrastructure, and reducing reliance on cars and fossil fuel. With a focus on accessibility, diverse programming and a range of housing, the Hangar District will be a place welcoming to all.

The masterplan will connect this previously isolated industrial site with the rest of the city by extending the surrounding street network, creating a new ‘park bridge’ over the railway to Downsview Park, and making nature and biodiversity prominent throughout. The centerpiece of the plan, ‘The Taxiway’, is a densely planted urban spine located in a shared street environment, reinforcing a key visual corridor connecting the district to the broader Downsview site.

The Hangar District will be a global precedent for new urban living and working – a masterplan inspired by the site’s rich history and grounded in sustainability and innovation.