VAUG H A N
MET ROPOLITA N
CE NT R E THE CITY’S FUTURE
The year is 1991 and the Toronto
Blue Jays are on the precipice
of their historic World Series
run while the Town of Vaughan
officially completes its transition
into the City of Vaughan. With a
population of just over 111,000,
the City, like the Blue Jays, was
on the verge of great change
and incredible accomplishments.
In the 25 years since, there has
been tremendous growth and
change in Vaughan. The population has almost tripled to more
than 325,000 people, there are
more than 11,200 businesses and
the City attracts millions of dollars
every day in new investment.
There are a number of major city building
projects underway including new communities, transit and transportation initiatives,
and the Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital, but
the largest development taking place is the
new downtown – the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC). Located along Highway
7 between Highway 400 and Creditstone
Road, and Highway 407 and Portage Parkway, the VMC is Vaughan’s future. The
TTC is extending the subway into the new
downtown with stops including York University, Pioneer Village and Highway 407.
The subway is scheduled to open at the end
of 2017, providing a whole new connection for not only Vaughan residents, but for
people across the Greater Toronto Area.
Where the downtown is today began with
setting a vision. Through the 2010 Vaughan
Official Plan process, a secondary plan
28
Celebrate Vaughan / 2016
GROWING, GROWING,
[ INGENUITY + DEVELOPMENT ]
for the VMC was created that defined the
location as well as what the new downtown
would include. The vision is a vibrant, modern urban centre for residents and businesses that will encompass all the amenities of
an urban lifestyle from inspiring multi-use
office towers, residences, open green space
and urban squares, to pedestrian shopping
areas and restaurants, and walking and
cycling paths. It was this planning process
that identified a new ‘downtown’ and would
set the policy in place to move Vaughan
from a quiet collection of communities into
a thriving urban centre.
As the story of the VMC was just begging
to be written, Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua,
who took office in 2010, understood that for
Vaughan to transform itself into a worldclass city, establishing city-building and the
VMC as key priorities was paramount. One
of his first actions was to work with the city
administration to create the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Sub-committee to ensure
that the vision created in the City’s Official
Plan became a reality. The committee was
tasked with approving recommendations
that would facilitate significant development of the VMC in a timeframe consistent
with the opening of the subway in 2017
and the Highway 7 rapidway, including the
following: planning policies; infrastructure
implementation principles; requirements
related to external approvals, economic
development strategy and communications/advocacy.
“The ‘New Path’ is about sustainability,
innovation and investment. It’s about responsible planning that will support future
growth with new and efficient forms of
travel,” stated Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua.
The VMC is the largest and most
significant project in Vaughan’s history.
According to the City’s website, it sits on
a 179-hectare site (442 acres) that will
Illustrations are artist's concept.