Vaughan's VMC: The building of a downtown core

Stthomastimesjournal.com
November 3, 2020
Paul Barker

Pandemic or not, the area is growing faster than expected

The creation of a vibrant downtown core from scratch is not an easy feat. It takes imagination, good planning principles and in the case of Vaughan, the opening of the first subway line to cross the 416-905 threshold three years ago.

The 445-acre parcel of land located in around the intersection of Highway 7 and Jane St. was first designated in the official plan in 1998 to be a business and commercial hub, but how it was perceived then and what it is evolving into are starkly different.

The arrival of the subway has changed everything including the name -- what began as the Vaughan Corporate Centre in the late 1990s is now known as Vaughan Metropolitan Centre or VMC.

“The plan really found its legs in 2006 when the province committed to expanding the Spadina subway line to Vaughan and designated the area around it as an urban growth centre,” said Michelle Samson, the city’s economic development officer. “The rest is history: 6.5 million sq. ft. of residential, office and retail space either built or under construction with another 23 million sq. ft. of on the books.”

She made the comments Tuesday during a webinar held by the Toronto chapter of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) in which Samson, Vaughan mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua, Mary-Frances Turner, president of York Region Rapid Transit Corp. and Christina Bruce, director of the VMC program, spoke about how the city is managing such rapid growth and whether or not the pandemic has slowed it down.

According to Bevilacqua, the answer to the latter is a resounding no and in fact the opposite has happened. There has, he said, been a rise in building permits issued during the first quarter of the year, which were valued at over $128 million.

“While there is a lot of news about COVID-19 and obviously the impact it has in terms of economic growth, what we have witnessed here in Vaughan in certain areas -- particularly VMC -- there has been an increase.

“The area is growing faster than expected, which is good news for city on a number of fronts. I think it is important to recognize the fact that VMC today is in high demand by office vendors. The first two office buildings comprising of 390,000 sq. ft. of office space are 100 per cent leased by nationally recognized tenants.”

An example of that is VMC’s first commercial building, which has been fully occupied since 2016. “Four years later, we have six residential buildings fully occupied, two office buildings fully occupied, six residential towers under construction, two mid-rise buildings under construction and 22 urban townhouse blocks under construction,” said Bruce.

“Heights now range from 55-65 storeys. In the original VMC secondary plan, the maximum height was 35 storeys.”

Bevilacqua added that it is not just about issuing permits and it’s not just about making sure that the development charges are paid: “It goes well beyond that. It is an act of creation and creation needs to be taken seriously. It needs to be respectful of the environment, it needs to be respectful of people’s interactions, it needs to create an environment where positive energy is generated.

“Above and beyond the bylaws that you need to follow and the procedures, city building is an existential manifestation of the soul of the city. It is very profound. In the city of Vaughan, we were given a parcel of land -- green land -- and it was our own canvas.

“Now, we have to paint it and make sure it has the right colours, the right texture and emanates emotions and feelings that are positive. I do think that city building is precisely about that.”

The goal of the development initiative, he said, is to create a human experience that is both “memorable and enriches people’s souls.”’

“What’s different today than where we were five to 10 years ago is the brilliance of what is unfolding at VMC,” said Turner. “That is the very art of place making -- creating a community truly where people do want to live, work and play and to have rich experiences.

“Place making and architecture means transit does not take a back seat and is actually a central space and heart of the downtown core where interaction and people gathering and living and working all happen. But It did not just happen. It’s the result of a visionary leadership, political leadership and a huge array of professionals.”

Meanwhile, Richard Joy, executive director of ULI Toronto, described VMC as a “suburban urbanization story that has no North American rival. In fact, they do not even like the term suburb. It’s really an edge city.”

By The Numbers:

• There are currently six residential buildings fully occupied and six towers, two mid-rise buildings and 22 urban townhouse blocks under construction.
• Total acreage of the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre: 445 acres.
• Heights now range from 55-65 storeys.
• Maximum height in the original secondary plan: 35 storeys.
• 6.5 million sq. ft. of residential, office and retail space either built or under construction.
• Total number of sq. ft. on the books: 23 million.
• VMC is on track to meet or exceed targets of 12,000 residential units, 1.5 million sq, ft. of office space, and 750,000 sq. ft. of new retail space by 2031.