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City-building continues in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre

COVID-19: UrbanToronto Updates from the Industry

Urbantoronto.ca
Dec. 17

 

The global COVID-19 pandemic is having far-reaching effects in Toronto, including major impacts to what have been booming real estate and building industries. To keep the public in the loop about the shutdowns, we'll be sharing information and status updates from around the industry on a regular basis.

In today's report: City-building continues in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.

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While the COVID-19 pandemic persists, city-building in Vaughan continues -- including significant investments in the emerging downtown core. To reflect the growth in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC), the City has updated its 360-degree virtual tour to capture the new developments. The updated tour can be found on myVMC.ca or on the City’s YouTube channel.

The landscape of the VMC has transformed since the original video was filmed two years ago. To date, close to 36,400 residents in almost 18,400 residential units will be moving into the VMC should all the proposed developments materialize. City staff are currently working on 38 development files -- including six that are in the pre-application consultation phase and represent an additional 13,593 units -- which means 267 per cent of the residential units and 253 per cent of the population targets identified for the 2031 planning horizon have been achieved.

Work is also underway to advance engineering projects in the area, including constructing a new trunk sanitary sewer along the Interchange Way and Exchange Avenue corridors. These upgrades are required to address wastewater capacity constraints to support ongoing development and growth in the VMC. In addition to an update to the VMC Secondary Plan Review (PDF), the City has initiated a Transportation Master Plan, a Parks and Wayfinding Master Plan and completing two road environmental assessment studies to build on and advance existing VMC cycling and pedestrian plans and policies. The studies will help improve connectivity between major areas, including transit stations, schools, commercial areas and residential areas, in addition to other community features such as connections to pathways and open spaces.

In addition to updating the 360-degree video, the myVMC.ca microsite has been enhanced. This useful website -- which features information on living, doing business and travelling around the VMC -- has been redesigned to align with new branding that launched earlier this year and improvements have been made to the navigation, functionality and search optimization for a better user experience.

QUOTE

“The Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC) is the largest and most ambitious project in the City’s history. Even in a global pandemic, the continued growth of the VMC indicates that Vaughan remains a city in demand and a place that people feel confident investing in. Our new interactive 360-degree video brings you into the heart of our emerging downtown without having to leave home. It provides a detailed view of our resilient and diverse marketplace and multi-use transportation hub and further demonstrates our Smart City approach to city-building. In Vaughan, we are guided by our mission to foster a world-class city that encompasses good urban design and public spaces for community well-being. While the VMC is a significant economic generator, it is also an existential project. Our sensory-based planning enables us to think about what the human experience will be like in the city’s downtown core. I remain confident that together, with industry leaders and community partners, we will continue to build on Vaughan’s success and unleash the full potential of the VMC.”
- Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua

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