Bringing Vaughan’s new downtown to life
City approves incentive plan to encourage major office development
The City of Vaughan approved a Community Improvement Plan (CIP) to encourage development of major office space in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC) and the surrounding area at Weston Road and Highway 7. As the City’s new downtown, the VMC will be an exciting place for citizens and businesses with all the amenities of an urban lifestyle – from office towers and residences, to shops and greenspace.
Vaughan has launched a comprehensive CIP to position the City, and in particular the VMC, as a prime location for office development. With a regional transit hub that includes a subway connecting to Toronto, the VMC is an ideal location for companies that want to provide a high quality of life for their employees.
To achieve the vision of Vaughan’s new downtown by 2031, the City is offering financial incentives for companies to build office space in the VMC and Weston Road and Highway 7. With a minimum target of 1.5-million square feet of major office development, the reduced costs will support development and create a place that has a dynamic business core. This will become a focal point for the entire city and an important hub of activity within the GTA.
QUOTE
“City building is a team effort and the VMC represents a unique opportunity to shape an urban core that will become the heart of a world-class city. Our goal is to create a place where people can live, work and enjoy recreational activities that will breathe life and energy into our new downtown. Like the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre, the Community Improvement Plan is something that happens only once in a lifetime. It offers competitive incentives to prospective business owners interested in locating here, as well as being a part of history in the making. Our city is multilingual, with a well-educated workforce and one of the lowest tax rates in the GTA. Supporting office development will create a professional services hub and generate more jobs in Vaughan. Investing in our city today is an investment for the future. Together, we are taking Vaughan to the next level.”
-Mayor Maurizio Bevilacqua
QUICK FACTS
- In December 2014, the City of Vaughan initiated a CIP Study to explore the provision of financial and planning tools to encourage office development in the VMC and other intensification areas.
- CIP is led by the consulting teams Hemson Consulting and Urban Strategies Inc.
- With a five-year term, the CIP will focus on accelerating office development in the VMC and at Weston Road and Highway 7.
- The VMC will be the only downtown outside Toronto to have the TTC subway.
- By 2031, the VMC will be home to 11,500 employees and 25,000 residents.
- The subway will connect directly to Union Station and be operational December 2017.
- The VMC is approximately 15 minutes from Pearson International Airport.
- More than 400,000 square feet of office space is currently under construction in the VMC.
LEARN MORE
The TTC Subway - Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Station, pictured above, will open in late 2017, and is a key economic driver for future employers. In addition to the subway, Vaughan’s downtown will be a multi-modal transportation hub with connections to the York Region Transit Bus Terminal and the Viva Bus Transit Rapidways running along Highway 7. All three projects will be seamlessly connected via at grade and tunnel access.
KPMG Tower under construction by SmartReit in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre.
The CIP will help make the VMC the prime location for companies that embrace innovation, creativity and the future economy.