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Downsview Airport

Coordinates: 43°44′34″N 079°27′56″W / 43.74278°N 79.46556°W / 43.74278; -79.46556
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Downsview Airport
Aerial view of Downsview Airport in 2011
Summary
Airport typeDefunct
OwnerBombardier Aerospace
OperatorBombardier Ops
ServesGreater Toronto Area
LocationDownsview, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Opened1929 (1929)
ClosedApril 2024 (2024-04)[1]
Time zoneEST (UTC−05:00)
 • Summer (DST)EDT (UTC−04:00)
Elevation AMSL652 ft / 199 m
Coordinates43°44′34″N 079°27′56″W / 43.74278°N 79.46556°W / 43.74278; -79.46556
Map
CYZD is located in Toronto
CYZD
CYZD
Location in Toronto
CYZD is located in Ontario
CYZD
CYZD
CYZD (Ontario)
CYZD is located in Canada
CYZD
CYZD
CYZD (Canada)
Map
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
15/33 7,000 2,100 Asphalt (closed)
09/27 3,164 964 Asphalt (closed)
04/22 4,000 1,200 Asphalt (closed)

Downsview Airport (IATA: YZD, ICAO: CYZD) was an airport located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. An air field, then air force base, it has been a testing facility for Bombardier Aerospace from 1994. In 2018, Bombardier sold the facility to Northcrest Developments, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Public Sector Pension Investment Board; in late 2023, Northcrest announced that industrial and airport operations would close by mid-2024, as redevelopment into commercial and residential properties moves forward.[3] The airport was closed as of April 2024.[1] On 17 August 2024, Northcrest Developments unveiled a new identity for the 1.5 km2 (370 acres) of the former Downsview Airport lands drawing on the site’s history: YZD, as the transformation kicks off.[4]

Downsview Airport had its own fire service (Bombardier Aerospace Emergency Services) which covered airport operations (using two airport fire rescue vehicles) and plant operations (using two SUV emergency vehicles). Bombardier Emergency Services employees were cross-trained as firefighters, first responders and airport security.

History

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de Havilland Airfield / Downsview Airfield

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de Havilland Airfield[5] or Downsview Airfield[6] opened in 1929 by de Havilland Canada, the Canadian division of the British aerospace company, de Havilland as a general aviation airfield and one of two airports in the area apart from Pearson Airport for testing aircraft at the site manufacturing plant. The airfield was expanded as a military installation during World War II by the Royal Canadian Air Force and renamed RCAF Station Downsview, now CFB Toronto.

Downsview Airport

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Downsview Airport was developed in 1939 as an airfield next to an aircraft manufacturing plant operated by de Havilland Canada. In 1947, the Department of National Defence purchased property surrounding the airfield and expanded it, creating RCAF Station Downsview to provide an air base for Royal Canadian Air Force units. The base was renamed Canadian Forces Base Toronto (Downsview) in 1968 and retained this name until its closure in 1996.

From 1998, the property was administered by a civilian Crown corporation, officially known as Parc Downsview Park, which co-managed the airfield with Bombardier Aerospace (the successor to de Havilland Canada).

The airfield was used to host the 1984 and 2002 papal visits by Pope John Paul II, as well as to host the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto concert headlined by The Rolling Stones to revive the local economy after the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003.

The airfield has also served as a test site for several famous aircraft produced by de Havilland and Avro Canada, including the Beaver, the Twin Otter, and the Dash 8. The airport was available to pilots only with prior permission.

Bombardier Aerospace at one time owned twelve hangars in the southwest corner of the airport, where the Dash 8 was built and assembled. The Bombardier Global Express and the variant Global 5000 were also assembled here at the Downsview plant, as were the wings and wingboxes of the Learjet 45. The Bombardier CSeries jet had landed at the airfield in 2015, but is assembled in Montreal.

The airport had one operational runway, 15/33 at 7,000 ft (2,100 m) with a parallel taxiway. Runway 09/27 at 3,164 ft (964 m) was previously closed (east section removed), as was runway 04/22 at 4,000 ft (1,200 m) (north section removed and south part retained as taxiway into the Bombardier plant).

Bombardier has an agreement to sell the Downsview Airport and its manufacturing plant to Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments). Under the agreement, Bombardier can use Downsview for up to five years. Bombardier signed a lease agreement with the Greater Toronto Airports Authority to build a new facility at Pearson Airport on 38 acres (0.15 km2; 15 ha) where it would move the production of its Global series planes.[7] Plans for Dash 8 production were not announced at that time. In November 2018, Bombardier sold the Dash 8 business and the DeHavilland name to Viking Air, which has not disclosed its long-term plans for Dash 8 production beyond the existing already agreed-upon time frame for Downsview.[8]

Farewell of De Havilland Canada

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On 11 June 2022, a private event was held at Downsview Airport, commemorating the farewell of De Havilland Canada after 94 years at the airport. Many past and present employees and their families were invited to attend. The event featured showcases of various de Havilland Canada aircraft, with some arriving and departing from the airport during the occasion

Military housing

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A series of homes were built for Canadian Forces personnel at the corner of Keele Street and Sheppard Avenue West and at the south end of the base property. Access to the north end housing on Robert Woodhead Crescent and John Drury Drive was restricted to base personnel and fenced off from the neighbouring properties. After the military base being closed down, the housing was abandoned and torn down.

Future development

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In May 2024, Northcrest Developments took control of the site, following Bombardier's relocation to a new facility. On 17 August 2024, Northcrest unveiled a new identity for the site, naming it YZD, a nod to the former airport code and honouring the site’s legacy of innovation. The $30-billion CAD transformation of the 1.5 km2 (370 acres) site will unfold over the next 30 years. The project includes the creation of seven new neighbourhoods, encompassing over 2.6 km2 (28,000,000 sq ft) of residential space, over 0.65 km2 (7,000,000 sq ft) of commercial and cultural spaces, and approximately 0.30 km2 (74 acres) of parks, green, and open spaces, including the 2.1 km (1.3 mi) reimagined Runway. The Runway will become the anchor of the community as a pedestrianized open space, while the hangars will be retrofitted to house new commercial and cultural ventures. Upon completion, YZD is expected to accommodate over 55,000 residents and create 23,000 jobs.[9] On 26 September 2024, United States-based Live Nation Entertainment confirmed that Rogers Stadium will debut at YZD in June 2025.[10]

Tenants

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Buildings located within or next to the airport:

  • Bombardier Aerospace facility – southwest end of the airport
  • CFB Downsview hangars – northeast end of the airport
  • Farmers market – northwest end
  • Downsview Park station – north end, combined subway / commuter train station

Former tenants

Roads

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Most of the roads at Downsview are city-owned roadways:

  • John Drury Drive - portions are a private access road for the Canadian Armed Forces named for sapper John Drury of the Canadian Engineers[14]
  • Yukon Lane
  • Carl Hall Road - former section of Sheppard Avenue and named for private Carl Hall, American born World War I member of the Central Ontario Regiment[15]
  • Canuck Avenue
  • Hanover Road
  • Beffort Road
  • Robert Woodhead Crescent - private access road for the Canadian Armed Forces
  • Garratt Blvd
  • Plewes Road

Accidents and incidents

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ a b "Closure of Downsview Airport (CYZD) and Toronto Airspace Changes – Downsview, ON". Retrieved 19 October 2024. ...operator of their intention to cease operations as of April 2024.
  2. ^ Canada Flight Supplement. Effective 0901Z 16 July 2020 to 0901Z 10 September 2020.
  3. ^ Westoll, Nick (8 December 2023). "Downsview airfield operations to end by mid-2024 as redevelopment project ramps up". CityNews Toronto. Archived from the original on 21 February 2024. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  4. ^ "YZD Homepage". www.yzd.ca. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  5. ^ "De Havilland Aircraft". Parc Downsview Park. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  6. ^ "Transforming the Downsview Airfield Into a Sustainable Community". Living Architecture Monitor. Fall 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024.
  7. ^ Trautvetter, Chad (3 May 2018). "Bombardier To Move Global Family Production to Pearson". AIN Online.
  8. ^ "Bombardier to Sell Q400 Program to Viking Air". Airways. 8 November 2018. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  9. ^ "Introducing YZD: Northcrest Developments unveils new name for the former Downsview Airport lands". www.newswire.ca. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  10. ^ Casaletto, Lucas. "Rogers Stadium concert venue to debut in 2025 at former Downsview Airport". CityNews Toronto. Rogers Media. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  11. ^ "Bombardier to close Downsview and move Global work to Pearson".
  12. ^ "4th Canadian Division - Ontario". www.army-armee.forces.gc.ca. Government of Canada. 24 June 2013. Archived from the original on 12 July 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  13. ^ "The Canadian Air & Space Museum, (CASM) is at the Edenvale Aerodrome!". Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  14. ^ Leblanc, Dave (21 November 2013). "At shuttered Downsview military base, old homes face their fate". The Globe and Mail.
  15. ^ "RCAF Station Downsview". 11 November 2018.
  16. ^ Accident description at the Aviation Safety Network

References

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