Northcrest Developments unveils YZD Experience Centre and Plaza

Northcrest Developments has announced the grand opening of the YZD Experience Centre and Plaza in Toronto, Ont.

As part of the transformation of the Bay 12 hangar space, the YZD Experience Centre and Plaza will form part of the heart of this community hub located on the former Downsview Airport lands, and will feature an Art Walk, weekly events and spaces for play.

Following several years of engagement with local communities and stakeholders, the hub is set to become a welcoming destination for connection and creativity.

The 16,150 sq. ft. Experience Centre aims to provide an immersive experience that invites the public to explore the vision for YZD; a historic $30-billion transformation of the former Downsview Airport lands, while the Plaza will offer visitors opportunities to play, create and socialize.

The centre also provides visitors with an overview of this generational city-building opportunity, which includes seven new neighbourhoods, and is set to welcome more than 55,000 residents as well as create employment for 23,000 people.

A highlight of the Centre is the Community Hall, a multipurpose space that aims to address the need for accessible community spaces. The Community Hall can accommodate a range of activities, including meetings, informal gatherings, education and fitness.

Opening alongside this space is a free weekly event and programming series, Weekends at YZD, that will feature a regular schedule of events, programs and pop-ups.

The Experience Centre extends outdoors with the Plaza, which offers a rotation of activities, art and playscapes. Current installations include playscapes designed by Montreal-based Future Simple Studio, such as a modular canopy structure with swings for the fall season, a 3,900 sq. ft. colourful mural by Toronto artist Jacquie Comrie, free art-inspired mini-golf, outdoor games, and more.

“For the past several years, we’ve connected with thousands of people through formal meetings, townhalls, and various activations and pop-up events. A consistent theme has emerged: there is a genuine need for accessible, communal spaces. Prior to the extraordinary public spaces that will be delivered as part of the redevelopment, The Experience Centre and Plaza will address that need, fostering a community hub at YZD from the very beginning. We’re so excited to now have a dedicated space where we can provide even more free programs and activities, creating a community well before development begins,” said Mitchell Marcus, executive director of site activation and programming for YZD.

This Fall, the Plaza will temporarily showcase various Winter Stations installations, a collection of four large-scale, interactive public art pieces that were on display in Toronto’s east end as part of the festival this past winter.

Among the Plaza’s outdoor offerings is YZD’s Art Walk, which is made up of art exhibitions and murals, beginning in and wrapping around the Experience Centre. These installations offer a large-scale art experience, and showcase local talent.

“The work of creative placemaking is not new,” said Marcus. “Yet this is possibly the first time that it is being executed at such scale and for such a lengthy period, on pre-developed lands with a direct trajectory towards a future community. We believe that if we work with the public to shape the soul of the destination before development even begins, we will collectively create a great place for generations to come.”

Alongside Weekends at YZD, the site has hosted events such as a celebration of dance, music and storytelling called R.A.V.E. as part of Luminato, Play on the Runway, a Pride Month-themed drive-in movie experience, winter skating and more.

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