A Toronto street that was once a thriving community of former military homes has sat vacant for close to nine years, but it is finally set to be transformed into something new as part of a planned neighbourhood coming to Downsview Park.

Canada Lands Company (CLC) is advancing plans for its newest community as part of a sweeping transformation of its Downsview lands occupying the closed airport and former military base.

CLC's new Arbo at Downsview community will serve as a western gate to the new mixed-use communities that will transform Downsview in the coming years, and the federal Crown corporation recently filed plans that will move the first phase of Arbo forward.

Arbo will repopulate a pocket of the Downsview Lands that was, up until the mid-1990s, a community of former military housing serving the now-defunct base. 

Blocks of over 80 homes built for personnel of the former Canadian Forces Base at Downsview sat dormant on John Drury Drive and Robert Woodhead Crescent, near Sheppard Avenue and Keele Street, from the base's closure until their ultimate demolition.

1992 aerial image of the former William Baker Houses demolished in 2016. Photo via City of Toronto.

Known as the William Baker Houses, these suburban cookie-cutter homes were cleared of their last residents in 2012 and demolished in 2016, but the cracked residential streets remain — still bearing remnants of the community that once existed in this location.

Those same streets are now devoid of life, with just the foundations of homes remaining in 2024. Google Maps.

CLC is a step closer to bringing life back to these blocks with the December filing of a Draft Plan of Subdivision approval for Phase 1 of Arbo at Downsview.

According to CLC, "This approval is needed to divide what has historically been a single large piece of property into parcels for development and public amenities," and brings the project "one step closer to receiving all necessary municipal approvals to be able to sell or lease the development lands to builders who can bring this project to life.

CLC hails Arbo as "a vibrant transit-oriented community that will provide a mix of housing and set a precedent for thoughtful urban development."

The community's first phase would bring 1,400 units — including a 20 per cent affordable housing component — to the west edge of Downsview Park across three blocks. Along with residential, the new neighbourhood would feature a mix of commercial, retail, and seniors' amenities.

These blocks would be served by a new east-west street running between Keele and Sheppard, as well as a significant amount of green space.

Residents would have access to a major natural amenity in the form of a large woodlot measuring almost 12 acres, as well as a new ecological park measuring over nine acres at the site's interior. A small neighbourhood park measuring 1.2 acres would offer more traditional outdoor space for the new community.

Approval of this Draft Plan would allow CLC to push forward, where planners will work through the Conditions of the Draft Plan of Subdivision approval, concluding the Subdivision Registration stage and finalizing block plans that will allow the transfer of land ownership to the City and future builder partners. 

Arbo marks just the latest plan advancement for CLC's Downsview Lands, coming hot on the heels of announcements for another new neighbourhood to the east and a massive temporary stadium that will occupy a portion of the former airport runway.