[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.

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.

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 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.

Bombardier Aerospace at one time owned twelve hangars in the southwest corner of the airport, where the Dash 8 was built and assembled.

The event featured showcases of various de Havilland Canada aircraft, with some arriving and departing from the airport during the occasion 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.

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.