Vaughan Metropolitan Centre

Last updated
Vaughan Metropolitan Centre
Vaughan Metropolitan Centre aerial view 2022.jpg
Vaughan Metropolitan Centre skyline in 2022
Motto: 
It'll Move You
VaughanMetropolitanCentreMap.jpg
Location of Vaughan Metropolitan Centre
Coordinates: 43°47′37″N79°31′38″W / 43.7935°N 79.52727°W / 43.7935; -79.52727
CountryFlag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada
Province Flag of Ontario.svg  Ontario
Regional Municipality York
City Vaughan
Website www.myvmc.ca

Vaughan Metropolitan Centre is the city centre of Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Measuring 179 hectares (442 acres), the district is located at the intersection of Highway 7 and Jane Street, northeast of the Highway 400 and Highway 407 interchange, at the site of the historic farming community of Edgeley within the larger district of Concord. The district is served by the TTC subway station of the same name, which is the northwestern terminus of Line 1 Yonge–University of the Toronto subway system. It is also a major transit hub for York Region Transit (YRT), as well as Viva and Züm bus rapid transit services. [1]

Contents

Name

In the summer of 2009, Vaughan's city council announced that they wanted public submissions to suggest a new name for Vaughan's new downtown core. At the time, it was known as "Vaughan Corporate Centre", but the name change was suggested so that the name would "better reflect the true vision and future of this key hub". [2] Nearly 1,600 entries were submitted; the subcommittee (chaired by Ward 4 Councillor Sandra Yeung Racco) decided on the name of "Vaughan Metropolitan Centre" for the area.

Background

Former Wal-Mart Supercentre (now closed and relocated). This site is being redeveloped into higher density uses. Wal-Mart Supercenter in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada, Jan 2008.jpg
Former Wal-Mart Supercentre (now closed and relocated). This site is being redeveloped into higher density uses.

The Town of Vaughan officially became a City in 1991. It was made up of a number of historic communities, most with their own historic village or town centre, and so Vaughan committed to building a new business and commercial core at the intersection of Highways 400 and 407. Approved in 1998, Official Plan Amendment 500 called for the Vaughan Corporate Centre, as it was then branded, to become a focal point for business activity and major commercial development.

The plan truly found its legs in 2006 when the province announced that the Spadina subway line would be extended to Vaughan, and it designated the area around it as an Urban Growth Centre.[ citation needed ] More designations and plans followed, defining the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and preparing it for development.

In 2010, when Maurizio Bevilacqua became Mayor of Vaughan, he made the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre one of his key priorities. He formed the VMC Sub Committee and began organizing the key infrastructure.[ citation needed ]

Announcements for the VMC's first residential development in 2011 (Expo City) [3] and office development in 2012 (KPMG Tower), [4] proved that the blueprint had market potential. Development and interest have accelerated ever since.[ citation needed ]

The Line 1 subway extension to VMC officially opened on December 17, 2017. [5]

Development

100 New Park Place was opened in 2016 as the first highrise development in the area. The grounds were designed by Claude Cormier. VMC KPMG building 2018.jpg
100 New Park Place was opened in 2016 as the first highrise development in the area. The grounds were designed by Claude Cormier.
The YMCA at The David Braley Vaughan Centre The YMCA at The David Braley Vaughan Centre night.jpg
The YMCA at The David Braley Vaughan Centre
Smart Centres Terminal at night Smartcentres Place Bus Terminal at night 2022.jpg
Smart Centres Terminal at night

Prior to the arrival of the subway, the 179-hectare (440-acre) area was low density featuring big box stores such as Walmart. Vaughan projects that by 2031, the new downtown will have 25,000 residents and employment for more than 11,000 people. [6]

As of 2019, developments in Vaughan Metropolitan Centre include eight residential towers and two office towers built or under construction. Another 13 developments are proposed, submitted and approved. [6]

VMC will comprise distinct development precincts including residential neighbourhoods, office districts, employment areas and mixed-use areas, all linked by a robust system of parks, squares and open spaces and a fine grain grid pattern of streets.

The Official Plan states as a policy that the City shall encourage and facilitate the establishment of the following in the VMC:

In 2017, a website was launched in an effort to raise awareness, provide resources, engage members of the community, and highlight the progress of the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre development.

Further details of the City of Vaughan's plans for expansion and development are included as part of the council's secondary plan. [7]

Public transit

Subway platform level of Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station Q3555074 Vaughan Metropolitan Centre A02.jpg
Subway platform level of Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station
Platforms for Viva buses at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Vivastation Highway 7-Millway Av 2022.jpg
Platforms for Viva buses at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre Vivastation

VMC is served by both York Region Transit (YRT) and Brampton Transit buses, and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway.

Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station is located at the intersection of Highway 7 and Millway Avenue, just west of Jane Street. It is the northwestern terminus of Line 1 Yonge–University. The area is also served by YRT (which includes Viva) and Brampton Transit's Züm buses on Highway 7 and Jane Street. Viva Orange and 501 Züm Queen buses travel along the Highway 7 Rapidway, which features a covered Vivastation in its centre for transferring to the subway. Conventional YRT buses, with the exception of Route 77, which provides local service along Highway 7 and uses on-street stops, connect with the station at the SmartCentres Place Bus Terminal.

The subway station is part of the TTC Toronto fare zone and no extra fare is charged to enter and exit. However, another fare is required when transferring to and from the subway and YRT or Züm buses.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vaughan Metropolitan Centre station</span> Toronto subway station

Vaughan Metropolitan Centre is a rapid transit station in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada. Opened on December 17, 2017, it is the north terminus of the western section of the Toronto subway's Line 1 Yonge–University. It is operated by the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) and is one of two subway stations in the system outside of Toronto's city limits. It provides connections to Viva Rapid Transit's Highway 7 Rapidway, which is also used by Brampton Transit's Züm buses, as well as local bus routes of York Region Transit (YRT).

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References

  1. "First Look: New TTC Map - Vaughan Metropolitan Centre". Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  2. "And the new name is… « vivaNext". 2012-01-17. Archived from the original on 2012-01-17. Retrieved 2018-02-18.
  3. "Expo City will help transform Vaughan". The Star. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  4. "Developers Announce KPMG Tower as Part of Major Office Project at the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre". October 31, 2012. Archived from the original on July 25, 2019.
  5. Beattie, Samantha; Spurr, Ben (December 16, 2017). "After delays, cost overruns, and tragedy, a subway to Vaughan is complete". Toronto Star . Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  6. 1 2 "VMC Development Activity Update".
  7. "Secondary Plan - Vaughan Metropolitan Centre". Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. 2015-10-08. Retrieved 2018-02-18.