The beginnings of a new urban park are expected to take shape in Downsview in north Toronto starting next year, after deals are worked out with developers who want to build on the site.

Tony Genco, president and CEO of Parc Downsview Park Inc., said the federal government recently transferred title of the 230-hectare site to the Crown corporation building the park, which means it will be in a position to negotiate with developers who are interested in building five neighbourhoods on the land.

"Without that we could not go any further. We now have that, and coupled with borrowing authority, we can now go to the bank," he said.

Leasing a portion of the land for commercial purposes will help pay for the park, he said, and a man-made pond should be completed on the site by this time next year.

More than 120 hectares of the site, located in northwest Toronto, has been earmarked for parkland.

In 1994, the Canadian Forces Base at Downsview was closed. Since then, the former base has been used for events involving extremely large groups of people.

In 2002, Pope John Paul II celebrated mass on the site with 750,000 participants as part of World Youth Day. In 2003, a huge concert, known as Toronto Rocks, drew 450,000 people for a day of music in the wake of SARS in Toronto. The Rolling Stones played at the concert.

A long time in the works

Downsview has long been the promised location of a new urban park.

At least one business owner said people in the surrounding area are keen to have plans for the park proceed, but they will believe it when it happens because, over the years, big plans for the former base have come and gone.

Gerrit de Boer, founder of the Idomo furniture store, said people in the surrounding area have been waiting a long time for the green space to take shape.

"That's the frustrating thing about it. I think everyone would like to see where this park is going," he said.

Monte Kwinter, Ontario MPP for York Centre, which includes Downsview, said until the title was transferred to the Crown corporation, the land still belonged to the Department of National Defence even though DND closed the base 12 years ago.
 
"The perception was that not much was going on and the reason is quite simple. The transfer of land to Parc Downsview Park had not taken place," he said.

One long-term plan for the park, unveiled in 2003 by then Prime Minister Jean Chrétien, included a mountain bike track, a skateboard park, bocce ball fields and boardwalks, as well as meadows, forests and a man-made lake.

According to the project overview page of the Parc Downsview Park Inc. website, however, the plans are ongoing and still in development.

"These lands represent one of the largest urban redevelopment projects in Canada," it reads.

"Since 1996 significant progress has been made to create a unique urban recreational green space at Downsview, however the development of Downsview Park is a long-term project and plans for the lands will continually evolve."