A new Community Recreation Centre is coming to 1377 Sheppard Ave. W., near Sheppard Avenue West and Keele Street in the Downsview neighbourhood. The design will be developed through community engagement and will provide cultural and recreational opportunities that support the growth and well-being of the Downsview community.
The timeline is subject to change.
This project has been classified as an Involve project based on the International Association for Public Participation Spectrum. This means we work directly with the public, stakeholders and rightsholders throughout the design process to ensure that ideas and aspirations are understood and considered.
This project has a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) made up of representatives of the Downsview community. The CAC’s mandate is to provide a forum for feedback, guidance and advice to the project team at key decision points during the community engagement process. The CAC will meet approximately one to two times per phase of the project. The CAC is not a decision-making body and does not speak on behalf of the entire community.
This project has an Indigenous Community Knowledge Circle (ICKC) organized by the City, Northcrest Developments and Canada Lands Company. The ICKC will provide Indigenous-led dialogue, community input and culturally grounded guidance for the redevelopment of Downsview specifically as it relates to Downsview’s District Plans, Community Development Plan, and parks and recreational spaces.
In this phase, the City worked with the community and project advisory groups to define an overall vision, guiding principles and big moves for the new Community Recreation Centre (CRC). These will guide the development of design options in Community Engagement Phase 2.
The vision is co-created with the community to describe the ideal future community recreation centre. It is a big-picture statement that should inspire everyone toward a common understanding of the project’s overall goals and objectives.
The new Downsview Community Recreation Centre will be a safe, affordable, welcoming, accessible and technologically vibrant hub where diversity is celebrated, connections are fostered and everyone feels a true sense of belonging.
Accessibility will go beyond the standard. Children and seniors will be supported to participate. It will be uniquely designed as a desired destination, creating spaces where people of all ages, abilities, religions and cultures can gather and be motivated to do something they love. The CRC should be the heart of the community, inclusive and reflective of our multiculturalism. It will have a balance of program specific and non-program specific spaces to be active, relax, play and enjoy nature, culture and social experiences.
It will be a family-friendly environment that promotes health and wellness, inspires long-term enjoyment and community connections, and offers something for everyone.
The guiding principles are high-level directions that reflect the community’s most important values and ideas for how the community recreation centre should look and feel. They help to clarify the vision statement and guide how the community recreation centre should be designed by describing the desired outcomes.
Big moves are the main priorities for the design of the community recreation centre. They are specific directions for how the physical design can achieve the vision and guiding principles.
On April 21, the Indigenous Community Knowledge Circle met to discuss opportunities for Indigenous Placekeeping at the new community recreation centre.
On September 25, the Community Advisory Committee met to learn about the project, draft a vision statement for the new recreation centre and develop initial draft guiding principles and big moves to inform the design process.
Download the combined Community Advisory Committee Meeting 1 and 2 summary.
On September 10, the Indigenous Community Knowledge Circle met to review the draft Terms of Reference and participate in a project overview presentation
On August 13, the project team held a workshop with children attending CampTO summer programs at Grandravine Community Recreation Centre. The purpose of the workshop was to gather ideas for the design of the new community recreation centre.
Approximately 48 campers between the ages of six and 12 participated in two sessions. Each session began with a short presentation and group discussion, followed by a hands-on activity where campers decorated blank pennants to illustrate their vision for the new community recreation centre.
At the new community recreation centre, participants want to:
From June 12 to July 24, an online thought exchange activity gathered ideas for the new community recreation centre. The activity received a total of 235 thoughts and 4,025 thought ratings from 325 participants.
Respondents were asked what functions they would most like to see, which features and spaces should be prioritized, and what building aspects they feel are most important in creating a comfortable and welcoming community centre. Responses are shown in parentheses below.
Respondents ranked what functions they would most like to see in the recreation centre, with one being the highest and six being the lowest:
Respondents ranked what aquatic features should be prioritized, with one being the highest and three being the lowest:
Respondents ranked what fitness and exercise spaces should be prioritized, with one being the highest and five being the lowest:
Respondents ranked what indoor sports or physical activities should be prioritized, with one being the highest and five being the lowest:
Respondents ranked what arts and culture spaces should be prioritized, with one being the highest and four being the lowest:
Respondents ranked what community and social spaces should be prioritized, with one being the highest and four being the lowest:
Additional comments that were highly rated by participants included:
Review the July 2025 Thought Exchange activity results summary, including top thoughts and themes.
On July 15, the Community Advisory Committee met to learn about the project, draft a vision statement for the new recreation centre and develop initial draft guiding principles and big moves to inform the design process.
From May 8 to June 17, community members could apply to join the Community Advisory Committee. The Committee will provide feedback, guidance and advice to the project team at key decision points during the community engagement process.
This phase is divided into two parts. In Phase 2A, feedback will be collected from the project advisory groups on early draft design options. In Phase 2B, feedback will be collected from the community on a refined draft design based on input from Phase 2A. The feedback will be used to develop a preferred design for the Community Recreation Centre (CRC).
The community engagement activities anticipated in this phase include:
On June 29, the Indigenous Community Knowledge Circle met to review and provide feedback on two early draft design options for the new community recreation centre.
On June 16, the Community Advisory Committee (CAC) reviewed two draft design options for the new community recreation centre. The meeting took place at Northwood Community Centre from 6 to 9 p.m. 26 CAC members attended the meeting including representatives from the following organizations:
Asynchronous feedback about the meeting material was received from ARBO Seniors Health Village.
The meeting opened with a presentation, followed by three group activities assessing how the draft designs align with the vision statement, guiding principles and big moves.
The Clearing organizes the community recreation centre in two buildings separated by a central covered outdoor gathering space. The concept creates multiple routes through the site and provides a direct connection between Sheppard Avenue West and Keele Street corner and Downsview Park.
The Lodge organizes the community recreation centre within a single building, creating a clear separation between the centre’s indoor and outdoor activity areas and the surrounding context.
During the presentation, participants shared initial impressions of the draft designs and asked questions about the evolving design process. Key discussion themes included:
CAC members worked in six table groups to evaluate the two early draft design options using a Rose, Bud and Thorn exercise. Participants identified elements they felt worked well (Rose), had potential for further development (Bud), or presented a concern or challenge (Thorn).
For The Clearing, participants appreciated:
Opportunities and concerns included strengthening the connection between the two buildings, supporting year-round use, maintaining visibility and safety, providing adequate weather protection, and considering the relationship between pedestrian movement and vehicle drop-off areas.
For The Lodge, participants appreciated:
Participants identified opportunities to increase visual and physical connections between the building and park, create brighter spaces with views of nature, activate exterior building edges and provide additional outdoor programming. Concerns included the perceived scale of the building, its relationship to the park, and parking and loading arrangements.
CAC members reviewed a collection of precedent images showing different architectural spaces, landscape treatments, recreational amenities and approaches to public art. Each group selected images that most resonated with them and shared their rationale. Images selected by two or more groups were identified as recurring preferences. Common interests included:
Participants also expressed interest in natural materials, weather-protected outdoor spaces, amphitheater-style gathering areas, climbing walls, water play and spaces that celebrate Indigenous and other cultural identities.
CAC members scored the designs on a scale of one to five based on how well each option supported the six guiding principles, with five representing an excellent design response. The scores were then mapped onto a radial chart for comparison.
The Clearing received its highest average scores for:
The Lodge received its highest average scores for:
Overall, The Clearing was preferred in the Guiding Principles Evaluation activity and received more positive comments during the Rose, Bud and Thorn exercise. At the same time, participants identified valued qualities and opportunities in both designs, suggesting that elements of each should inform the evolving design of the centre.
In this phase, the City will share the preferred design with the community and project advisory groups. Once the preferred design is confirmed, the project will move into the detailed design phase, where the design team will finalize the preferred design by working through the technical details and plans for the construction contractor.
The anticipated outcomes of this phase include a refined preferred design.
The community engagement activities anticipated in this phase include:
Downsview Community Recreation Centre (CRC) will offer a variety of year-round programs and services for Downsview’s growing communities and surrounding areas.
The CRC is proposed to include:
The CRC will meet Accessibility for Ontarians with Disability Act accessibility standards and target Net Zero emissions building design.