Vaughan Rising Podcast

The City of Vaughan launched a new website geared at igniting economic prosperity by communicating with current and potential business audiences in a more dynamic way. Available at vaughanbusiness.ca, this initiative by the Economic and Cultural Development (ECD) department features user-friendly access to their programs, services, research products and marketing messages. It provides information and resources for businesses within and surrounding Vaughan and to the diverse community of entrepreneurs, prospective investors, site selectors, realtors and potential residents.

SmartCentres is known for developing and operating big-box stores and plazas, but in the VMC, they’re working on a very different kind of vision: an urban mixed-use community called SmartVMC. SmartCentres founder Mitch Goldhar explains why he broke out of his low-rise comfort zone, and where he plans to take his legacy project.

The Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC) is a new kind of downtown beckoning a new kind of community space. The City of Vaughan, the YMCA of Greater Toronto and SmartCentres put their heads together and came up with a state-of-the-art, urban community centre that will serve thousands of residents in Vaughan’s emerging downtown and beyond. The YMCA of Greater Toronto’s President and CEO, Medhat Mahdy, shares how it came together and what we can expect from the YMCA’s newest location.

The British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) has a 34-hectare (84-acre) parcel of land in the VMC, managed by its real estate arm, QuadReal. BCI recently revealed this parcel will become Revel Park, a master-planned community of diverse neighbourhoods designed to inspire creativity. QuadReal Vice President of Development Mike Reel makes the case for thinking beyond bricks and mortar.

*After this interview, Revel Park was rebranded as South VMC

Cortel Group was an early believer in the potential of Vaughan’s new downtown and got development in the area moving with two 37-storey residential towers. Cortel Group President and CEO Mario Cortellucci and Head of Design and Sales Romina Cortellucci share the backstory of how Expo City seemed like a sure bet when the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre was barely off the ground.

Vaughan, a city of about 335,000 people, is welcoming the Mackenzie Vaughan Hospital in 2020. Back in 2004, the need for a hospital in the city was clear and work began to build York Region’s first new hospital in 30 years. President and CEO Altaf Stationwala shares how Mackenzie Health saw an opportunity to be on the vanguard of healthcare and become Canada’s first smart hospital.

Niagara University is an American post-secondary institution that has been offering professional education programs in Ontario for more than 30 years. After a year-long searching process, the university found a permanent Canadian location within Vaughan’s emerging downtown – the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. Niagara University President Father James Maher gives us a lesson in site selection and why Vaughan was the place to be for the university.

In part two of our look at the Vaughan Enterprise Zone (VEZ) – home to Canadian Pacific Railway’s largest intermodal terminal, big lots, big buildings, and big names like Home Depot of Canada Inc., Longo Brothers Fruit Market Inc. and Adidas Canada – Craig Williamson, Gary Williamson and Pat Viele from CBRE break down the VEZ’s powerful value proposition for office and industrial users.

The Vaughan Enterprise Zone (VEZ) is 1,660 hectares of huge opportunity. The City of Vaughan’s Director of Economic and Cultural Development, Dennis Cutajar, and CP Rail’s Managing Director of Domestic Intermodal Sales and Marketing, Rob Nichols, connect the dots on the advantages of the VEZ.

Growth drives business and real estate, and Vaughan is booming. Vaughan had the distinction of being Canada’s fastest-growing municipality between 1996 and 2006, and the people, companies and jobs just keep coming. Vaughan’s Director of Economic and Cultural Development, Dennis Cutajar, tells the story behind the growth and why this city’s location is such a sweet spot.