Vaughan’s arts and culture lovers have a new reason to celebrate the ever-evolving city. Setting the stage for its next act, the City of Vaughan and QuadReal Property Group (QuadReal) have joined forces to announce plans for a state-of-the-art performing and cultural arts centre in the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC).
City of Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca, Members of Council, representatives from QuadReal, and other dignitaries attended the Assembly Park events space in the VMC for a signing ceremony today, where the City and QuadReal entered into a Memorandum of Understanding to guide the planning for the shiny new facility.
The VMC is an emerging downtown poised to be the financial, innovation, and cultural centre of Vaughan. Its celebrated for its balance between downtown Toronto and the Greater Toronto Region (GTA) and its offerings of a subway station, rapid bus transit, and close proximity to Highways 400 and 407. Not surprisingly, it's home to towering new developments and is on track to hit targets of 12,000 residential units, 1.5 million square feet of office space, and 750,000 square feet of new retail space by 2031, according to its website. The new performance and arts venue will be located in QuadReal’s Assembly Park community and is expected to open between 2029 and 2032.
A City of Vaughan-issued press release stresses the new facility’s role as a catalyst for both personal and economic growth.
“I am thrilled that Vaughan will soon be home to a state-of-the-art performing and cultural arts centre – and today’s signing ceremony represents the next step in this historic journey,” said Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca in the press release. “This initiative represents a significant investment in our city’s cultural vitality and economic prosperity. The new venue will be a cornerstone of the Vaughan Metropolitan Centre and reflects our commitment to embracing the arts as a catalyst for both personal and economic growth. Our city is a launchpad for the creative industries and our state-of-the-art performing and cultural arts centre will help us strengthen our incredible local talent and spur the growth of our creative economy."
The press release highlights a 2019 feasibility study that estimated a cultural facility in the VMC can stimulate more than $100M in economic activity related to one-time construction. Furthermore, it has the potential to inject more than $2.5M directly into the local and regional economy every year.
This new centre will also help grow local talent and spur the growth of the city’s creative economy, says the City, pointing to the fact that Vaughan is currently home to more than 3,500 creative businesses in the sector. These account for nearly one-third of all creative businesses in York Region and contribute to multiple sectors, including arts, entertainment and recreation, information and cultural industries and professional, scientific and technical services.
“For QuadReal, meaningful community building means enhancing the experiences of people who live, work and visit our spaces,” said Toby Wu, Executive Vice President of Development at QuadReal. “Assembly Park will deliver quality housing, and a dynamic multi-purpose offering but it is the people who champion art, music, dance and events that bring neighbours together that really make a place unique. Alongside our partners at the City of Vaughan, we are excited to take this significant step forward towards developing this from the ground up and bringing a performing and cultural arts centre to Assembly Park in the South Vaughan Metropolitan Centre. It will greatly enrich the broader community for generations to come.”
