The Vaughan Metropolitan Centre is a premier destination for business and talent. Let us tell you why!
This article was contributed by Kitty Yung, Project Manager, Smart Cities Program, Vaughan Economic Development
The Vaughan Metropolitan Centre (VMC) is an emerging downtown poised to be the financial, innovation and cultural centre of Vaughan. The VMC has a vibrant sense of place, a high-quality public realm and environmentally sustainable design practices.
Here are five reasons the VMC is a premier destination for businesses and talent:
1. Strategic location, strategic growth
Located on a 179-hectare site (442 acres) at the intersection of major highways 400, 407 and 7, the VMC is uniquely positioned. With plans to include more than 1.5-million square feet of commercial office space, 750,000 square feet of new retail space and more than 21,000 residential units expected to house nearly 42,000 people by 2031, Vaughan’s downtown is emerging.
2. Class A office space and tenants
The VMC is at the heart of one of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)’s largest business hubs with major corporations like KPMG, Harley-Davidson Canada, Mircom Group of Companies, RBC, Teledyne Optech, GFL Environmental Inc. and Miller Thomson LLP. Additional opportunities exist in the VMC for office and retail, including notable opportunities in grocery or specialty food retailers as the population continues to grow.
Thousands of new residents are choosing the VMC because it strikes the perfect balance between downtown Toronto and the GTA.
3. Access to world-class talent
Seventy-three per cent of Vaughan’s population over 25 years of age has a post-secondary certificate, diploma or degree – surpassing the provincial (68 per cent) and national (67 per cent) averages. Within a one-hour drive from Toronto and with transit connections across the GTA, locating in the VMC gives your business access to a labour force of 3.9 million workers and the next generation of talent attending seven universities and eight colleges, including Niagara University located in the VMC’s Expo City complex, and two of the three largest universities in Canada – University of Toronto and York University.
4. Easy to get around
The VMC’s award-winning mobility hub offers connectivity with subway, rapid bus and local bus service to Toronto, Markham, Brampton and throughout Vaughan. The City of Vaughan is the only municipality outside of Toronto with Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) subway access.
The VMC also has direct access to the main transportation arteries in Ontario: Highway 400, Highway 407 Express Toll Route and Highway 7. Toronto Pearson Airport, Canada’s busiest and largest airport, is a short 15-minute drive away.
5. Work-life balance made easy
The VMC is a hub of activity with festivals, concerts, events and culinary delights, in addition to being located near some of the city’s most prominent attractions, such as Canada’s Wonderland and Vaughan Mills.
Public art in the VMC continues to leverage the creative potential in the emerging downtown area, cultivating its authentic metropolitan identity as a distinctive cultural destination. In VMC north, view a world-class art mural installation at SmartCentres REIT ArtWalk, featuring four bold, colourful statement paintings wrapped around a 30,000-square foot building façade and check out Canada’s largest low-resolution digital art installation: the PXL Gallery, a 10,000-square foot luminous art wall curated as a rotating gallery for years to come.
In VMC south, visit the QuadReal Property Group Menkes Developments Ltd.’s Assembly Park, set to evolve into a hub of cultural activities. Today, it is home to a handful of temporary community spaces, including a multi-use art studio, a natural gathering space and a central public space for events.
In addition, tour the outdoor gallery exhibition Transitions, displaying a series of multi-disciplinary murals that blur the boundaries of time, referencing the past and future while celebrating the present.
The VMC continues to grow as a vibrant, modern urban centre for residents and businesses that encompasses all urban lifestyle amenities. To learn more, visit MyVMC.ca or read the VMC’s opportunity area profile.
Interested in investing in the VMC? Contact Vaughan’s Economic Development department for future office and retail leasing and other investment opportunities: vaughanbusiness.ca/connect