Bombardier takes flight: from Downsview Park to Pearson Airport zone

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Bombardier Inc. is about to make an historic move from a plant where planes have been built for nearly a century to a state-of-the-art business jet assembly line at the edge of Toronto Pearson International Airport.

The 770,000-square-foot Global Manufacturing Centre in Mississauga, Ont., is one of the largest new manufacturing complexes in Canada, says Graham Kelly, Bombardier’s vice-president for operations in Toronto and Red Oak, Tex. The company began planning the move about six years ago, as development was putting limits on the air space around its aging shops at Downsview Airport.

“We have 370 acres in Downsview, but we actually only use about 10 per cent of that for manufacturing and the rest is maintaining an air strip,” he explains. A new assembly line needed to have access to an airstrip and several places in Ontario were considered, but the ideal location turned out to be a 38-acre tarmac-side parcel of land at the northwest corner of the airport lands, next door to the FedEx building.

It’s part of the city’s strategy to promote diversification of the mix of land use around Canada’s biggest airport, with a focus on attracting global players alongside startups, says Christina Kakaflikas, the city’s director of economic development.

“You may think of it mainly as logistics, warehousing and manufacturing, but there’s a fascinating depth and breadth of sectors around the airport,” she says.

In addition to Bombardier, several advanced manufacturing, life sciences, IT, tech and financial services are locating around the airport, she says.

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“It’s a regeneration of the airport zone that’s always been dominated by warehouses that are between 40 and 60 years old and are reaching the end of their useful lives,” says Scot Steele, executive vice-president at CBRE in Toronto. “Developers are saying the buildings don’t owe us anything and the land is valuable, so let’s convert for more efficient warehousing, or rebuild for another use.”

Another example of redevelopment near Pearson with an aviation history is the Avro Business Park, built on a site along Derry Road once occupied by Orenda Engines, now known as Magellan Aerospace, which is the last vestige of Avro Aircraft and the Arrow Project. A 605,000-square-foot warehousing facility has just opened on the site, which is leased to a single tenant, he says.

Pearson was not the least-expensive option for Bombardier’s new jet assembly facility that will cost about $525-million (US$400-million). But a major factor in the decision to move to the airport, which is 20 kilometres west of Downsview, was to avoid affecting the company’s skilled work force of about 2,500 who live in the Toronto area, Mr. Kelly says.

And the clock was running. The Montreal-based company has owned and operated the Downsview Airport with its 7,000-foot runway since the 1990s. It was originally developed by De Havilland Canada in 1929, when planes were still built of wood. It became part of CFB Downsview until the base closed in 1996. The property was then co-managed by Bombardier, which had acquired the De Havilland facility from Boeing and a civilian Crown corporation, Parc Downsview Park.

In 2018, Bombardier sold its site for about $635-million to the Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), which has long-term plans for redevelopment. The sale gave Bombardier a five-year lease agreement that meant a move had to happen in 2023.

The Pearson site was vacant, which helped speed up development. It had originally been a skeet shooting club and the airport had planned to use the land for a de-icing station (which was never built). While the pandemic created logistical challenges in sourcing the large amounts of steel and concrete required for the Pearson building, construction managed by Ledcor Group stayed relatively on schedule, Mr. Kelly says.

Assembling Bombardier’s series of long-range Global private jets, including the Global 8000, coming in 2025, will be aided by advanced robotic equipment and software to aid in precision assembly. Efficiency will also be improved because plane building will all be done under one roof in a continuous flow and weather will no longer be a factor, Mr. Kelly says. At Downsview, planes under construction had to be moved outside to move from hangar to hangar.

The new complex is designed to significantly reduce Bombardier’s environmental footprint. Bombardier estimates energy consumption will be reduced by as much as 60 per cent by increasing natural light and using more efficient LED lighting, advanced heating systems and investing in updated processing systems and electric vehicles that lower greenhouse-gas emissions. Modifications of shop workflow will significantly also reduce water use, the company says.

Other improvements over Downsview include spill-proof underground sustainable aviation tanks to store fuel for departing aircraft, and a U-shaped outdoor engine-testing area that suppresses noise and emissions. “We want to be good neighbours,” Mr. Kelly says.

The move begins at the end of August with full production due to be under way at Pearson by the end of September after orientation and test runs to make sure equipment is working to specifications.

But there won’t be a gap in deliveries to customers. Extra planes are being completed at Downsview to keep deliveries on schedule during the move, Mr. Kelly says.

“It’s exciting for all the employees to see Bombardier invest in manufacturing in Toronto,” Mr. Kelly says. “Supporting jobs in Ontario and Canada is a fantastic message, as a lot of companies are sending their work to other countries. It’s a statement for the future that Bombardier has the belief in its work force, products and productivity.”