It has been over 25-years since York University last updated its Master Plan for the Keele Campus. Over that time a lot has changed: enrolment is up almost 45%, nearing 53,000 students; the campus now accommodates 87 buildings totaling 7.76 million square feet of floor space; four transit providers drive 2,000 buses on and off the campus daily; and two on-campus subway stations, due to open at the end of 2017, will link the campus to the city and York Region.

The new Keele Campus Master Plan provides a framework for viewing the campus’ three academic precincts through three lenses – Pedestrians First, Greening and Infilling. It will serve both as a guide and a working tool for all stakeholders, including staff, students, faculty and partners, to use in decision-making for new growth in the academic core. It focuses on the physical design of the campus by identifying, among other things, sites for future academic buildings, providing urban design guidelines for each development site, as well as the form and character of open space, and identifying new pedestrian and cycling routes, roads and parking. The document also satisfies the City of Toronto’s York University Secondary Plan requirement to have a ‘precinct plan’ for the academic core of the University.

The Keele Campus Master Plan was approved by York University in Spring 2014, and is currently being reviewed by the City of Toronto prior to City Council endorsement in early 2016.