Beau Brooker is managing an important part of one of North America's largest redevelopments. But once completed, its residents, office workers and shoppers are likely to never see the accomplishment.

As vice president of construction at Northcrest Developments, Brooker is charged with overseeing years of underground infrastructure work at Toronto's former Downsview Airport before the first offices, residences or stores rise above ground.

The $30 billion, or about $21 billion in U.S. dollars, YZD project requires new roads, utilities, stormwater facilities and other servicing across the 370-acre site before vertical construction can begin. The redevelopment has attracted major U.S. real estate developer Hines to work with Canada developer Northcrest Developments and Ottawa-based Public Sector Pension Investment Board on over 40 acres of the Hangar District, the project’s first district.

His first year in the role has "been great, obviously a huge learning curve," Brooker said. "The project is massive. It's split into a number of phases to make it manageable. It'd be impossible to deliver everything at the same time."

Brooker has experience in working on major projects. He arrived at Northcrest in 2025 after working for about two years at Langara Construction. From 2016 to 2022, Brooker served as a director at Katz Real Estate Group and helped complete Edmonton's multibillion ICE District, another large-scale master-planned development.

Before entering the construction industry, the United Kingdon native spent 12 years in the Royal Navy as a marine engineer and earned his diploma in engineering from the Royal Navy School Of Engineering.

"I spent most of my time out in Alberta working on a large project, the ICE District, a master-planned community that set me up well for a similar type of project," he said. The timing lined up well. While ICE District was progressing through later stages of development, YZD was preparing to move from years of planning, rezoning and approvals into active construction.

Building next generation of infrastructure

Brooker said Northcrest is finalizing designs in the Hangar District while advancing approvals and permits. In all, plans call for YZD to include seven districts, tens of thousands of homes, millions of square feet of commercial space and over 70 acres of parks and public space in a project expected to take more than three decades to build.

"The first thing that's going to happen moving forward is we have to carry out a huge below-grade infrastructure project," Brooker said. "It's an old airport and the infrastructure is there for an airport. We need to change all of that infrastructure."

While the below-grade work isn't high-profile, it plays a vital role in the YZD mixed-use project, he said. "The first project is all underground," Brooker said. "It's building the veins and the arteries."

That work, including the roads, utilities and stormwater facilities needed to prepare the Hangar District for construction, is expected to take two to three years.

"We've got a couple of years to do infrastructure until the parcels are ready to be built upon," Brooker said. "When we do the vertical construction for the Hangar District, we're going to be moving to the next district" to lay the groundwork.

"The team has been working on this for seven years, rezoning and all the work they've been doing up until this point," Brooker said. "The timing has worked out great. I've managed to finish that one and start this one."

Thinking decades ahead

Brooker said projects with 30-year timelines require a very different mindset than a typical development. "We're very lucky. It's a 30-year project plus," he said. "Who knows what's going to happen in 30 years' time? We've built in flexibility."

Technology offers a reminder of how much can change over a generation, and projects need to be built with that in mind, he said: "Some of the decisions we make today are key. The decisions you do today can affect you in 25 years' time if you don't do it right."

His engineering background continues to influence his approach. "This is very big and I can't be an expert in everything," Brooker said. "Fortunately we have really good engineering teams, in-house engineers and dedicated consultants. My job is to recognize and ask the right questions," he added. "I don't necessarily know the answers, but I ask the questions. Never assume or presume anything."

Northcrest recently completed enabling works including stormwater facilities and a dedicated construction road designed to reduce disruption for surrounding communities as development activity increases. "We care about our neighbours," Brooker said. "It's a long-term project, and we want to work closely with those guys."

Outside work, Brooker spends time walking his two dogs, a springer spaniel and a German shepherd, and visiting other cities when his schedule allows. Those breaks are helpful because YZD rarely leaves his thoughts for long. "There's a lot going on. They are long days," he said. "I think we all wake up in the middle of the night and think about things on our minds."

Even after years spent delivering major developments, the scale of YZD still stands out, he said.

"Someone can explain it to you," Brooker said. "But when you see the plans for real, it's breathtaking."

Read the original article here.