Caledon commits $50,000 to design of new public square in Caledon East

Corner of Airport Road and Emma Street eyed for downtown revitalization

Caledon council has approved $50,000 to pay for the detailed design of a new public square in Caledon East, moving a long-planned downtown revitalization project one step closer to construction. The decision was made at council's July 7 General Committee meeting, according to the Caledon Citizen.

The money will come from the Town's DC Parks reserve, and the capital funding needed to actually build the square is expected to be included in the 2027 municipal budget.

The motion was brought forward by Councillor Doug Maskell and seconded by Mayor Annette Groves. It passed unanimously at the committee level, with final ratification expected at the July 28 council meeting.

A corner vacant for 40 years

The site of the future public square sits at the corner of Airport Road and Emma Street in the heart of Caledon East. The parcels of land sat empty for roughly 40 years before the Town of Caledon purchased the property in 2024.

The design concept that councillors endorsed grew out of extensive public consultation. Residents shared their views through Have Your Say Caledon, the Town's online engagement platform, on the Caledon East Revitalization Task Force page. Further feedback was gathered in person at Caledon Day in both 2025 and 2026.

Based on that input, the task force endorsed the initial design concept for the square.

Task force guiding downtown renewal

The Caledon East Revitalization Task Force was established by council on June 6, 2023. Its mandate, as stated in the source material, was "to recommend and implement activations, events, projects, and beautification initiatives that support the revitalization of downtown Caledon East as approved by council and provide updates to council and the public on progress made."

At the July 7 meeting, Councillor Mario Russo thanked Maskell for bringing the motion forward. He said doing the work alongside other planned revitalization projects in the village would avoid unnecessary disruption and let residents see the benefits sooner.

"If there are possibilities to expedite the work and do it in conjunction with other work, then we don't get criticized for finishing work and then starting new work. It gives us an opportunity to have the work done simultaneously and quickly," Russo said, according to the Caledon Citizen.

Residents can watch for the design work to unfold over the coming months, with construction funding set to be debated as part of next year's budget deliberations.