Burlington and Appleby GO Stations Now in Talks for Highrise Development

Burlington's other two GO stations are now part of the tower conversation. The City of Burlington and the province have started discussing Transit-Oriented Communities at Burlington GO, at 2101 Fairview St., and Appleby GO, at 5111 Fairview St.

The talks surfaced in an August 24 city press release. A delegation of city staff and councillors met Acting Minister of Infrastructure Todd McCarthy and other ministry officials at the Association of Municipalities of Ontario conference in Ottawa, held August 16 to 19. According to the release, ministry officials discussed opportunities for community led development at all three of Burlington's Transit-Oriented Community sites, and the conversation stressed including community amenities at each one.

Detail is thin past that. Asked about potential sites, tower heights and unit counts for the two new projects, a city spokesperson pointed questions to Infrastructure Ontario. Ian McConachie, the agency's manager of media relations, said the province continues to explore opportunities for new Transit-Oriented Communities along existing or planned transit, and did not answer the specific questions. As of August 31 there were no development applications filed and no project pages for either station, either on Infrastructure Ontario's website or on the city's Current Development Projects page.

What is already on the table at Aldershot

The Aldershot GO proposal is further along. Infrastructure Ontario submitted it to the city on June 9, after three months of consultation with city staff: six buildings between 30 and 48 storeys, about 2,715 residential units and 2,086 square metres of commercial space, on Metrolinx land at 119 Masonry Crt. The site is a vacant property west of Aldershot GO's south parking lot.

Infrastructure Ontario is going through the feedback it collected at a virtual meeting and an in-person open house in July, along with comments from the city. McConachie said a second virtual meeting and open house will follow to present the updated proposal, which is the next chance for residents to see what the province has in mind.