After six years of preparation, National Homes will launch sales this spring for NorthShore, a mid-rise condominium and stacked townhome development with almost 400 units at 490 Plains Rd. E. in Burlington, Ont.

National acquired the site from a local property owner after a bidding process in 2017. It was an older retail plaza with a Home Hardware, Dollar Tree and bingo hall as its largest tenants at the time. While waiting for the retail leases to expire, National took the property through the rezoning and approvals processes to get the go-ahead to build a multi-phased residential development.

“The area is really urbanizing and changing from what it was historically,” National president and chief executive officer Jason Pantalone told RENX. “(That urbanization) is going to bring great life to the street with new amenities and new restaurants and bars that will really help the community thrive.” 

The bingo hall has been torn down and the Dollar Tree store is being converted to a sales centre for NorthShore.

The remaining portion of the plaza will be demolished prior to construction of the two eight-storey residences and townhomes.

The goal is to begin construction of the first phase this fall, with first occupancy two years later. It will include 153 units in the first condo building and 36 stacked townhouses.

Construction of the second phase is anticipated to start in the fall of 2025, with first occupancy following two years after that. It will include approximately 125 units in a mid-rise condo and 74 stacked townhouses.

KIRKOR Architects and Planners is the architect and esQape is the interior designer for NorthShore. 

What NorthShore offers

One-bedroom units encompassing approximately 500 square feet will be priced starting at $499,900.

NorthShore will also offer one-bedroom-plus-den, two-bedroom, two-bedroom-plus-den and three-bedroom units ranging in approximate size from 550 to 950 square feet. No prices have yet been released for the larger units.

“What the offering really brings to the market is an affordable price point in the North Shore community, which is a prestigious neighbourhood in Burlington, where down-sizers have the opportunity to stay within the community that they grew up in and either downsize or purchase a unit for their children,” Pantalone said. 

“And then it offers an affordable option for a young professional that may work in Toronto but has always wanted to stay in Burlington or live in Burlington.”

The site is located between the Burlington and Aldershot GO Transit stations, which provide easy access to Toronto to the east.

It is just a few minutes of driving time to the Queen Elizabeth Way and to Highways 403 and 407, according to National. 

It overlooks Burlington Golf & Country Club, is across the street from Maplehurst Public School and is in close proximity to other schools, shopping and Joseph Brant Hospital.

NorthShore’s amenities will include: a fitness room; a multi-purpose lounge and kitchen; co-working space; and a rooftop terrace offering views of the golf course and Lake Ontario in the distance.

“Everything to the south of us is single-family homes,” Pantalone observed. “So there's no risk of any views being blocked in the future.”

Despite today’s economic uncertainty, high interest rates and escalating costs, and some condo developers putting projects on hold, Pantalone is confident about a spring sales launch for NorthShore — especially because other proposed developments in the city are still in the approvals stage.

“We feel like there isn't much competition in Burlington,” he said. "We're hoping to get out of the gate first and not be second or third.”

Other National developments

National was founded in 1992 and has since developed more than 20,000 acres of land and more than 15,000 homes across the Greater Toronto Area.

It has two projects underway and owns land in Milton that’s still years away from development. 

Duo Condos is a multi-phased residential community with commercial space at grade from National and Brixen Developments at 245 Steeles Ave. W. in Brampton. Upon completion, it will include two 26-storey towers with a shared six-storey podium and 800 residential units.

There were 289 units sold in Duo’s first tower during its first month of sales. Some inventory was held back but should be released in the next few months.

The first three levels of underground parking have been completed and occupancy is scheduled for the fall of 2024.

Sales for the second tower will launch in early 2024.

Whitehorn Woods is a 105-unit townhome development at 1240 Britannia Rd. W. in Mississauga.

“We launched in a challenging time, but we had great success with selling 23 units in our first release and we're now gearing up for our second release,” Pantalone said.

“It's just a matter of waiting for some confidence in the market, but there's so much pent-up demand right now that we feel confident that we'll be able to release that this year.”