The Rose Corporation’s future 27.3-acre master-planned community at 420 South Service Rd. E. in Oakville, Ont. is temporarily being used for storing shipping containers and motor vehicles under an interim zoning use bylaw before development begins.

While Oakville town council unanimously approved the official plan amendment and zoning by-law amendment applications for the development last month, The Rose Corporation development vice-president David Bannerman told RENX that there’s still “a lot of heavy lifting left to do."

“We still have a draft plan subdivision," he said. "We still have site plan. We're still going to get a building permit, and that’s contingent on a lot of work with not only the Town but also Halton Region on servicing and Conservation Halton on floodplain management.” 

The property, located just east of Trafalgar Road on the former General Electric (GE) manufacturing site, was acquired two years ago for $45 million. GE had considered developing the site itself but decided it would be better off selling to an experienced developer.

“They wanted to find a buyer who they believed would take care of their land and integrate it into the community because they felt they owed a debt of gratitude to Oakville,” Rose Corp. president Dan Berholz told RENX in the same interview.

What the development will include

The underutilized brownfield employment lands include the facade of a heritage building that will be moved a short distance to another part of the site to accommodate an Ontario Ministry of Transportation expansion project.

The project is expected to deliver approximately 5,600 homes across 14 buildings on four development blocks at full build-out. It will also include approximately 180,000 square feet of at-grade retail and commercial space as well as approximately five acres of fully integrated parks and open space.

The Rose Corporation is targeting late 2027 for the start of construction on the development’s first phase, a purpose-built rental apartment. 

As the project advances, the company will continue working with municipal, regional, provincial and federal partners to co-ordinate infrastructure delivery, advance purpose-built rental housing and help accelerate the creation of a complete midtown community.

“Every building and every block will have everything it needs completed at every stage,” said Bannerman.

The retail component will be scaled up in later blocks to accommodate the growing number of residents.

Design and planning

The design team for the development includes Concord, Ont.-based Graziani + Corazza Architects, Danish landscape architecture firm SLA and British-headquartered architecture firm Allies and Morrison. 

The Rose Corporation has been proactive in communicating with area residents and received positive feedback. While it brought in European designers, the concept for the development is for it to fit seamlessly with what’s already in Oakville.

“The residents are known historically for being challenging when it comes to development,” said Berholz. “However, what we found was that when we asked them what they wanted, it aligned with what we wanted to do.” 

Development and acquisition pipelines

The Rose Corporation is a real estate development and asset management organization with a 44-year track record. It recently completed, or is actively developing, more than 10,000 new homes and lots with completion values exceeding $6 billion.

The Toronto-based company is hiring people and continuing to look for both highrise and lowrise rental development opportunities. 

“As we take on larger projects that get more media attention, our phones ring a lot more and a lot more deals come to us,” said Bannerman. “There are a lot of inbound opportunities these days so, we're a little more selective.”

“There's a lot of land out there right now in the market, and it's very hard to unlock the value,” added Berholz. “We have a few iterations of our typical business plan that seem to be working, so we're going to try to keep using that playbook until we have to adjust it again.” 

Scarborough, Ont. highrise developments

A 27-storey purpose-built apartment at 26 Gilder Dr. in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough was topped off in late May. It will include 80 affordable and 261 market-priced units 800 metres from the Kennedy subway station. 

The building was the first of 44 projects currently under construction to break ground under the City of Toronto’s Rental Housing Supply Program in March 2025. It has Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation Apartment Construction Loan Program financing and occupancy is anticipated in late 2027.

The Rose Corporation is going through the approvals process and would like to break ground at another Scarborough highrise apartment at 2347 Eglinton Ave. E. next year.

“We're increasing our presence in Scarborough,” said Bannerman. “There's not many people building in Scarborough generally, and we're also able to work out a pretty extensive affordable program there.”

Midhurst, Ont. lowrise subdivision

The Rose Corporation and Claridge acquired a 241-acre site for $116 million for a residential subdivision in Midhurst Heights, north of Barrie, Ont., in September 2022.

The site will have approximately 1,500 low-rise housing lots and infrastructure servicing has been completed for the first phase.

“It's a beautiful location with incredible access to skiing, hiking and all sorts of outdoor activities,” said Berholz. “You’re a five-minute drive from the retail corridor on Bayfield Street and another five minutes down the road you're getting to the Barrie waterfront.”

Multiple builders have purchased lots on the site to construct and sell homes while The Rose Corporation is looking at developing four-plex rental homes. More than half of them will have three bedrooms.

“What we're trying to do is create an opportunity for people who can't necessarily come up with the large deposits necessary to buy homes in this community,” said Berholz. 

“Instead of having to come up with a deposit, we're providing them with a rental option to move into a house that has a front yard, a garage and a back yard.”