Blog > What is the Mount Joy GO development and has it been approved?
What is the Mount Joy GO development and has it been approved?
The Mount Joy GO transit-oriented community is a provincial proposal for approximately 2,090 new homes, roughly 100 new jobs, flexible retail and office space, pedestrian-friendly public space and parkland beside the Mount Joy GO station on the Stouffville line. It is led by Infrastructure Ontario for the Ministry of Infrastructure, not by a private developer and not by the City of Markham. Critically, no development application has been filed with the City and nothing has been approved by anyone. The only public consultation on record is a virtual open house held June 18, 2026. Building heights, land area and the fate of the station's 1,333 parking spaces have not been published.
What Is Actually Proposed
Infrastructure Ontario describes the Mount Joy site as delivering:
- Approximately 2,090 new homes
- Approximately 100 new jobs
- Flexible retail and office space
- Pedestrian-friendly public space and parkland
- Direct access to Mount Joy GO on the Stouffville line, including GO bus, York Region Transit and TTC bus service
Mount Joy is one of eight GO and LRT transit-oriented community sites in the provincial programme, alongside Aldershot, Clarkson, Cooksville, Guildwood, Milliken, Oakville and Whitby. Note that Milliken, also in Markham, is on the same list.
The jobs figure deserves attention. One hundred jobs against 2,090 homes is modest. This is a residential proposal with commercial space attached, not an employment district.
Who Is Behind It
This is a provincial project. Infrastructure Ontario is the proponent, with the Ministry of Infrastructure as the client. Metrolinx has formally handed the file over, stating that municipal and developer engagement and transactions at transit-oriented community sites are led by Infrastructure Ontario.
The City of Markham is not the proponent. In July 2024, Markham Council passed a resolution asking the province to coordinate on Stouffville corridor transit-oriented development, writing to the chief executives of both Metrolinx and Infrastructure Ontario to request they join a corridor planning steering committee. The record shows Council asking to be at the table, not opposing the project.
The Status, Stated Plainly
This is where most coverage gets it wrong, so it is worth being precise.
There is no City of Markham planning application for the Mount Joy transit-oriented community. It does not appear on the City's zoning by-law and official plan amendment notices, it does not appear in the bi-weekly circulated application lists, and it has no development application number. It is not an official plan amendment, not a zoning by-law amendment, not a secondary plan and not a draft plan of subdivision.
It is a provincial programme site at the pre-application and public engagement stage.
Technical studies exist and are listed: architectural drawings, a 3D model, a planning justification rationale, a functional servicing report, civil drawings, a stormwater management report, a transportation impact study and a pedestrian wind study. All of them are marked available on request rather than published. That is why the specifics below cannot be stated.
What Has Not Been Published
Michael John Lau, a REALTOR® serving home buyers and home sellers in Markham, Ontario, thinks buyers deserve the honest version of what is unknown here, because the gaps are large.
| Question | Status |
|---|---|
| Building heights and storeys | Not published |
| Land area in hectares or acres | Not published |
| Retail and office square footage | Not published |
| Size of the parkland | Not published |
| Community facilities | Not mentioned |
| Exact site boundary relative to the station | Not published |
| Fate of the 1,333 station parking spaces | Not addressed anywhere |
| Construction start or occupancy estimate | Not published |
The parking question is the one that matters most to people who already live nearby. Mount Joy GO at 1801 Bur Oak Avenue carries 1,333 parking spaces, the second largest lot in Markham after Unionville. Transit-oriented communities are typically built on station parking lots. No public source addresses what happens to those spaces, and anyone who commutes from Mount Joy should treat that as the open question.
Residents wanting answers can request the drawing set and transportation impact study from Infrastructure Ontario at EngageIO@infrastructureontario.ca.
Do Not Confuse This With the Secondary Plan
There are two separate Mount Joy area initiatives, and they are routinely conflated.
1. The Mount Joy GO transit-oriented community
Provincial. Approximately 2,090 homes. No application filed. Not approved. Described above.
2. The Markham Road and Mount Joy Secondary Plan
City-led, much larger, and genuinely approved. The study area covers both sides of Markham Road from 16th Avenue to Major Mackenzie Drive East, bounded on the east by the Stouffville rail corridor. At full buildout it contemplates:
- Approximately 33,000 residents
- Approximately 6,000 jobs
- Nine new public parks
- Two new schools
Its timeline: studied from November 2019 to June 2023, public meeting November 21, 2023, adopted by Council on June 12, 2024 as Official Plan Amendment 53, approved by York Region on June 27, 2024, and currently under appeal at the Ontario Land Tribunal, case number OLT-24-000745.
The secondary plan is roughly fifteen times larger in population terms than the transit-oriented community proposal, and it is the one already through Council. If you are trying to understand what will change in northeast Markham over the next twenty years, that is the document to read.
Which Neighbourhoods Are Affected
The secondary plan names the communities it serves as Berczy Village, Wismer Commons, Greensborough and Swan Lake. Those are the four established neighbourhoods immediately around the corridor.
Cornell and Box Grove sit further south and southeast and are not named as bordering the station area, though both would feel the transit and traffic effects.
For context on what is there today, first quarter 2026 detached averages were approximately $1,451,000 in Wismer Commons, $1,488,000 in Berczy Village and $1,312,000 in Greensborough.
Questions about your own property or timeline? Call Michael John Lau, REALTOR®, at (416) 700-0286 for a direct answer on your street and your situation.
What This Means for Buyers and Owners
If you own nearby
- Nothing is approved and nothing is imminent. A pre-application provincial concept is years from a shovel even on an optimistic timeline.
- The secondary plan is the real variable, and it is under appeal, which adds its own uncertainty.
- Disclose what you know when you sell. A buyer who finds out afterward is a buyer with a grievance.
If you are buying nearby
- Ask about parking. If your value case rests on driving to Mount Joy GO and parking free, understand that the space count is the unanswered question.
- Density is coming to the corridor, through the secondary plan if not through the provincial site.
- Do not pay a premium today for units that may never be built, and do not discount a home for the same reason. Neither position is supported yet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has the Mount Joy GO development been approved?
No. There is no City of Markham planning application for it and no approval from any body. It is a provincial transit-oriented community programme site at the pre-application and public engagement stage.
How many homes are proposed at Mount Joy GO?
Approximately 2,090, along with roughly 100 jobs, flexible retail and office space, public space and parkland.
Who is building the Mount Joy GO development?
Infrastructure Ontario is leading it on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure. It is a provincial project, not a private developer's and not the City of Markham's. No builder has been named.
What happens to the parking at Mount Joy GO?
No public source addresses it. The station currently has 1,333 spaces. Transit-oriented communities are commonly built on station parking, so this is the most consequential unanswered question for current commuters.
How tall will the Mount Joy GO buildings be?
Building heights have not been published. The technical drawings exist but are available only on request from Infrastructure Ontario rather than posted publicly.
What is the Markham Road and Mount Joy Secondary Plan?
A separate and much larger City-led plan covering Markham Road from 16th Avenue to Major Mackenzie Drive East, contemplating roughly 33,000 residents, 6,000 jobs, nine parks and two schools. It was adopted as Official Plan Amendment 53 in June 2024 and is currently under appeal at the Ontario Land Tribunal.
Buying near Mount Joy GO?
Michael John Lau separates what is approved from what is proposed, because buyers are entitled to know which one they are being sold.
Michael John Lau, REALTOR® · Markham, Ontario · (416) 700-0286
Disclaimer. Michael John Lau is a licensed REALTOR® serving buyers and sellers in Markham, Ontario and the Greater Toronto Area. Development details are current to September 2026 and reflect information published by Infrastructure Ontario and the City of Markham. Proposals change, and nothing described here is approved. Buyers are encouraged to confirm current status directly with Infrastructure Ontario and the City of Markham.