The Town of Ajax is laying the groundwork for a transformative residential and commercial development surrounding the Ajax GO Station, with a new secondary plan that could bring tens of thousands of new homes and residents to the area over the coming decades.
With Ontario’s population projected to exceed 20 million by 2051, municipalities across the province are racing to plan new communities around existing transit infrastructure. Ajax is the latest to advance a major transit oriented development proposal, and the town is inviting residents to weigh in at a public meeting later this month.
The Ajax GO Station secondary plan, a Housing Accelerator Fund initiative developed in partnership with the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation, is designed to permit and encourage a significant increase in housing, commercial properties, and public spaces within 800 metres of the station at 100 Westney Road South. The Ajax GO Station is classified as a protected major transit station area, meaning the town is required by upper levels of government to establish zoning rules, minimum density targets, and job creation goals for the surrounding lands.
Earlier this year, Mayor Shaun Collier directed town staff to establish a minimum building height of 25 storeys within approximately 300 metres of the GO Station and 12 storeys within the remaining secondary plan boundary. The mayor also called for mixed use development throughout the area, privately owned publicly accessible spaces, a minimum amount of outdoor recreational and amenity spaces, and a requirement for at least 50 jobs per hectare in the first phase of development.
The town has released three potential land use concepts, each representing a different density scenario for the Ajax GO Station community. All three account for approximately 8,840 units already in the pipeline from approved and proposed high rise applications near the station.
The first concept would permit buildings up to 25 storeys and envisions 14,100 new residential units, 2,200 jobs, and a population of roughly 24,500 residents. Planners picture retail stores, service facilities, offices, restaurants, hotels, medical offices, grocery stores, and daycares concentrated near the Westney Road South and Fairall Street intersection.
The second concept raises the stakes with taller buildings, allowing heights up to 35 storeys. This scenario assumes 740 people and jobs per hectare, 17,700 new residential units, 1,900 jobs, and approximately 31,300 residents. It would create a pedestrian oriented area around the GO Station along with two neighbourhood parks and an urban square.
The most ambitious scenario, the third concept, proposes buildings up to 60 storeys with 930 people and jobs per hectare. It envisions 21,900 new residential units, 3,600 jobs, and a population of roughly 38,200 residents. This concept includes an urban square directly adjacent to the GO Station designed for year round community gatherings, along with two neighbourhood parks distributed on both sides of Westney Road South.
All three concepts aim to transform the area around the Ajax GO Station from a predominantly low rise suburban landscape into a dense, walkable, mixed use urban community that leverages the existing GO Transit rail service.
A public meeting regarding the Ajax GO Station secondary plan will be held on May 14 at HMS Hall North in the Ajax Community Centre, located at 75 Centennial Road. The session begins at 5 p.m. and will give residents an opportunity to review the proposals, ask questions, and provide feedback that will inform the town’s final planning decisions.
The scale of the proposal represents one of the largest potential developments in Ajax history and could dramatically reshape the character of the community surrounding the GO Station for generations to come.
