Halton Region buys Georgetown lot to build 28-unit housing block
The $1.75 million purchase of 89 Guelph Street aims to expand assisted housing near an existing senior facility.
By Bianca Shevchenko ·
The core tension in Halton’s housing plan involves balancing limited regional funds against the high cost of land. The region resolved part of this issue by buying a vacant parcel at 89 Guelph Street in Georgetown. The transaction cost $1.75 million, a price tag that reflects the premium for a site already surrounded by established social infrastructure.
Planners propose a single five-storey structure on the lot. The design includes up to 28 units of assisted and supportive housing. This new building would sit directly next to two current facilities: an 89-unit project run by the Halton Community Housing Corporation and a Community Wellness Hub. The physical adjacency is the primary driver of the project’s feasibility.
Halton Hills Mayor Ann Lawlor spoke at the Nov. 4 council meeting, the final one of her term. She described the purchase as a valuable addition to the local housing stock. Lawlor noted that the new site borders the existing senior housing project at 8 Durham Street. She called the combination of these properties a potential new hub for assisted housing in Georgetown and Halton Hills.
The region’s Comprehensive Housing Strategy targets the construction of 450 to 1,350 new assisted and supportive housing units over the next ten years. The lower end of that range depends solely on regional funding. The higher end requires matching dollars from provincial and federal governments. This new lot purchase is a single step toward meeting that decade-long quota.
Further planning reports for the 89 Guelph Street site are scheduled for council review in early 2027. Lawlor joked that the project’s progress served as a retirement present. She said she looks forward to being invited to the ribbon-cutting, adding that she hopes she is not moving into the building before that event occurs.
