They were supposed to get a new train station. Instead, Mimico residents are 'staring at a hole in the ground'

South Etobicoke residents say they're angry as they stare down the prospect of even longer delays to the Mimico GO station redevelopment after the project collapsed due to the developer's financial and legal problems.

In November, Metrolinx quietly terminated its agreement with Vandyk Properties to build a "transit-oriented community" next to the train station. The province confirmed the cancellation to CBC News late last month.

The cancellation came after the agency learned a court-appointed receiver took control of the developer's lands, the Ministry of Infrastructure said in an email statement.

The agreement would have seen the developer rebuild the aging station alongside a new mixed-use community featuring thousands of homes, commercial space, green space and more.

"It's been a long simmering frustration for residents in this area and this has really taken us to a boiling point, I would say, because of the lack of answers and the lack of direction forward," said Rozhen Asrani, president of the Mimico Residents Association. 

"We're really looking for some answers."

The project's collapse — the second in the past 10 years — puts in limbo the future development of a key hub in a growing community and represents a setback for the province's "transit-oriented development" strategy, which Premier Doug Ford's government is relying on heavily to increase density near major transit stations. 

In 2018, Metrolinx enlisted Vandyk for a "brand new kind of partnership" that would have seen the developer rebuild the station in exchange for development rights.

Mimico station, built the year GO Transit launched in 1967, requires improvements to its accessibility and parking as ridership increases and the surrounding community grows.

The station currently serves about 1,751 riders daily and that's expected to triple by 2031, according to Metrolinx. 

A binding agreement signed in 2022 committed Vandyk to building a new, fully accessible station building, with 300 underground parking spots, bicycle parking and a transit plaza.

On top of the station improvements, Vandyk had plans to build six apartment buildings with more than 2,000 housing units on properties next to the station on Royal York Road and Newcastle Street. Vandyk planned another development nearby on Buckingham Street with three buildings and 749 units. Together, the project was called Grand Central Mimico.

The development was the first of the province's major "transit-oriented communities," where the government partners with developers that foot much of the cost of the infrastructure in exchange for fast-tracking developments near transit hubs. The province issued a ministerial zoning order in April 2022 to override city of Toronto zoning laws for the project.

Vandyk agreed to provide several community benefits, including affordable housing, a pedestrian and cyclist bridge, extending a greenway and public art, according to city of Toronto planning documents.