Mississauga golf course to be turned into 27-acre park in one of city’s busiest areas

One of the fastest-growing and busiest areas in Mississauga will get to keep a 27-acre parcel of greenspace in its midst.

City of Mississauga Ward 5 Councillor Carolyn Parrish took to Twitter recently to tell residents in and around the Hurontario St./Eglinton Ave. area that the former Grand Highland Golf Course on nearby Barondale Dr. will be turned into the city’s newest park.

According to Parrish, the greenspace will remain and residents will be consulted about what they’d like to see included in the new park.

“Welcome to City of Mississauga’s newest 27-acre park!,” Parrish tweeted. “Former Grand Highland Golf Course is now officially owned by the City of Mississauga.”

Parrish went on to say that area residents will benefit from “a gorgeous, elevated plateau of parkland” situated just steps from one of the busiest corridors in Mississauga.

Welcome to City of Mississauga’s newest 27 acre park! Former Grand Highland Golf Course is now officially owned by the City of Mississauga. Ward 5 residents will benefit from a gorgeous, elevated plateau of parkland. The community will be consulted on services they want to see. pic.twitter.com/s8eDDJMnBv

— Mayor Carolyn Parrish (@carolynhparrish) December 11, 2021

Plenty of development is happening in the area, which in the next three years will also see the opening of the new Hurontario light rail transit system.

One person tweeted in response to Parrish’s announcement: “That community is quite lucky. They have the Britannia Woods Forest and now this. How did the City manage to wrestle this out of developers’ lobby?”

In another tweet over the weekend, Parrish noted that the park area was “kept out of the clutches of developers” by the Ministry of the Environment.

She said fly ash, ash produced in small dark flecks, typically from a furnace, and carried into the air, that’s sealed under the Barondale Dr. greenspace is a pollutant and would have to be removed before any housing could be built.

“The cost to do so would be many times the sale price of the land,” Parrish said via Twitter.

The nine-hole Grand Highland Golf Course opened in 1994, and closed down last year.

A timeline for redevelopment has not yet been set.

Parrish indicated that area residents will have an opportunity to have input into what’s included in the new park.

City’s Grand Highland Park was kept out of the clutches of developers by Ministry of the Environment. Fly ash sealed under tonnes of earth is a pollutant and would have to be removed before housing could be built. The cost to do so would be many times the sale price of the land.

— Mayor Carolyn Parrish (@carolynhparrish) December 11, 2021