The owners of meat processing plant, Tender Choice Foods, that was ravaged by fire in December 2017 have a redevelopment plan in place.
The intent is to demolish the two existing Paletta Court buildings and create a new, state-of-the-art office and industrial redevelopment. This will be the new headquarters for the Alinea Group development company, formerly the Paletta Group of Companies.
On Dec. 6, 2017, a fire caused an estimated $10 million in damages at 4480 Paletta Crt. An Ontario Fire Marshall investigation could not determine the cause.
The blaze started in the tenanted portion of the building, which was leased by Blue Goose Pure Foods, who had purchased the assets of Tender Choice Foods in October 2016. The incident caused their business to go into receivership.
Although the plant building incurred significant damage, the offices were unharmed.
“Alinea is currently operating out of those offices having relocated here several years ago from our temporary office location at 4450 Paletta Court, which was where we operated out of during the immediate aftermath of the fire. We are excited to move forward and finally put what happened in December 2017 behind us. It’s been a long time coming,” said Dave Pitblado, Alinea Group director of real estate development.
Along with plans to eventually construct a new Alinea headquarters building, the design, which is currently being worked on by architects, will include approximately 300,000 square feet of new leasable light industrial/employment space in three new buildings. All existing buildings located on the 18.5-acre property will be demolished and replaced.
“All other existing buildings on the property are currently vacant with the expectation that once demolition permits are obtained later this year, we can commence demolition to make way for the new buildings. While specific demolition and construction timelines have yet to be determined, we do know that for practical purposes, development will need to be phased over several years,” said Pitblado.
According to the City of Burlington, the site plan was approved on March 4, 2024, with some conditions. One being obtaining minor variance approval, which was granted on Jan. 22, 2025.
“The developer is now working to meet the remaining site plan requirements before applying for building permits. The process of securing the necessary approvals for the eventual redevelopment of this property is well underway. Conditional site plan approval has already been granted and efforts are ongoing to clear those conditions. Located within the strategically important Appleby Major Transit Station Area, we are working hard to reanimate the site and bring new employment and economic opportunity to the city. There is still work to be done,” said a City of Burlington spokesperson.
The Alinea Group is the biggest landowner in the region and the developer behind many high-profile projects such as the 407 and Appleby Crossing.
Owned by the Paletta family, their name is a well-known one in Hamilton and Burlington due to many sponsorships and donations such as Paletta Lakefront Park and Mansion in Burlington and the Paul Paletta Children’s Hospice in Dundas.
“It’s an exciting time for Alinea, the redevelopment of the Paletta Court property is just one of many significant projects we are working on,” said Pitblado.
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