Councillor Jon Burnside is not happy with Metrolinx officials after recently discovering the government agency had purchased property on Bayview Avenue that may be used for a residential development above an LRT station.

Jamie Robinson, director of community planning and communications with Metrolinx, said they needed to acquire the property at 1787 Bayview Ave., where the McDonald’s is, for the Bayview-Eglinton station.

Instead of purchasing or expropriating the site, Metrolinx chose to negotiate a deal with the owner of the property, Countrywide Homes, that would allow them to build above the station.

“We’re encouraging integrated development so we don’t have just a station box at a particular site,” said Robinson.

“It’s a unique opportunity, because it will potentially be one of the only stops where you’ll have residential right above a subway stop,” said Sam Balsamo, president of Condor Properties, the development management arm of Countrywide Homes.

Coun. Jon Burnside became aware of the deal when a resident on Bayview notified him that the transit agency had purchased a double duplex immediately adjacent to both the McDonald’s (at 1785 Bayview Ave.) and the property south of that, also owned by Countrywide Homes.

Acccording to Coun. Burnside, the deal could enable the developer to push for a taller development beyond the nine storeys allowed by the official plan.

Meanwhile, residents are already fighting a 19-storey proposal across the street at Sunnybrook plaza.

Burnside is also concerned that Metrolinx has a vested interest in the size of the development, despite their insistence that they are neutral.

“Metrolinx will profit per buildable square foot. So the bigger the development, the more money they get,” he said.

“[It’s] the taxpayer’s dollar [that] is building the Eglinton Crosstown, so why should all the profit go to the private sector?” asked Robinson.

As for what might be coming to the site, Balsamo said it’s too early to know for sure.