BURLINGTON, Ontario—On a quiet and cozy street along the shores of the Burlington Bay at the westernmost point of Lake Ontario, rests a generous and rare lot that’s now on the lookout for a worthy millionaire.
The waterfront estate at 140 Oaklands Park Court in Burlington is the brainchild of Tim DeGroote, a wealthy entrepreneur who made his fortune in the land development business. Built in the early 2000s, the waterfront estate went up for sale Saturday.
“Every room here has got a pretty good view,” he said, walking around the house barefoot.
“They use to call it the Golden Coast,” he noted, referring to the evening view of all the lights along the opposite shore.
Outside, a helicopter owned by his nephew sits at one end of the dock, a reminder of how the wealthy can commute from Bay Street to Burlington without the muss and fuss of rush-hour traffic.
The view out the windows is an urban one with downtown Hamilton and the Hamilton Steel Mills in front and a bridge marking the far left.
“I love being on this side of the bridge, because I’m able to have whatever boat I want here,” Degroote explains. Other than driving around in his boats, DeGroote also enjoys watching the sail boats out in the water.
“Down here, your noise is the water,” he said.
His house is one of the only two waterfront properties at Burlington Bay to have a private marina. The other house, just down the shore, belongs to billionaire Ron Joyce, the founder of Tim Hortons.
DeGroote’s waterfront estate is plenty accessible. You can reach it by car, as highways 403 and the QEW are just at the next intersection. You can also take a boat to the place, or you can arrive in style by waterplane, or helicopter.
“To me it’s so close yet so far from everything ... it’s a quiet, hidden corner,” DeGroote described his fortress.
