Homewood Suites | ? | 15 fl | Complete

[SteelTown]

Rendering….
http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k28/segaert/oddstuff/hilton.jpg

Demolition of the old Hamilton Motor Product building is currently taking place to make room for the new Hilton Hotel.

[cityguy]

What is the location of this building?

[SteelTown]

It's right at the corner of Bay and Main.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Hamilton+ontario&ie=UTF8&ll=43.256948,-79.874945&spn=0.001746,0.003524&t=h&z=18&iwloc=addr&om=1

It's an ideal location for a Hotel as it's right in the middle of Hess Village (a very popular pub/restaurant district) and downtown Hamilton.

Red circle is where the hotel will go and the blue outline circle is where Hess Village is and "Eaton Centre" is the downtown core.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v384/Aallen396/hiltonmap.jpg

The front entrance is facing towards George St.

[DC83]

Hey Steeltown, did you say construction was suppose to start Spring '08? Or has that been pushed up since they demo'd HMP so quickly?

[raisethehammer]

I think construction will start sooner if it's all demo'd and cleared in time.
i've got a hard copy of the new rendering. looks great. same style, but right up to the street corner with a ground floor restaurant and huge patio facing Bay St (probably Beaver and Bulldog I've been told, since Darko owns that chain)

[DC83]

Sweet... damn Mac's! haha I wanna see those renders!

Beaver & Bulldog just opened up across from Upp James Cinemas, right?
That's awesome to hear... hopefully it's a big bar/resto! Will need to be to accomodate Hess Villagers + (soon-to-be?) Federal Bldg tenants!

[SteelTown]

I say spring of 08 because the demo will take time probably be finished by the end of the first week of November. After that I think they'll take a break and install fences all around the property. During that time Darko will probably search for a construction contract and a crane and by then it'll be spring time to start building.

[the dude]

update:
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa121/the_dude1974/IMG_0299.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa121/the_dude1974/IMG_0302.jpg

[matt602]

Very depressing :(

[DC83]

Very depressing :(

totally!! I wish they would keep it how it was in the original render. But aslong as this hotel adds to the expansion of Hess, I guess it'll be worth it... *crosses fingers*

[LikeHamilton]

HMP Demo video at Spec.com

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/video2/hmp.html

[SteelTown]

That didn't take long. Hopefully construction of the Hilton will start right away but I doubt it. They'll likely take the winter off and start in the spring. *shrugs* god just thinking of winter is depressing.

[matt602]

It's gonna be a very depressing hole in the ground to look at. Darko better get hoping on construction.

[the dude]

he and his son will likely both be in jail before the year's out. just a feeling i have.

[DC83]

^^ I'm not worried about them being in jail, but I ALSO have this feeling that their "projects" aren't going to materialize. THIS is why I'm so pissed about the demo of HMP. Well that and b/c it's a historical bldg. I know it's just going to sit there for years and years... yet another parking lot for Hess!

Wasn't the (old) Leather's store demo'd as part of the Century Theather development? We've been f'd over one-to-many times by developers in this city.

[raisethehammer]

yup..Leathers was demo'd.

[SteelTown]

http://www.thespec.com/images/assets/375685_3.JPG

Demolition work is under way on the former HMP (Hamilton Motor Products) downtown garage at the corner of Bay St. and Main St. yesterday. The garage -- built in 1911 for McLaughlin Motor Car Co., predecessor to the Canadian arm of General Motors, is being demolished to make way for a new hotel on the site.

[realcity]

^^ I'm not worried about them being in jail, but I ALSO have this feeling that their "projects" aren't going to materialize. THIS is why I'm so pissed about the demo of HMP. Well that and b/c it's a historical bldg. I know it's just going to sit there for years and years... yet another parking lot for Hess!

Wasn't the (old) Leather's store demo'd as part of the Century Theather development? We've been f'd over one-to-many times by developers in this city.

I share your concerns. I'll believe it when those pimps build it.

[SteelTown]

HMP Redevelopment Begins
Nov, 02 2007 - 2:30 PM

HAMILTON (AM900 CHML) - Another sign of downtown redevelopment.

The demolition of the former HMP garage at Main and Bay has begun, less than two weeks after getting the go head from city hall.

It's being torn down to make way for a Hilton Homewood Suites Hotel.

The downtown renewal division's Ron Marini has said that he would like the project to be completed by the spring of 2009.

[DC83]

^^ what he "would like" to happen and what WILL ACTUALLY HAPPEN are two completely different things.

You know you're in Hamilton when demolition is considered "Another sign of downtown redevelopment" ! haha

[raisethehammer]

the spec has been loving this...they have an entire video on their site about the demolition.
now they have one today about the 'big bad Balmoral tavern'.
what a lame paper.

[DC83]

the spec has been loving this...they have an entire video on their site about the demolition.
now they have one today about the 'big bad Balmoral tavern'.
what a lame paper.

It WAS big & bad when it was a TAVERN! Now it's empty, totally restorable... but is being demo'd.

I didn't read the article as I don't usually waste my time on the Spec unless it's an article posted on here by Steeltown (he always highlights the useful parts) hahaha. But I'm pretty sure the HWCDSB will build a new building on it's site. Like I said b4, Cathedral has been looking to build new since like 98-99. So I'm actually optomisitic about the Balmoral Tavern demo.

[raisethehammer]

you're in Hamilton DC83...the board is using it for (get ready) parking.
They SAY they'll turn it into a park at some point in the future...yea, fat chance.
Once something goes parking in the Hammer it stays parking.
I saw HMP demo tonight...man, really sad. I didn't think I'd be as upset to see it go, but am really ticked. It was a beauty.

[DC83]

you're in Hamilton DC83...the board is using it for (get ready) parking.
They SAY they'll turn it into a park at some point in the future...yea, fat chance.
Once something goes parking in the Hammer it stays parking.
I saw HMP demo tonight...man, really sad. I didn't think I'd be as upset to see it go, but am really ticked. It was a beauty.

You never realize just how much you miss something until it's gone... unless you're Jack MacDonald... then you don't have a soul and could care less about anything of historical significance.

And now that I think about it, you're totally right, rth! Cathedral severly lacked in parking when I attended (my last 2 years they added 3 portables in the King St Lot taking up 3/4 of it's parking space). THEN they redid Wentworth St and took away ALL street parking.
Damn... I wish I were right in this case! :(
Can't they use the (mafia)-bombed out Vietnamese Shop across the street (s/e corner of King/Went) for parking??? UGH.

[raisethehammer]

I'm not just guessing...that's what they said in the spec article...using it for parking.

[the dude]

more demo photos.
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa121/the_dude1974/IMG_0323.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa121/the_dude1974/IMG_0322.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa121/the_dude1974/IMG_0321.jpg

[DC83]

^^ sweet!! So they're working on the old Fed Bldg at the same time??
Maybe we'll start to see progress soon if this Spring'08 opening is true!

[raisethehammer]

nothing will be opening by spring 08. that's like 6 months from now.

[SteelTown]

He probably meant Spring 09, that's the goal deadline for Hilton.

[DC83]

He probably meant Spring 09, that's the goal deadline for Hilton.

Ya sorry, the quote was:
The downtown renewal division's Ron Marini has said that he would like the project to be completed by the spring of 2009.

So I guess construction wont be starting til spring 08

[raisethehammer]

here's hoping...I get nervous when we knock down buildings and then sit around HOPING that something gets built.

[SteelTown]

Concert hall, parking lot, hotel part of core revival

Nicole Macintyre
The Hamilton Spectator
(Nov 9, 2007)

Three major private projects promise to boost downtown Hamilton with lights, music and better parking.

The demolition of the old HMP dealership at the corner of Bay and Main streets is underway to make room for a new Hilton Homewood Suites. Developer Darko Vranich is behind the 15-storey hotel.

Just blocks away, Vranich's son Denis is planning to tear down a burned out apartment building at the corner of Hess and King streets to build a concert theatre the size of Toronto's Massey Hall.

"What it will do for Hess Village is huge," said Gord Moodie, the city's co-ordinator of downtown municipal incentives

He said the building's previous owner was proposing an 18-storey condo tower that didn't fit with the neighbourhood. The concert theatre, based on the House of Blues venue in Dallas, will make the village an attraction year round and help with noise complaints by bringing music inside, said Moodie. "I think we'll see a lot more restaurants instead of bars in the village."

Moodie expects the approximately $15-million project, which would qualify for a tax break, to start in the spring and take about 18 months to complete. A new parking structure already approved between Hess and Caroline will be perfectly placed to serve concertgoers, said Moodie.

On the other side of downtown, the city's new development corporation has made its first offer on a parking lot behind the old Sandbar Tavern.

Moodie said the $15-million to $20-million proposal features multiple floors of parking combined with retail and residential units.

The activity is a boost for Councillor Bob Bratina.

After months of promising action on the Hilton hotel, he was pleased to see the bulldozers last week.

The hotel will bring life and light to a dark corner. "By 2010, the downtown should be radically different," he said.

[DC83]

^^ I always wanted that turned into a concert centre, much like Kingdom in Burlginton.

I told you guys Dennis will have tons of projects coming up since he'll be super bored on house arrest!! haha

[raisethehammer]

awesome!
I was first told about the House of Blues project months ago, but had to keep my mouth shut.
this will be great.
The project on King William behind Sandbar will be great too...I've seen preliminary drawings...looks really nice.

[SteelTown]

^ how many floors did the drawings look to have?

[raisethehammer]

it was in the 6-10 range...can't remember exactly. I think ground retail, 3 or 4 of parking and then 3 or 4 for condos. 7 or 8 would be almost exact from the drawings I saw...that was about a year ago.

[SteelTown]

Here's the new rendering!!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v174/Appster/hiltonhotel.jpg

A 15-storey, 130-room Hilton Homewood Suites is to be built at the corner of Bay and Main streets. A wrecking crew is demolishing the old HMP dealership building on the prime property.

[matt602]

Wow. That is freakin nice.

[DC83]

Ya, it'll definately help out our skyline!
But it's the same as the 1st rendering, minus hmp!

[raisethehammer]

you can't see too clearly on this image, but facing Bay St is a nice big patio with a groundfloor pub.

[SteelTown]

Since the Hotel is clearly fatter now shouldn't it be holding more rooms? Orginial plan calls for 130 rooms and still with this bigger hotel it's still 130 rooms. Perhaps office space or bigger rooms now?

[raisethehammer]

i wonder if it'll be an "L" shape...the current HMP building was.

[matt602]

That's a fair estimate. I don't think Darko owns the parking lot there, so he'd have to build around it.

[fastcarsfreedom]

And I see they've corrected the logo from the mainstream Hilton 'H' to the Homewood Suites duck.

[the dude]

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa121/the_dude1974/IMG_0408.jpg
http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/aa121/the_dude1974/IMG_0409.jpg

[raisethehammer]

97 years of history. Gone.
a few scattered bricks are all that remains.
Oh Hamilton how I loathe to love thee.

[the dude]

the rear section of the gov't building is in the process of being demo'd. i
wondered what they were going to do with it.

[LikeHamilton]

They are supposed to be putting in a parking garage with grounds floor commercial.

[raisethehammer]

i don't think that's there is it?? i thought the parking garage was on the next block west - Hess/Caroline/George/Main.

[SteelTown]

^ Where do you think the new residence of the condo (old federal building) will park?

[raisethehammer]

I assumed in the new structure.
so, there's going to be 2 new parking garages built back there with commercial space on George?

[SteelTown]

Forget the guys name but yea him and Darko worked together on the plan for George St.

[raisethehammer]

wow...so if they do this properly, Hess Village literally could be expanded right down George (at least on the south side) to Bay St.

One thing that bugs me is how we're still losing these valuable properties that could be high density. There were plans for a 20 storey condo at Main/Hess where the parking garage/shoppers/LCBO is going. There were also plans for an 18 storey condo at Hess/King where the concert hall is going...now, I'm pumped that it's a concert hall so that one I don't mind. But we need to add higher density residential in these empty lots downtown. At least the parking on King William will have a few floors of condos above it.

[the dude]

i've noticed cars being parked on the hmp site...makes me very nervous.

[matt602]

i've noticed cars being parked on the hmp site...makes me very nervous.

Yes, it became a parking lot nearly immediately after the last part of the building came down. :yuck:

[the dude]

isn't that illegal? oh ya, it would require effort to enforce that by-law.

[Jon Dalton]

I heard the core area is protected against new parking lots, but what constitutes the core? Bay to Catharine? I wouldn't be surprised if this lot falls just outside the protected area. Maybe, since the rest of the lot is already parking, the HMP site gets an exemption? Either way it's sick. The city needs to jack the taxes on these lots.

[DC83]

^^ I'm pretty sure the "core" is bordered by: Wellington-Queen & King-Main? Or is it Barton-Main?

[the dude]

ya, it's all about taxation. if downtown properties were taxed appropriately, a parking lot wouldn't be affordable. something of value would have to be built in order to make any serious money. the city needs to be creative and implement a system of land value taxation. for the hmp site, the value of the land would stay the same [high] regardless of what stands on it.

[HAMRetrofit]

^ This is a point that I have been making forever. If the bums that own the lots can't pay taxes on the increased rates the city can scoop the properties up and sell them to developers with real plans or operate them as municipal lots making money until an interested developer comes along. Downtown's problems really stem from a lack of intervention on the city's behalf. It is hard to say if the origins of this are rooted in laziness, ignorance, or incompetence. Likely all of the above.

[markbarbera]

Ironically, the city actually encourages vacancy downtown. A property tax break has been available for owners of buildings downtown that do not have tenants. This encourages vacancy. There was talk that this oddball tax break would be removed, but I don't think it actually was.

[hamiltonguy]

The city should have a rule that your tax assessment can not go down because of 1)Neglect 2)Demolition 3)Vacancy.

There is no reason why we should encourage bad land use and discourage good land use.

[FRM]

i was under the impression that you guys were kidding around about that site now being a parking lot. If that really is the case, then:hell:

hopefully it is only a temporary thing, given the developer's circumstances.

[matt602]

Not kidding at all. It really is a parking lot.

[DC83]

I noticed ppl parking on it since like a week after it was torn down.
wtf!? Good thing they tore it down! We were SEVERLY lacking in pkng spots down here.

I have little to no faith that this project will start this Spring. My inner-Hamiltonian keeps yelling out "Just another dissapointment!!"... but the optomist in me says "wait for the thaw..." :s

[LikeHamilton]

I have seen people parking there but I do not know if they are paying. Different companies own the two properties. There are no fences around it and nothing to stop people parking there.

As to less taxes for a vacant rundown building or a parking lot, it is a provincial rule that they can pay less tax. I had seen something on TV recently where the municipalities are trying to get the province to allow them to up the taxes on a property within so many years if it is not developed. Hamilton is not the only city that has this problem.

[Goldfinger]

Ironically, the city actually encourages vacancy downtown. A property tax break has been available for owners of buildings downtown that do not have tenants. This encourages vacancy. There was talk that this oddball tax break would be removed, but I don't think it actually was.

Property tax rebates are regulated by provincial legislation, and are allowed for all Commercial and Industrial properties no matter where they are.

[raisethehammer]

the city has known for years that it can change the tax structure on empty lots and parking lots, but it won't. The International Village BIA has been pressing them for YEARS to do this. No clue what the downtown BIA thinks, but I can take a good guess.

[realcity]

I won't believe these pimps until I see that Hilton standing there like the rendering.

[the dude]

ya, they're total pimps...literally.

[markbarbera]

Property tax rebates are regulated by provincial legislation, and are allowed for all Commercial and Industrial properties no matter where they are.

The Ontario Municipal Act grants municipalities the power to set tax rates and rebate incentives. These rates are determined by the individual municipality as part of their budget, and are not applied uniformly by the province.

[Goldfinger]

The Ontario Municipal Act grants municipalities the power to set tax rates and rebate incentives. These rates are determined by the individual municipality as part of their budget, and are not applied uniformly by the province.

So what's your point. Yes, Hamilton sets it own tax rates, which are some of the highest in the province.

The city cannot deny a tax rebate to any lawful recipients.

[raisethehammer]

So what's your point. Yes, Hamilton sets it own tax rates, which are some of the highest in the province.

The city cannot deny a tax rebate to any lawful recipients.

I'm pretty sure his point is the same as mine - that the city could rejig the tax structure to tax the friggin heck out of parking lots and empty lots/buildings, instead of rewarding them like we currently do. Earlier, you posted a comment suggesting the city has no say in the matter and that the province sets the rules. The city has ample room to up these taxes, which by the way, someone like you should be wishing and fighting for them to do - instead of rewarding crummy landlords while you get taxed way higher for doing a good job.

[BCTed]

Ironically, the city actually encourages vacancy downtown. A property tax break has been available for owners of buildings downtown that do not have tenants. This encourages vacancy. There was talk that this oddball tax break would be removed, but I don't think it actually was.

And how does the math break out? Is the tax saving for vacancy greater than would be the revenues from leasing out space?

[markbarbera]

And how does the math break out? Is the tax saving for vacancy greater than would be the revenues from leasing out space?

The vacancy tax break is being used by speculators to hold onto property without having to bother with tenants/redevelopment as they can keep it vacant, pay a reduced tax on it, and wait for the market prices to go up.

[markbarbera]

So what's your point. Yes, Hamilton sets it own tax rates, which are some of the highest in the province.

The city cannot deny a tax rebate to any lawful recipients.

The municipal tax rate is determined at a municipal level. Tax rates on vacant commercial buildings can be set higher, effectively reversing the rebate.

[raisethehammer]

new update out of city hall tells me that meetings have been taking place between architects, zoning guys etc....
Construction is expected to begin in August (yea right).

[DC83]

^^ Groundbreaking was suppose to begin in March! Now it's August?
Good thing they tore down the HMP bldg so quickly! Phewph!

[SteelTown]

Groundbreaking for St Deny's took place like two months before the actual real construction took place I think.

Either way construction will happen sooner or later.

[SteelTown]

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a382/hammer396/homewood.jpg

[matt602]

Build the damn thing already!

[realcity]

^^ Groundbreaking was suppose to begin in March! Now it's August?
Good thing they tore down the HMP bldg so quickly! Phewph!

too funny.


I thought the bylaw states there is a time limit for how long it before a torn-down building can be replaced or face fines.

[DC83]

too funny.


I thought the bylaw states there is a time limit for how long it before a torn-down building can be replaced or face fines.

omg did I say August?? I totally meant April! hahaha Sorry :s

Ya, well, now it's June (for real this time) and nothing still. Hey Bratina, it's time we start hasrassing this guy!!!!

[SteelTown]

Parking at HMP site, Bay Street

Chair Whitehead requested an update on this matter.

Mr. McCabe responded that the parking use is illegal and that the City is presently in court over the matter.

[DC83]

^^ So I noticed yesterday afternoon, that there were actually more cars parked on this site than in the actual parking lot right beside it.

I wish more people would have stood up for the HMP Bldg :(

[RePinion]

Don't you all realize why nothing's getting done?

Vranich signed an agreement to purchase and operate an existing hotel in the city. Such contracts almost invariably contain little clauses known as non-competes. In all likelihood, Vranich is now contractually prohibited from operating any competing hotels within a given area. It will likely be years before the site is developed.

[SteelTown]

Economy, city derailed Hilton, says developer
Darko Vranich turns chatty in parking lot encounter

October 03, 2008
Paul Wilson
The Hamilton Spectator

I'm cutting across the parking lot at Main and Bay, where the old HMP car dealership used to stand.

Part of the lot has been sectioned off and several big white trailers are parked here.

Ron MacDonald, musician, actor, writer, filmmaker, is on security detail here. The lot is the base camp for a Nicholas Cage movie called Kick-Ass.

MacDonald explains that Hamilton is again standing in for a beat-up piece of New York City.

And we get talking about the state of downtown. We turn around and gaze up at that federal building, empty for five years. Now windows are smashed and the rear end's been ripped off.

But high above, at seventh floor level, the official sea-to-shining-sea Canada coat of arms is still in place.

I tell MacDonald that this parking lot is the property of a developer named Darko Vranich. He was supposed to have started building a 15-storey Hilton Homewood Suites hotel on this site last spring.

I explain that the crumbling federal building is owned by Vranich, too. He bought it in 2004 and said he was going to turn it into condos.

"This stretch of Main looks terrible," I tell MacDonald. "I wish the guy would get rolling on some of this stuff."

Then a man wearing a burgundy sweater, navy slacks and shined-up loafers comes across the lot. He's got an SUV parked by the street. I know that thick, thick dark hair, not a trace of receding hairline, just like Ronald Reagan's.

The man coming past is Darko Vranich. I met him once, 20 years ago, when he bought his first Hamilton property, the Wellington House tavern on Cannon East.

I haven't seen Darko Vranich since, though I have tried to call him. He doesn't return calls. He doesn't like The Spectator.

But here on the lot, we shake hands. He's 56, looks healthy. There are the impossibly white teeth. And the glow that comes from golf twice a week and a second home in Sarasota.

In his hand, a grande caramel macchiato from a Starbucks in Oakville, where he lives.

He's in good humour today. He has just done a walkabout of his latest purchase, Hamilton's Sheraton Hotel. The deal closed two weeks ago.

He says that over the next 18 months he's spending $10 million there on upgrades. He says that's more than half as much as he paid for the place.

Fine. But what about the $25-million Hilton that's supposed to be well underway by now on the ground where we stand?

Everything's changed. "Maybe next year," he says. "It all depends on the economy."

And we know what direction it's heading.

That building would have been up by now, he says, if he didn't have to wrangle with the city over heritage issues before tearing down the Hamilton Motor Products building on the site.

"The economy was good. If there was co-operation, there would be a 200-room Hilton Suites there already. One hundred per cent. Quote that in big letters."

He blames us, too, the paper. We printed details of son Denis's conviction last year of sexually assaulting a young woman who worked in his Hess Village nightclub.

Vranich thinks the paper gave it too much play and that Denis, age 32, "is just an innocent victim... My son has a great vision for Hamilton."

Vranich says that all this "sort of drove me away. I said, 'Who needs it?'"

So instead, over the past two years, he built Hiltons and Holiday Inns in other cities and runs down the list -- Huntsville, North Bay, Sudbury, Ajax, Oakville, Guelph and two in London.

And what about the deserted federal building looming over us? Vranich is now making no promises whatsoever. Those condos could be a very long way off.

Last February, he bought the Travelodge hotel on the Burlington waterfront for $25 million. And a couple of years ago he started up the Beaver and Bulldog chain, with pubs on Upper James and in Mississauga and Cambridge.

A remarkable rise for a man who arrived from Yugoslavia at 20 and worked as a waiter for his uncle at the Thorold Inn. He and wife Ljerka's holdings swelled to include hotels, taverns, strip clubs, condos.

He wears no ring today. "I was married for 31 years to a wonderful woman," he says. "I'm separated now."

He pulls away and I talk to Ron MacDonald about the surprise audience with Vranich.

Then the vehicle appears again. Vranich has been around the block and has forgotten to tell me something.

"My daughter Diana has a beautiful boutique on Brant Street in Burlington. It's called Poise."

OK. I ask why he circled back around to tell me that. "Because I am a very good family man."

[raisethehammer]

what a loser. his son an 'innocent victim'?? yea, nice.
blaming the city too...that's a good one. they studied if the building should be saved and the answer was no, hence the parking lot there today.
let's be honest, he's over his head in urban development. He's used to slapping up shlocky looking pieces of crap on the QEW in Peel and Halton. Those communities will let you build anything with any garbage design.
We don't even have an architectural review board, but at least the city was encouraging a nice design etc....
if the economy is so bad, then why spend $10 million and pump much more into the Sheraton?? Do these people think the public reading the paper is really that stupid, that they can flat out lie in the course of a few sentences and get away with it??
wow.

[flar]

I think the city should now start enforcing the law against Vranich. He's done far too much damage to this city already. Fines for tearing down HMP and using it as a parking lot. Action against the derelict property on Dundurn and the festering eyesore at the entrance to downtown Hamilton that is the federal building.

I think the Vranich's have been treated more than fairly. This guy does not deserve any more chances or leniency.

[thistleclub]

^^ So I noticed yesterday afternoon, that there were actually more cars parked on this site than in the actual parking lot right beside it.

I wish more people would have stood up for the HMP Bldg :(

Is it just me, or wouldn't the building at Bay and George have accommodated parking as it stood? Wasn't it a three-level building with room for cars on the rooftop?

[SteelTown]

The city already has a case aganist Vranich in court (parking issue). Hence why Hilton Hotel stalled.

[flar]

The city already has a case aganist Vranich in court (parking issue). Hence why Hilton Hotel stalled.

I don't think he ever intended to build that hotel. All I can figure is he's gonna sit on that land (and the federal bldg) till it's worth more money. Which will never happen unless developers like himself start moving forward.

[raisethehammer]

exactly right flar. blaming the city or economy is pure BS.
As I said earlier, if the economy is so bad, why pump millions into another hotel around the corner??
he's a crook and a horrible 'family man' for defending his son's assault.

[astroblaster]

what else does he / his son own? could we do a list?

[adam]

He's definitely a smart guy, buying up all these properties while the city is in a depressed state. Its a shame someone like this is going to benefit from LRT though.

[flar]

He's definitely a smart guy, buying up all these properties while the city is in a depressed state. Its a shame someone like this is going to benefit from LRT though.

People have been doing this for years in Hamilton. So far nobody has cashed in. They never will as long as all these properties remain parking lots.

[omro]

Can the council issue a compulsary purchase order? Ours can in the UK.

[fastcarsfreedom]

I can't believe we're taking this man to task over his decision to pump money into the Sheraton -- go at him all you want for stalling on the HMP and Fed Bldg developments - but we ought to be cheering his purchase and investment in the Sheraton.

[flar]

No one is taking Vranich to task over his investment in the Sheraton. He's being taken to task on the collapsing burnt out building on Dundurn, the burnt out building with the caved in roof at King and Hess, the Federal Building with the back torn off that sits wide open to the elements on Main St, and the old HMP building that he demolished and turned into an illegal parking lot. I certainly hope he takes better care of the Sheraton than his other downtown properties.

[raisethehammer]

don't forget his collapsed building in Hess Village.
Yes, fastcars, I am taking him to task for lying to us all and undermining his own arguements by purchasing the Sheraton.
Plus, given this crap-hole track record, I don't WANT him owning the Sheraton.
Don't be surprised if he slathers it in Burlington-style stucco.