Vacant King West Lot between Pearl and Ray

[oldcoote]

Can anyone shed light on this vacant block?
I pass by often and have always wondered about it.
It's screaming out for redevelopment.

[DC83]

It's been a huge issue w/ the Strathcona Neighbourhood. It was originally a school that was torn down. But now the city wants to build a public housing complex there, but the NIMBYs have been dragging out it's development for years now.

I believe it was to house a shelter for battered women, and maybe a detox ctr as well?

Let's see if I can find more info...

[ryan_mcgreal]

As far as I know, Good Shepherd is building a shelter there. It will be two buildings oriented toward the side streets with an interior courtyard between them.

[raisethehammer]

yes, Good Shepherd owns the site...they were supposed to start construction in the spring and received 10.5 million from the province or feds...I don't recall.
They will have 4 buildings on site - 2, 3 storey buildings facing the side streets - Ray/Pearl. One will be a womens shelter replacing their Martha's Place and Mary's House shelters in central Hamilton.
The other will be seniors apartments.
the two main buildings facing King will be seniors apartments...there MIGHT be a commercial space or two facing King, but given their crappy track record, I doubt it.
Overall, it's not a bad project, other than the fact that the neighbourhood is already swarmed with shelters and similar facilities. There's a huge house on George St, near Pearl that just put up a sign indicating it's conversion to a rooming house/facility of some sort.
Perhaps the crybabies in Flamborough wouldn't mind sharing the load a little.
Or at least pay their fair share of taxes while we take care of their sick, elderly, criminals, abused etc....

[markbarbera]

The development, as stated, is a four-building development. Of the four buildings, one will be a 60-bed emergency shelter for abused women and their children. This is one of the three-storey buildings at the north end of the property. The other three-storey building will be in the opposite corner of the north-end of the property, and will be geared-to-income apartments.

In addition, there will be two eight-storey apartment buildings built on the south side of the property that will house some 160 market-value apartments. The bottom two storeys will be joined podium-style, and will be commercial space.

This project was originally approved in 2003, but has been held up by an appeal to OMB by some NIMBY neighbours who refused to accept the women's shelter component. This was an intersting stance since the shelter is not adding 60 new spaces in the area. Rather, it is consolidating two nearby sites currently operated by Good Shepherd into this new location, so there is no net increase in shelter beds in the city.

OMB issued its decision in 2004. It makes for an interesting read. Here is the link to the decision:
http://www.omb.gov.on.ca/e-decisions/pl030896_%230684.pdf

The project suffered further delays as the architectual study component of the decision was manipulated by NIMBY's to stall its development. All the conditions set by the OMB ruling were met last year, clearing the way for construction, which hopefully will start sometime this year.

RTH I am curious on what basis you make your claim that Good Shepherd has a crappy track record. From what I understand, and from the content of the OMB decision, praise for the Good Shepherd's operations in the city was practically universal, even among the opponents of this specific project.

[realcity]

A Tim Hortons Drive Thru
A Shoppers Drugmart that is backwards to the street
and a LIUNA Seniors apartment

[raisethehammer]

according to today's Spec this project will break ground in September.
I was also told the same thing yesterday by a friend who works there.
Looks like they finally got their money together. I like how they blame the neighbourhood for the delays. They got their approvals a couple years ago. They were the ones with no money until recently. That was the hold-up, not anyone else.
Sadly, I don't think Options for Homes is part of this project now....we'll see what they build, but based on the recent reno of the family shelter at Delaware and Wentworth, I have a bit of hope that the design will be decent and fit with the neighbourhood.

[DC83]

Shelter project set to go
Good Shepherd has fall start date


The Hamilton Spectator
(Jul 17, 2008)

Good Shepherd Centres is planning a September groundbreaking for a long-delayed women's shelter and affordable housing complex.

Neighbourhood opponents to the project, on the vacant Loretto Academy site on King Street West between Ray and Pearl streets, were adamant that the project was out of scale for the neighbourhood.

There were many debates at city council, an appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board and even a court injunction two years ago when the neighbours claimed the work on the 1.4-hectare property was not in keeping with the OMB decision. The injunction was overturned later that year.

Good Shepherd spokesperson Alan Whittle says all the city's requirements have now been met and all approvals are expected by September.

Plans call for three apartment buildings and a fourth building to replace both the Martha House shelter for abused women and the Mary's Place homeless shelter for women.

Whittle said all the components originally planned would be built despite construction cost increases.

The long-delayed project was valued at roughly $25 million in 2002, when the multi-part proposal was originally unveiled to the neighbourhood that reacted so negatively to it.

[adam]

If 1 way streets are so fantastic why are they orienting the buildings away from King West? We should pose this question to Whitehead and see what kind of clever email he sends back! I know he'll have some response.