markbarbera
Jul 5, 2008, 1:30 PM
Interesting article from July 5 edition of Hamilton Spectator:
This is where the magic is
Glen Murray is a former mayor of Winnipeg, credited by many with sparking its revitalization, and is now leading a Canadian think-tank dedicated to healthy cities. He's also high on Hamilton. As part of The Spectator's commitment to being part of the momentum behind a push for change, we invited him on a tour of downtown Hamilton. The squelchers
July 05, 2008
The Hamilton Spectator
Glen Murray says Hamilton reminds him a lot of Winnipeg. Which is the butt of more jokes? Hard to call.
The two towns have almost the same population, are a similar age and have similar industrial pasts. Hamilton was the port of entry for many immigrants who ended up in Winnipeg and elsewhere in the West.
He says both cities have self-esteem issues and a strong "utilitarian underpinning."
Hamilton was founded on industry and grew quickly because of its steel mills. But hard times have battered this city's pride and created a strong culture of what the late urban theorist Jane Jacobs called squelchers, Murray says.
Squelchers don't trust new ideas, search for reasons why things won't work and dwell on failures of the past to justify doing nothing now.
"Hamilton has developed an impoverishment view of the world," said Murray.
"People feel the city can't afford anything and that every dollar has to go to filling potholes and hiring police officers. If every tax dollar goes to that, you become a poor city. It's no longer about hope, the future, the opportunities, the vision."
Murray says it's most often a "provocateur" who's been successful elsewhere who comes in and sees what others don't see because they look at the city with fresh eyes.
Murray says Mayor Fred Eisenberger understands what it will take to turn the city around. Murray is also encouraged by the level of civic engagement in generating change.
The key will be to overcome the squelcher mentality, embrace the ideas of outsiders and truly take stock of the opportunities available, he says.
"You must have confidence as a community to build a bigger picture of who you are."
Meredith Macleod
Glen Murray winces visibly every time he sees a parking lot. On a tour of downtown Hamilton, the former mayor of Winnipeg looks like a man in some very serious pain.
"This parking just kills everything," he says, pointing to an expanse of cars on a broken asphalt lot on King William Street.
"I have never seen a city with so much ugly surface parking as Hamilton ... Do you want to walk past this? There is absolutely nothing attractive.
"The biggest killers of downtowns have been urban shopping malls and parking lots."
But those same lots offer the city a great chance to infill, intensify and revitalize a compact downtown framed by natural beauty and packed with interesting and historic architecture, says Murray.
He believes Hamilton has all the pieces in place to be a leading city in Canada. During a much-talked-about address to the city's first Economic Summit in May, he shocked city leaders by saying, "I can't think of one thing that is stopping you from being the economic powerhouse of this country."
But back downtown on a cool June day, Murray practically curses every time he sees a strip mall. Never mind Jackson Square and the City Centre. "It's one of the great urban blunders of all time," he says, standing in the shadow of the hulking Lister building and shaking his head.
"Every city has one (a core shopping mall) and it's killed every city."
Murray spent five hours recently touring the city's waterfront and downtown at the invitation of The Spectator, offering his perspective on what Hamilton has going for it and what it must change.
Now president of the Canadian Urban Institute, a think-tank on city revitalization that does research and action plans around the world, Murray is certainly an expert.
And he is an unabashed Hamilton fan. This city, he says, has an "embarrassment of riches" of beautiful architecture, the great natural beauty of the escarpment and the lake, deep transportation links, a leading university and college, great hospitals, proximity to Canada's megacity and the U.S. border and is nestled in the country's richest corridor.
"Find me a place in North America which has all this and hasn't had the penny drop." Murray brought a very successful U.S. developer to Hamilton recently who specializes in restoring historic buildings in struggling cities. "He told me that this is where the magic is."
As we wind our way around by foot and by car, Murray is impressed by the 1930s beauty of the John Sopinka Courthouse, the waterfront amenities, the restoration of the central fire hall at King William and John, the green space and fountain at Gore Park, the grand LIUNA Station, the hidden gem of the Century Theatre on Mary Street, the imposing Scottish Rite, Cathedral of Christ the King, the James Street armoury.
He cranes his neck to vacant upper floor space on Main, King, James and John and says there are great opportunities for live/work lofts for artists, designers and multimedia and technology companies. That's the new economy: small, nimble, creative companies that value open space, big windows, heritage buildings, vibrant neighbourhoods and access to mass transit.
Murray says Hamilton must determine the kinds of businesses it wants to attract and must nurture an action plan to do so.
In Winnipeg, says Murray, the city discovered a fledgling group of animation and special-effects companies, helped co-ordinate the relocation of a college program to that neighbourhood and gave incentives for businesses to convert vacant space into live/work units. Within five years, it grew into a $380-million industry.
He says the city must be prepared to give a nudge to turn a neighbourhood or street around. That might mean offering a loan or a tax break to the first and second investors with a good plan and willing to take a risk. But it wouldn't be long before the city can back out and let market forces carry the momentum.
Ultimately, the key is intensification, filling in those parking lots, reclaiming vacant buildings and creating mixed-used residential and commercial developments. The result is 24-hour neighbourhoods, instead of the bedroom communities vacant during the day or the core areas that drain away at night.
"This is the last great affordable urban environment that hasn't really begun its revitalization," says Murray as we stand at Gore Park.
"It's an extraordinary opportunity you have here." He admits that he was shocked when he first visited Hamilton for a mayors' conference in the early '90s. "The two most understated, undersold cities in Canada are Saint John, N.B., and Hamilton."
Murray believes Hamilton has a great opportunity to capitalize on the shortcomings of its enormous neighbour to the east.
"Toronto has grown so big and so complicated, there is a disconnect and sense of fear between the political and corporate leadership.
"Hamilton is big enough to have a world-class art gallery, a big-city newspaper, a big corporate presence, a big university, but it's small and overlooked enough to build relationships and the leadership to manage the transformation."
One tangible place Hamilton should concentrate is on the ever-growing nonprofit sector, says Murray, because Toronto rents and property values are driving out those organizations, along with the young and the middle class.
We stop by Harry Stinson's swanky sales office for his Royal Connaught project. He plans a hotel/condo/office redevelopment of the historic hotel along with a 100-storey glass pyramid next door.
Murray can hardly contain his excitement. "Isn't this exactly what I was talking about? Shared live/work spaces, large-scale intensification in the heart of the city?"
It's not long before Stinson is at our side. He and Murray first met at Hamilton's Economic Summit, but Murray says he's been a longtime fan of Stinson's condo developments.
"Harry built my favourite building in Toronto, 1 King West," says Murray. "It was a brilliant vision, it was transformational.
"He's one of my heroes."
Murray thinks the Connaught project could do the same thing for Hamilton. "I think you don't need many developments like this to change everything. This would make this a 24-hour neighbourhood and change this strip from dollar stores and -- I'll be nice -- dance clubs, to boutiques, restaurants and cafes."
The Connaught's fully furnished units will start at $199,000 and head up to $1 million for a penthouse.
Murray says this project will bring people to Hamilton who wouldn't otherwise come here. In fact, he took a brochure himself, saying the development was more interesting than what he paid double for in the Distillery District of Toronto.
This is where the magic is
Glen Murray is a former mayor of Winnipeg, credited by many with sparking its revitalization, and is now leading a Canadian think-tank dedicated to healthy cities. He's also high on Hamilton. As part of The Spectator's commitment to being part of the momentum behind a push for change, we invited him on a tour of downtown Hamilton. The squelchers
July 05, 2008
The Hamilton Spectator
Glen Murray says Hamilton reminds him a lot of Winnipeg. Which is the butt of more jokes? Hard to call.
The two towns have almost the same population, are a similar age and have similar industrial pasts. Hamilton was the port of entry for many immigrants who ended up in Winnipeg and elsewhere in the West.
He says both cities have self-esteem issues and a strong "utilitarian underpinning."
Hamilton was founded on industry and grew quickly because of its steel mills. But hard times have battered this city's pride and created a strong culture of what the late urban theorist Jane Jacobs called squelchers, Murray says.
Squelchers don't trust new ideas, search for reasons why things won't work and dwell on failures of the past to justify doing nothing now.
"Hamilton has developed an impoverishment view of the world," said Murray.
"People feel the city can't afford anything and that every dollar has to go to filling potholes and hiring police officers. If every tax dollar goes to that, you become a poor city. It's no longer about hope, the future, the opportunities, the vision."
Murray says it's most often a "provocateur" who's been successful elsewhere who comes in and sees what others don't see because they look at the city with fresh eyes.
Murray says Mayor Fred Eisenberger understands what it will take to turn the city around. Murray is also encouraged by the level of civic engagement in generating change.
The key will be to overcome the squelcher mentality, embrace the ideas of outsiders and truly take stock of the opportunities available, he says.
"You must have confidence as a community to build a bigger picture of who you are."
Meredith Macleod
Glen Murray winces visibly every time he sees a parking lot. On a tour of downtown Hamilton, the former mayor of Winnipeg looks like a man in some very serious pain.
"This parking just kills everything," he says, pointing to an expanse of cars on a broken asphalt lot on King William Street.
"I have never seen a city with so much ugly surface parking as Hamilton ... Do you want to walk past this? There is absolutely nothing attractive.
"The biggest killers of downtowns have been urban shopping malls and parking lots."
But those same lots offer the city a great chance to infill, intensify and revitalize a compact downtown framed by natural beauty and packed with interesting and historic architecture, says Murray.
He believes Hamilton has all the pieces in place to be a leading city in Canada. During a much-talked-about address to the city's first Economic Summit in May, he shocked city leaders by saying, "I can't think of one thing that is stopping you from being the economic powerhouse of this country."
But back downtown on a cool June day, Murray practically curses every time he sees a strip mall. Never mind Jackson Square and the City Centre. "It's one of the great urban blunders of all time," he says, standing in the shadow of the hulking Lister building and shaking his head.
"Every city has one (a core shopping mall) and it's killed every city."
Murray spent five hours recently touring the city's waterfront and downtown at the invitation of The Spectator, offering his perspective on what Hamilton has going for it and what it must change.
Now president of the Canadian Urban Institute, a think-tank on city revitalization that does research and action plans around the world, Murray is certainly an expert.
And he is an unabashed Hamilton fan. This city, he says, has an "embarrassment of riches" of beautiful architecture, the great natural beauty of the escarpment and the lake, deep transportation links, a leading university and college, great hospitals, proximity to Canada's megacity and the U.S. border and is nestled in the country's richest corridor.
"Find me a place in North America which has all this and hasn't had the penny drop." Murray brought a very successful U.S. developer to Hamilton recently who specializes in restoring historic buildings in struggling cities. "He told me that this is where the magic is."
As we wind our way around by foot and by car, Murray is impressed by the 1930s beauty of the John Sopinka Courthouse, the waterfront amenities, the restoration of the central fire hall at King William and John, the green space and fountain at Gore Park, the grand LIUNA Station, the hidden gem of the Century Theatre on Mary Street, the imposing Scottish Rite, Cathedral of Christ the King, the James Street armoury.
He cranes his neck to vacant upper floor space on Main, King, James and John and says there are great opportunities for live/work lofts for artists, designers and multimedia and technology companies. That's the new economy: small, nimble, creative companies that value open space, big windows, heritage buildings, vibrant neighbourhoods and access to mass transit.
Murray says Hamilton must determine the kinds of businesses it wants to attract and must nurture an action plan to do so.
In Winnipeg, says Murray, the city discovered a fledgling group of animation and special-effects companies, helped co-ordinate the relocation of a college program to that neighbourhood and gave incentives for businesses to convert vacant space into live/work units. Within five years, it grew into a $380-million industry.
He says the city must be prepared to give a nudge to turn a neighbourhood or street around. That might mean offering a loan or a tax break to the first and second investors with a good plan and willing to take a risk. But it wouldn't be long before the city can back out and let market forces carry the momentum.
Ultimately, the key is intensification, filling in those parking lots, reclaiming vacant buildings and creating mixed-used residential and commercial developments. The result is 24-hour neighbourhoods, instead of the bedroom communities vacant during the day or the core areas that drain away at night.
"This is the last great affordable urban environment that hasn't really begun its revitalization," says Murray as we stand at Gore Park.
"It's an extraordinary opportunity you have here." He admits that he was shocked when he first visited Hamilton for a mayors' conference in the early '90s. "The two most understated, undersold cities in Canada are Saint John, N.B., and Hamilton."
Murray believes Hamilton has a great opportunity to capitalize on the shortcomings of its enormous neighbour to the east.
"Toronto has grown so big and so complicated, there is a disconnect and sense of fear between the political and corporate leadership.
"Hamilton is big enough to have a world-class art gallery, a big-city newspaper, a big corporate presence, a big university, but it's small and overlooked enough to build relationships and the leadership to manage the transformation."
One tangible place Hamilton should concentrate is on the ever-growing nonprofit sector, says Murray, because Toronto rents and property values are driving out those organizations, along with the young and the middle class.
We stop by Harry Stinson's swanky sales office for his Royal Connaught project. He plans a hotel/condo/office redevelopment of the historic hotel along with a 100-storey glass pyramid next door.
Murray can hardly contain his excitement. "Isn't this exactly what I was talking about? Shared live/work spaces, large-scale intensification in the heart of the city?"
It's not long before Stinson is at our side. He and Murray first met at Hamilton's Economic Summit, but Murray says he's been a longtime fan of Stinson's condo developments.
"Harry built my favourite building in Toronto, 1 King West," says Murray. "It was a brilliant vision, it was transformational.
"He's one of my heroes."
Murray thinks the Connaught project could do the same thing for Hamilton. "I think you don't need many developments like this to change everything. This would make this a 24-hour neighbourhood and change this strip from dollar stores and -- I'll be nice -- dance clubs, to boutiques, restaurants and cafes."
The Connaught's fully furnished units will start at $199,000 and head up to $1 million for a penthouse.
Murray says this project will bring people to Hamilton who wouldn't otherwise come here. In fact, he took a brochure himself, saying the development was more interesting than what he paid double for in the Distillery District of Toronto.