From Lamb on Twitter:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DCds-tRW0AQKDy_.jpg:large

anyone else notice the victorian dressed mother and daughter in the window?

Hamilton’s Television City brings new downtown condos
(Toronto Star, Tracy Hanes, June 24 2017)

A $360-million, large-scale condo project planned for downtown Hamilton is promising a major boost to the city’s urban renewal efforts.

Television City, a residential and retail community to be built on a one-acre site downtown Hamilton’s 163 Jackson St. W. — home to CHCH TV station — is the project of Toronto’s Lamb Development Corp., in partnership with Movengo Developments.

The enterprise will consist of 618 condominium units in two connected towers that will be 30- and 40-plus storeys tall. The heritage Pinehurst Mansion will remain on site and be preserved.

Brad Lamb, CEO of Lamb Development Corp., has built projects in Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton and now says he’s excited about Hamilton’s potential. For years, he’s been making annual overnight visits to the city to take in the arts, food and development scene.

He says that about two years ago he noticed the city, forged on an industrial past shaped by the steel industry, begin to develop a new identity as a creative and tech start-up centre. Home prices in Hamilton were up by 17.4 per cent in the first quarter of 2017 over last year; the average home price is just over $450,000.

“Hamilton is cool,” says Lamb. “The people who live there knew it, I knew it and now a lot of people from the outside are saying it’s cool.”…

Lamb intends to honour Hamilton’s creative vibe with a design-driven project at Television City. Peter Clewes, of architectsAlliance, has designed the buildings and interiors are by Kelly Cray, of Union 31. Landscape designer Janet Rosenberg will create the outdoor spaces and park.

“We are going to refurbish and update the Pinehurst Mansion,” says Lamb of the historic home that is the headquarters of CHCH television station. Built in 1850 by businessman Tristan Bickle, the mansion has been declared a “rare surviving example of pre-Confederation stone construction” by Hamilton’s heritage department.

Lamb says development plans will also see them “do a park that will be public space . . . The condo buildings are also beautiful, and we have made a big effort to put in the right amenities for the building and the area.”

Television City’s common spaces will include a Skyclub with party room and dining facilities, lounges and indoor/outdoor space. As well, an infinity pool, fitness centre, child’s play centre, dog yard and washing station, and a tech centre.

Read it in full here.

Janet Rosenberg is a boss. Her studio is in the running for the pier 8 competition right now. Happy to see a developer taking pride in the design of their project by assembling a great team like this.

Condos starting at $220,000. Funny thing that happens when developers are allowed to go a little taller. Affordable starter condos. Just like downtown TO where tons of buildings have starting units at 200k-230k. Where else in Hamilton can you buy a new housing unit with these types of amenities, walking distance to all this location offers for 220k?? NOWHERE because our NIMBY's haven't allowed anyone to build anything large enough where lower priced units are possible. I'm sure Durand won't care though. Just like they don't care about the new public park, mansion preservation or building housing in place of 2 surface lots. They've devolved to simply being height NIMBYs.

More renderings here: http://www.bradjlamb.com/wp-content/...ision-City.pdf

So will these buildings have any retail at ground level?

Probably the usual condo stuff, dry cleaners, fast food, convenience store, hair place, etc. Utility and useful but rarely anything interesting goes in the bottom of one of these.

In other cities, this is evolving rapidly. In Toronto, there are now high-end restaurants in condos at street level. Much depends on neighbourhood density, etc.

It would be smart for Hamilton Public Library to plan for branches to be a part of new condo developments in underserviced areas. Like the new builds planned at the waterfront.

WOW...Love that tower. Also loving this project even more now that amenities are being unveiled. What a gorgeous development. Time to take Hamilton to the next level in urban living. Finally.

Television city condos | ? | 40 fl & 20 fl | Proposed -> Television city condos | ? | 40 fl & 30 fl | Proposed

I'm guessing Brad Lamb knows he might have to decrease the height so he upped the floor height for the second tower to compensate.

Durand Association will kneecap these way more than just 40/30 to a 40/20. Look what they did to the Thistle Club project, they have decent headdresses and would've looked great if they peaked up on the skyline.

I pray he has a backup tall development ready to go on one of his other lots that he can scale up accordingly if this one gets the axe as planned.

He really should be keeping an eye on the Connolly site, THAT would be appropriate.

Was just gonna post and tell anyone who registered to CHECK YOUR EMAIL! Lol

Gorgeous!!
I still can't believe we're even having this 'height' discussion in 2017 on a site surrounded by high-rises. Bring it on!

We need to email Jason Farr, Jason Thorne and the Mayor. Otherwise the hillbillies in Durand will get this squished to 12 and 18 lame stories. Enough of them.
Ward 2 population shrunk last census. And Hamilton's urban economy has been awful for decades. This is exactly what we've been waiting for.

i can imagine the artist that put the render together must have cringed to have to have the Big Bee Food Mart front and centre. Should have taken some artistic licence like the Onyx condos renders!

no kidding. lol

220 will be for Studio's on low floors, no parking. In other words built for investors. Lamb wants $500 a square foot, so a 600 square foot 1 bed room unit will be 300K, plus 20-30K for parking. The 220K unit will be about 440 square feet.

On the smallest units remember what rents will be.

220K place with 20% down will mortgage for 890/month.
Condo fees at .65 cents a square foot will be $286/month
Taxes will be around $1500 year or $125/month.

Just to carry the place it will cost $1301/month. So landlords will be trying to get more, or if you are an end user does that even make sense? It will be a studio, how long will people actually want to live there.

This is not to say it should not be built at the heigts, it should, but saying this is affordable for young people at Hamilton wages is going to be a tight. This isn't Toronto where you have a hub of mining, government, banking, tech, private business etc to support it. This will be for the upper income people of Hamilton.

I know several young people in Hamilton who have left to buy one of these exact units in Toronto. And others who rent here because there is no decent condos available, but have purchased these price point units in TO and rent them out. Try finding anything livable in Hamilton anymore in the 200,000's. Let alone something brand new with great amenities and in a great location. There will be high priced units here for sure. It's fantastic that for the first time in my lifetime developers see a market for average or higher priced housing in downtown Hamilton. We need dozens more buildings like this throughout the downtown.

I know many people paying $1,500 a month to rent downtown in a 'clean' building from the 70's or 80's. They are excited about the prospects of possibly buying a condo and using that same monthly payment as a mortgage, instead of throwing it away in rent every month.

The same price point can obtain you a small unit in the City Square development on Charlton. I know some people who looked, but passed on it due to the bland design, low ceilings, lack of amenities and suburban style finishes. If the city can stop acting like a small town and encourage a legit builder like Brad Lamb to pull this off it should raise the bar and start offering much more bang for the buck at these entry level price points.