14-18 Augusta Street | ? | 6 fl | Under Construction
 

People were wondering what Core Urbans next project would be.. well here it is. Faux heritage 6 storey, 40 unit building. Currently a surface parking lot. Going in front of the DRP soon, image was posted in Nova Res Urbis.

https://cdn.skyrisecities.com/forum/...ta-png.256310/

What is there now.

https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/...5cafc3e8_c.jpg14 - 18 Augusta Street, Hamilton by R L, on Flickr

Amazing! Is this CoreUrbans first from-the-ground construction, other than Templar Flats? It's a big deal for Hamilton if CU is scaling up and can thrive with projects of this capacity.

Great scale for this street, and I like where they're going with the design.

ERMAGERD - NEW HERITAGE??

*swoons*

this will be a great addition to this street

coreurban - please just do the whole city. We will wait.

Just imagine.. a NON-crappy building side face - *looks in hamilton for that anywhere - comes up empty*

just imagine.. the empty lot beside the pigott building.. what they could do with that..

THIS is BRILLIANT!!!! Will be a beautiful fit & addition to this awesome little stretch! Looks like another patio addition to the food scene too!

Very cool! Filling those gaps. Thanks, CU! :tup:

p.s. I know you're being responsible but perhaps you could start doing two projects at the same time? Just a suggestion. ;)

YES! I love this! More density in that area is a great thing.

Wasn't there a project for a fitness club 15 years ago or so on the other side of the Plucker? I seem to remember that.

you mean the pleasant fu- oh right :P

Committee of Adjustment meeting on December 3rd will hear variances for four sizable proposals. 14-18 Augusta is one of them as it makes its way towards construction.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=0

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pw...-no?authuser=0

Link to the CofA documents

*Sighs happily.*

Yes, this is is what I came on board for - architecture that is worthy of praise :)

even the BACK is done the old style - with the arches and sash style windows.. so beautiful... and it will look beautiful because it's new and unblemished by time :)

Thank god Liuna and core urban exist. I will say this - I think both these companies have made the most impact to the core. When I walk down king william I feel a sense of identity and culture. These buildings reflect the past and a sense of architectural pride. The additions to them are modern but tasteful, and a combination of old and new is maintained. I feel we need to treat our heritage with respect in that way, and keep adding to it.

We can't all just have modular lego blocks or glass boxes as our design focus going forward. That is soulless design. Thank god we have an eclectic mix in this city. It's so encouraging to know that they are still focused on building NEW heritage designs, and not just restoring old ones.. it really is.

Now if only they would take over the buildings to the south of king in gore park and restore those as well.

I would like Core Urban to have more capital behind them so they could have more scope. This firm does things the right way and gracefully updates buildings or in this a case a retro-inspired build.

Perhaps we could set up a grassroots donation for them? Raise money to help build more heritage in the downtown?

Anyone know when this went before the DRP?

A few months ago - they did not like it at all

Seriously eh, this city is it's own worst enemy at times.

Architects tend not to like "fake" heritage.

Which, I find dumb, because all the heritage properties are either full out, or part faux heritage architecture. There's a reason it's called classical revival or neoclassical between 1895-1950. Majority of downtown that we like is a copy of roman, and classical architecture styles. They're beautiful and grand, and the reason we respect them is because it's 100 years old. This and the Olympia will be seen like the beautiful 1940s buildings we love but aren't as old as the 1860s to 1870s architecture.

They wanted to see a more modern interpretation of a historic building, not a replica (I remember comments being made about how buildings should reflect the time of their construction - and how fakes take away from actual old buildings)

They didn't like the rear balconies - also not a fan of the parking entrance at the front of the building (how many historic buildings have large garages out front?) Overall DRP had no problems with the scale, just very much not fans of the design treatment. Also important to note that the drp isn't just architects - it consists of planners, landscape architects, and designers.

There are architects who do the faux heritage thing well and Lintack isn't one of them.

So what happens now? When will they return to the DRP with a new design?

Not sure. You can watch the whole DRP presentation here though:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1K8mF_dnY-k&t=1s

I mean buildings in Toronto and Hamilton are literally replicas of Roman temples and such. I was also of the impression that this a Core Urban project?

That's fair, but I think that best practices today (not 75 years ago) are to make sure modern buildings read as modern while giving cues to their context with materials and massing. This is common everywhere regardless of if it's Toronto, Hamilton, or London UK. My personal opinion is that this design reminds me of the bad fake historic subdivisions of the early 2000s... it almost reads as pomo and I'm not a fan. There are countless examples of new buildings that fit in nicely within their historical contexts without imitating them.

Just a few examples from TO and beyond that (in my opinion) get it right. All of these are new, but none feel like they're trying to replicate their context. They're modern but fit seamlessly into their historic surroundings without taking away from actual old buildings
https://hariripontarini.com/media/1225_N71_medium_m.jpg
https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/c...g_Nov+2020.jpg
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ed/69...ea94a06f86.jpg
https://assets.archpaper.com/wp-cont...nStudios-1.png
https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/e...-1101x1100.jpg
https://www.gartonjones.com/wp-conte...n-1472x981.jpg

God I love Toronto's midrises. How do you feel about Core Urbans Olympia Club then, which is less a of restoration and more of a recreation of the original design. Is it more like the ship of theseus?

I am ok with the main part of Olymipa club since they rebuilt the facade to match the one that was lost due to the 40s recladding. It makes sense here because there is a literal history to draw from and they did a pretty faithful job matching the new design to the old one from photos and other historic documents. The smaller eastern facade is less great - to me it looks very one dimensional since they used thin brick veneer instead of full sized bricks (the windows are extremely flush with the brick and the facade almost looks painted on) - I would have preferred to see something more transparent here to let the main portion shine, but I understand why Core did what they did... I just think the execution of the materials on this part wasn't great.

How big does a project need to be before it needs to go to the DRP? It just seems like a filter for blandness produced by juniors who don't have the autonomy they would like at their day jobs.

Something like either of these two would be fantastic downtown.

I think I’ve gotten a lot more critical of proposals here from an architectural point of view over the years - but I’m a realist, and more than anything, I appreciate when developers and architects put in the thought and effort to bring forward reasonable, buildable projects that also represent good architecture.

This is one of the proposals I see in this way. It might not win any awards, but the design is several steps above average for Hamilton proposals, and Core Urban have proven themselves willing and able to execute their projects well. This is exactly what I want to see more of - an actual effort put in to build a nice building.

I live close by, and walk by this site essentially every day, and cannot wait for it to fill in. Augusta is a really nice little street with a lot of potential for more development of this scale down through to John Street.

Agreed. If there's one entity I do not really worry about, it is Core Urban.

Not sure if anyone else noticed, but the building at the corner of Walnut/Augusta sold a few months back (CBRE). It's zoned for retail/commercial. Always struck me as a cool building. At one point this was suppose to be the "Augusta Lofts," but that never materialized.

Site prep underway as per CoreUrban IG

https://i.imgur.com/AHlRIiq.jpg

What I hate about "modern" interpretations of buildings is any design elements are stripped - only 90 degree angles - the bare minimum of design structure - anything craftsmanship is reserved to stenciled mullions basically

I miss the sweeping arches and all the fancy brickwork - all that stuff should NOT be condemned to history - if you want to make a fancy facade you should be allowed to regardless. It's all about how it looks in the end, and I want pretty looking buildings - I have tired of blocky architecture and nothing but steel and glass - it's soulless.

Modern shouldn't have to sacrifice spirit. You shouldn't have to sacrifice detail simply because it's not from this era.

As for the roman facades being non--architectural - they never were architectural even when the previous century did them - they were only done to pay homage to the design of the romans.

For me personally, it's never the glass cubes that stands out for me - it's the unique architecture that doesn't look like everything around it.

exciting stuff. I feel like we have seen quite a few construction starts recently! I wonder how many more we will have by the end of the year. I didn't expect this to start this soon.

wait, I thought this was rejected? Anyone have any pictures of the updated design?

Edit: I just watched the entire DRP video. It was not nearly as negative as users here made it sound. In fact, they praised the concept. The City just wants some minor changes. Sounds like it has been resolved if they are preparing to start work in the spring...

I drove by this site this morning, so I wasn't able to grab a quick photo, but this is going full bloody tilt. Already digging a section that looked to be a least one floor below ground. Bunch of other stuff there, crews of workers. These guys @CoreUrban always do it this way though, definitely one of the best in the city. I have a feeling this summer is going to hit a new height in construction this city has not seen in decades. Very nice.

Good to hear! I'll walk by later and snap some shots on my way to get 🍀🍺 from downtown. Sometimes I feel like I should quit my job and just start a Private Credit fund for financing CoreUrban developments. They get it right and have the taste to compliment the existing architecture of our city.

Was by the site earlier. They're removing the surface of the parking lot.

You should :)

Also curious to see their updated design

I asked them on Instagram for an update and they said there's be an update soon.

*impatiently taps his foot*

Hopefully the citys requirements didn't strip away too much spirit from the design..

During the DRP meeting there was a few more firm recommendations/requests:

- No recessed front entrances
- Natural stone instead of precast on the facade
- green roof
- Add windows or mural on the side of the building that faces Pheasant Plucker
- Include some street trees
- Make the front facade and back facade more similar. Right now they appear as two different architectural styles.
- Like others said here, the DRP wants less a recreation of an old building and more of a "reimagination" of an old design.

Some thought the DRP hated the design. That wasn't the case at all. They quite liked it, just wanted a few small tweaks as mentioned above.

I'm down with all of that! :tup:

Yeah esp the natural stone vs the precast stone - and similar styles front and back is fine.. no recessed entrances is interesting though..

and the mural is a good idea too.

Does anyone know if this is their @CoreUrban first new development from ground up?

I was walking past the site earlier. There was 5 or 6 Enbridge trucks there, with probably 15 workers digging up a gas line. Things are really moving on this project.

Today:

https://i.imgur.com/sfpsVRR.jpg

Went by today, and saw that hole, they're not messing around.

I'm a bit surprise actually about one thing, which was that the back had to look more like the front according to DRP. It was typical for actual heritage buildings to have beautiful facades and plain backs.

I do agree with the recessed 1st floor as well though. I have some renders I had saved but never posted:

https://i.imgur.com/o9sPPx3h.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/sQb9ut1h.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/8wulvNph.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/SQZYNfNh.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/F64nMjPh.jpg

Interesting. Those are some deep balconies, I can understand why they wanted them broken up. Street balconies will be a nice addition though.

For why they are moving so quickly on this.... I suspect Core Urban is a bit annoyed the DRP cost them several months with the change requests. They want this thing moving ASAP.

I was down by the site earlier today, they were working on it all afternoon. They really aren't messing around here.