This is all new build.

I guess I stand corrected, but for sure I thought I saw in one report they were retrofitting an existing warehouse. Hyper optimistic that anyone could build 150,000 sq ft of purpose built space and be operational in 18 months , with nothing but an announcement in hand.

This story mentions the retrofit while they do the longer-term work to plan the Barton-Tiffany site.
https://www.thespec.com/news-story/9...thin-the-year/

^^^ thanks ScreamingViking

The city is planning to sell its public works building and yard at 125 Barton St. W. This is right across from the Barton-Tiffany lands the stadium was originally planned to be built upon.
https://goo.gl/maps/ji4UXNjBRKc1wNEN6


City hopes to sell sprawling Hamilton public works yard on Barton Street West

By Teviah MoroSpectator Reporter
Sat., Oct. 24, 2020

The city hopes to sell a public works yard not far from Hamilton’s evolving west harbour as part of a plan to move operations elsewhere.

This week, councillors directed staff to sell 125 Barton St. W. along with empty parcels on Burlington Street East and an old yard in Flamborough.

The goal is to use the proceeds to buy another property councillors haven’t yet disclosed amid an ongoing effort to shed underutilized public works sites.

“I think we’re trying to modernize and consolidate our public works operations,” Coun. John-Paul Danko told The Spectator.

Since amalgamation, the city’s massive public works department has counted many facilities from the former municipalities in its inventory.

“We’ve never really drawn them all together, so that’s part of what we’re trying to do,” said Danko, who’s chair of the public works committee.

The plan calls for tapping $1.46 million from a capital reserve to make the purchase and replenish it after the property sales.

Councillors discussed the real estate moves in camera during Wednesday’s general issues committee meeting. Their direction to staff needs final approval next week at council.

Once that happens, the newly acquired property will be public, Rom D’Angelo, director of energy, fleet and facilities management, said in an interview.

...

Full story here:
https://www.thespec.com/news/council...reet-west.html

I think this is the warehouse that houses some very valuable artefacts. The Mayor's throne, old chains of office, etc etc etc.

It's a fairly large site, almost 4.5 acres. Zoned for single family dwellings and duplexes. IMO a prime property for re-development.

Source: City of Hamilton Maps (Search: 125 Barton St W)

Definitely! :tup:

I wonder where they're going to end up. I'd love Hamilton to have a civic museum to house stuff like that, but I don't see it being a big attraction to anyone but history nerds like me :)

That’s been the attitude for like 50 years, before the centennial Dundurn was the civic museum, amongst it’s dozen other uses after the MacNabs and before the modern Museum.

I would absolutely patron that museum. It’s a dream of mine to see one someday :rolleyes:

This is the location:
map
street view


Hollywood in Hamilton: Massive movie studio planned for West Harbour will open first building in February

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...-february.html

By Matthew Van Dongen
The Hamilton Spectator
Wed., Dec. 2, 2020

https://images.thestar.com/g82ZVKAc9...ary/studio.jpg

Hamilton’s long-promised west harbour film studio will begin making movie magic in February — to start, inside one of the city’s oldest manufacturing sites.

AEON Studio Group trumpeted plans back in June 2019 to build a 14-acre film and TV production hub paired with a “live-work” development atop city-owned lands that were controversially bulldozed for a failed stadium plan a decade ago.

The COVID pandemic slowed environmental studies on the properties bounded by Queen, Tiffany and Barton streets and the land remains in taxpayer hands. In fact, the city even bought another area parcel for $3.5 million at the height of the first pandemic lockdown in April.

But the film consortium announced Wednesday that the “first decisive step” toward the Hollywood North dream — now called AEON Bayfront Studios — will open for business Feb. 1 across the street from its planned mixed-use development, in the current home of AVL Manufacturing at 243 Queen St. N.

That 80,000-square-foot facility most recently churned out modified shipping containers for use as mobile COVID medical triage units. AVL head Vince DiCristofaro told The Spectator he is relocating his Queen Street operations and 100 workers to another factory on Sherman Avenue.

“We’re staying in Hamilton and more employment is moving in here, so it’s a real win-win for the city,” said DiCristofaro, who plans to sell the property to AEON and its local real estate partner, Forge and Foster.

The 7.5-acre property has had a factory on it since Great Western Railway rerolled worn out rails there in 1861. Now, it will be making movies.

The size of both the building and property will immediately rank it “among the best studios” in the region, said AEON partner Mike Bruce in a statement Wednesday. It has 50-foot-tall ceilings, room for a 27,000-square-foot main stage, 40,000 square feet of additional production space and a paint shop.
...

At full build-out, the film hub is supposed to add 1,000-plus new jobs, but it was not immediately clear Wednesday how many people will be employed to start at 243 Queen St. N.
...

Full story here

CBC's version of the story has a few extra details about the development plans at the piers.
(I tried to change the name of the thread to reflect the "Studio District" moniker... can a moderator please do that? Thanks!)


Major film studio in Hamilton's west harbour will open its doors in February

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamil...udio-1.5825145

Samantha Craggs
CBC News
Posted Dec 02, 2020

A major film studio planned for Hamilton's west harbour will open its doors in February.

Aeon Bayfront Studios, built by Aeon Studio Group, will be the centrepiece of Hamilton's new so-called "studio district," and will include a massive main stage, 6,500 square feet of furnished office space, and a large back lot.

The city, which has hosted productions such as Robocop and The Umbrella Academy, has touted film and TV as an area for potential economic growth. This studio is built on the Barton-Tiffany lands, space that's been largely underused since the city bought it for an unrealized stadium project more than 10 years ago.

The Aeon project means "high-value, high-paying jobs for people in the film industry right here in Hamilton," Mayor Fred Eisenberger said in a media release.

Hamilton, he said, plays a "key role in building Ontario's film and screen industry."

"Hamilton is Canada's third-largest film cluster and is home to over 9,000 people who work in the film industry, and over 900 film businesses."

Debbie Spence, the city's creative industries business development consultant, says film is an area where Hamilton can see "consistent and accelerated growth."

Overall, $59 million was spent in Hamilton on film productions in 2019, Spence said earlier this year. About $20 million of that was from the second season of The Umbrella Academy, and included restaurant meals and crew parting gifts.

New figures show more than 100 productions filmed in Hamilton this year, even during COVID-19.

The Aeon studio at 243 Queen St. N. is 80,000 square feet on three hectares (7.5 acres) of land, the company says. AVL Manufacturing operates there right now, but is moving to a new location.

It will be "among the best studios in Ontario by virtue of its size, ceiling height, clear span, on-site amenities and proximity to transportation and ancillary production services," the company says.

The city and Aeon are promoting the studio district as a "live-work-play" hub that includes offices, retail and condo units.

The studio is one of a few projects in the works in the west harbour. Hamilton is also in the midst of redeveloping Piers 6, 7 and 8 to include 1,645 condo units, retail and institutional space, and a boardwalk. Fifteen per cent of the condo units will be "family sized," which is two or more bedrooms.

Waterfront Shores Corporation is developing the area. The city and the company are in the midst of "constructive negotiations," staff told a city council subcommittee on Wednesday. The city expect to sign a development agreement in January.

The boardwalk area known as Copps Park should be open in July, staff said. The city will also have to decide whether to build a public artisan market and open-air buildings on Piers 6 and 7.

^Nice!

I haven't heard any updates on this. It's well beyond the date this studio was supposed to open. Anyone heard anything.

Aeon is just a wing of Forge and Foster, so I am doubtful, but if it's progressing I would suspect it's being held up with environmental assessments and negotiations with CN. They seem to be posting updates on twitter though

I had not followed them on Instagram because the account had gone dormant last time I saw.

It's in business. I mainly pasted studio details below; the full story includes a few notes about commercials and other filming in the area.


Hamilton’s Bayfront film studio is up and running

Daniel Nolan
The Hamilton Spectator
Thu., July 1, 2021

https://www.thespec.com/entertainmen...d-running.html


Hamilton’s new film studio has opened for business.

Aeon Studio Group has fixed up the former AVL Manufacturing plant on Queen Street North and it is now open for filming and movie making.

One of its first clients is expected to be a Hollywood blockbuster when it hits theatres — the remake of “Firestarter” starring Zac Efron, Michael Greyeyes and Ryan Kiera Armstrong (who plays Charlie, a girl with pyrokinetic powers).

...

The new studio was promised by Aeon in December, with an expected opening in February.

It’s the first step of a proposed film and TV production hub on 14-acres of city-owned land that is bounded by Queen Street, Barton Street and Tiffany Street. It was once eyed for the city’s new stadium, which went up where Ivor Wynne used to stand in the east end. The hub is anticipated to create more than a thousand new jobs.

...

Ward 2 Coun. Jason Farr was excited by the new film studio in his ward. The studio is just south of the CN Stuart yard.

“It’s the biggest studio facility in Hamilton (80,000-square-feet) and it has one of only a handful of stages in the province that are 25,000 + square feet with 40 feet + ceilings,” Farr said in an email. “More studio facilities in Hamilton (are) coming.”

Kim Adrovez, senior project manager at the Hamilton Film Office, says the city has a number of industrial warehouse studio spaces as well as standing sets.

“Some examples include Hamilton Film Studios, Skylight Studios, Aeon Bayfront Studios and Evil Empire Studios,” she said.

There is also The Cotton Factory and Digital Canaries Film Studios, which is based on Gage Avenue North but offers half a dozen locations around the city to filmmakers such as two former schools and an locale on Hillyard Street.

...

The city says there are over 900 Hamilton-based film businesses, employing about 9,000 people.

...

full story here

In Barton-Tiffany news:

https://twitter.com/JoeyColeman/stat...V3WTnBkRw&s=19


Joey Coleman: "Wow, just wow. Clr @JasonFarrHamOnt is suggesting that the Barton-Tiffany lands have not been attractive to developers. A GO Station with all-day service is beside it! It is waterfront! Walking from a downtown.
It may be the most attractive land west of Toronto."

Aeon Studio Group recently posted on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CVQ1nzrF...dium=copy_link

Followed to their site: https://www.aeonstudiogroup.com/studio-district

"The Studio District would be an economic cluster with studios for the production of film, television, gaming, animation and music. It would feature artist live-work spaces, office space for creative industry companies, industry event spaces including a theatre, and learning and training spaces to build the local workforce."

https://i.imgur.com/8sRxgeeh.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/fLRctZVh.jpeg

https://i.imgur.com/YbiO6Xsh.jpeg

The Farr Side, only his version is not funny.

Aside from MIP and the airport, and barring some massive future redevelopment of vacant industrial lands northeast of downtown, this idea is probably the biggest potential economic win for the entire city.