If you were a developer (Just for Fun)
 

So As I am sure we all do. I got thinking about If I was a developer and could do one project downtown. What would I do and where would I do it. WIthout being over the top, By all means do a new tallest if you want, just be realistic Then I thought what a cool fun thread to put on skyscraper page.

Anyway for it I was really hard to decide. I think I would do a Hotel in the Lot across from the Lister Block something to put a dent in the skyline Thinking Taller then the HSBC Bank Building, proably around the height of the BDC(old IBM) Building, all glass maybe Green like that Hilton at Bay and Main was gonna be. Make it like a westin or something like that perhaps with a convention area tied into the back of the right house.

Anyway I look forward to hearing other people ideas. Now remember this is fantasy so no gearer to income apartments :D

OK: based on impact and actual possibility of getting done: Calatrava http://www.brianmicklethwait.com/ima...MalmoTower.jpgor Absolute World condo: http://www.remaxcondosplus.com/toron...rld-towers.jpg on the west harbour. The effect of the World condos on Mississauga already makes me think this could just be possible and profitable here.

moving outside the 'be realistic' requirement: clad one of the steel mills like this: http://www.designboom.com/cms/images...-big/big01.jpg

That "Calatrava" looks great.

With unlimited time, unlimited money, and without having to worry about the consequences? Change the waterfront from an Industrial wasteland to a place our citizens could live, work, and play.

(Where would they work without the factories? I don't know, that's why I said no consequences :banana: )

I'd have to agree with that. I always found it odd that prime waterfront property can be used to government purposes... let the public develop it, then charge ridiculous property tax on it.

Same goes for any prime escarpment views... there should be no commercial/government properties there. Make it residential/public and rake in the taxes.

PS: unlimited money? Move the factories to Flamborough/Ancaster... out of the way of the waterfront. Do factories even have to be on the waterfront?

Shipping heavy industry goods in and out generally requires a waterfront to do so. That's why the Port of Hamilton is one of the busiest in Canada.

plus it's a good place to dump your tailings.

I didn't think of that... makes sense. Too bad it couldn't all be via train/rail, so we could save all the nice waterfront for personal property.

Thanks for clearing the air, Mark.

Yea, unfortunately true...

I'd like to line a park like Victoria Park with some cool buildings like the ones on James South or Sandyford Place on Duke. I was asking earlier about what is going on with Blanshard Street (alleyway behind the stores off of Locke). I was thinking lining the dirt alley with cobblestones and putting in the brownstone-esque homes would be neat.

It would be cool to see a little area like the Distillery District here as well.

skys the limit
 

There is so much potential here it's not even funny. Lots of great things could be done. Developers in Hamilton seem to be stuck on the old sprawled subdivision setup still. I think that's going to change.

Second Post :)
 

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I like your pictures. Cool.

Careful not to slip too far into the world of fantasy. It's awfully hard to climb back out once you're in. ;)

In all seriousness, those corners need some help and are good candidates for redevelopment.

thanks for that.

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Looks like Skylon Tower in our West Harbour. I think Hamilton is the only Great Lake city or any waterfront city that actually ignored its waterfront.

Well we didn't ignore it, we designated it 90% heavy industry, so we have a downtown that is disconnected to the water. Actually land values decrease for the most part the closer you get to the water. Go north of King, > decrease, go north of Barton > decrease, go north of Burlington St > nevermind decrease call it, "fall out zone". and that;s all getting closer to the water. Something's not right in Hamilton's water.

I know... I understand why, but it still boggles my mind that the closer we get to our waterfront, the less desirable the properties are.

I've always thought that if we could (somehow) move the factories, we'd have loads of desirable, waterfront property with which the city can assess higher taxes from.

Same thing with the mountain brow (mostly East of Upper Wentworth, up until The Sherman Cut); that should be ALL houses with fantastic views. And again, then the city can assess more in taxes.

Really, since we all talking "fantasy" here, I'd move Mountain Brow BLVD back from the brow, and chop up the land north (and East, when it starts to curve) in lots.

Move all the factories/warehouses/industrial parks onto the South Mountain, in the middle of suburban-survey wasteland... keep the lower city/waterfront/mountain brow for residential/walkable/shopping/retail/commercial... like a real downtown.

How I would redevelop the area south of Gore Park
 

David Blanchard's Proposal:
Seeing as everyone hates the David Blanchard proposal for a lot of different reasons, I thought I would make a plan to fix all those problems (If I was developing this area, this is what I would do).

- Save the facades along Gore Park
- Have the grocery store face James St and not the Gore Park Promenade
- Hide the above ground parking garage
- Make the buildings large and fill up the space in such a prime location in the core of the city

My "If you were a developer (Just for Fun)" Proposal:
http://i45.tinypic.com/2ijixk7.png
Source: My Photo

If only you were David Blanchard...

Along those lines, if he'd come out and said something like 'We're going to try really hard to save those old buildings in the Gore and here is one of our ideas...BTW we might need a little help from the City or Province on this one, though...' people wouldn't have gone so mental. Poor approach.

Anyway, this is one idea from Winnipeg: Taking an un-loved block, saving the facades and repurposing it nicely...but that's Winnipeg.

http://i198.photobucket.com/albums/a...ege_Campus.jpg
Wikipedia

I'd still prefer the buildings be kept complete.