221 York Boulevard | ? | 15 fl | Approved
 

Rendering....

http://www.raisethehammer.org/images/hess_york_01.jpg

just so everyone is clear, this project has been approved for the CURRENT OWNERS only.
if they sell, the city money is removed (in the process of being removed as we speak in order to apply it to a different project that actually has a chance of being built) and the new owners will need to apply from scratch.
buyers know that, and would be crazy to pay the asking price for this site knowing that they'd be back at square 1 with no approvals or money for anything.

I think it was just a ploy at getting people in at Premier.
As we all know, Pemier is a sham company. That old Barn site has been "under renovations" for at least 4 years. The Premier on Upper James / Stonechurch was u/c for almost the same length of time.
If ppl see a brand new, hot gym (like in that render) they may consider buying a membership... little do they know they'll have to travel to eastgate or upp james / stnchrch to use it!

Let's hope this $$$ gets passed onto someone who actually wants it!

really?? i thought there was a gym in there already. i have a friend who used to work out there when they lived downtown.

yep, it may not look like it from the outside but there's a gym inside.

yikes. where did they purchase their equipment? The Titanic Artifacts Display at the Science Ctr!? hahaha

I really hope someone finds a developer who's not too reliant on that gym b/c waiting on them (Premier) is like waiting on the Trinity Landing lofts! It just aint ever gonna get finished (or started for that matter)!

it is a prime piece of real estate...and HUGE. could fit a couple of towers, not just one.
they put up the new Premier sign today.lol...now it looks like a gym.

Here's the sign that's up....

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1303/...38649b33_b.jpg

That the conditional loan commitment under the Hamilton Downtown Residential Loan Program for 221 York Boulevard, previously approved in the amount of $2,760,000.00 be cancelled due to the owner not proceeding with the residential development project at this time.

all these cancellations are just adding to this horrible day so far:(

I'm finally starting to understand why BCTed/Goldfinger seems to take pleasure in the failures of this city. There's just too much constant disappointment that one starts to convert that disappointment into hostility. No one does anything here! Plans are announced, cheesy renderings are drawn up, and sweetheart loans are negotiated with the city, but nothing ever gets done. Sometimes it seems like everything in this city is either a scam or a pipedream. It's too frustrating for words.

Sometimes I don't know whether to commend or to pity the Hamilton boosters who remain indefatigably optimistic ...

This string of bad news comes as no surprise. The turmoil in the credit markets have had a HUGE impact on the availability of construction financing. The Hamilton condo market is precarious at the best of times, so when there are clouds on the horizon, these are the first projects they pull back on. Developers are now in risk management mode until things calm down in the markets and the spreads come back down.

I think we will be seeing alot more project cancellations in other markets as well.

!!please...... this project was announced two years ago at least. Plenty of time to get financing, well before the credit crisis.

It was a speculation job. Someone trying to jack up neighbouring property values for a quick flip profit. It was never intended to be built.

Stinson will still build his tower if that's what you're hinting at.

Above is my post from last October. There has never been any reason to believe this was going to get built. Even back then my city hall sources had told me that they were planning on removing the loan in order to apply it to "a different project that actually has a chance of being built".

That IS what's happening, by the way. That money isn't just being yanked from all these project to sit in an account somewhere. There are other projects ready to start that are waiting on this money. Perhaps Stinson is one of them??

As Goldfinger pointed out--the credit market is extraordinarily tight--ignoring this a serious lack of understanding of development financing. At the best of times the major Canadian lenders were shy of lending to projects in the core--a trend that will only become tighter before it improves.

What you hint at resembles redlining and I certainly doubt the specific location of downtown Hamilton had anything to do with it. The projects, regardless of location, would receive financing if their business plan were built on sound economic principles. Downtown Hamilton or Tim-buck-too are non issues.

Withdrawing the funds from deadbeat speculators don't intend to build is a reality. Trial and error is the only way to learn from this. As better developers are attracted over time, these shady types will eventually be eliminated.

Yes, I think Stinson will be next to be elimanated.

You will not get financing without at least 50% of the project pre-sold, sometimes even more. The sale was for the entire site so i don't know how they could approach a lender with a site rendering and not much else. Definately a spec sale but it doesn't change the fact that there were no takers, even from the mysterious Toronto developers that you guys keep dreaming about.

Face the facts, national developers have written Hamilton off long ago and have no interest in losing their shirts here.

Has he received funds from the city. No.

Regarding the credit crises urban construction markets have remained stable

The housing crisis has lowered construction material costs a boon to contractors north of the border. Otherwise there will be some slowdown in 2008 but nothing like the US.

http://www.jeffreyteam.com/blog/misc...l-real-estate/

US Downturn Affects Local Real Estate

How Would the U.S Market Crunch Affect Canadian Real Estate in 2008?

The market crisis along the south border has many homebuyers wondering how it will affect the real estate market in Canada, but Canadian market analysts feel the problems the U.S. is experiencing should have little impact on real estate in this country.

Canada is not expected to experience the same downturn as the U.S. market for many reasons. First, the Canadian economy is simpler and the investment environment is more conservative than the United States. Secondly, Canadian federal surpluses have given consumers more confidence which has led to increased spendings on homes, retail goods, and business expansion. Additionally, the Canadian real estate market has not been artificially driven by bad lending practices. And, unlike the U.S., all mortgages in Canada are insured.

However, Canada’s booming real estate market could loose heat by the end of the year. The impact of the U.S. sub-prime crisis is expected to be felt by Canadians in three different ways.

First, a tightening of credit markets will occur as lenders move to correct their losses because of the investments in commercial papers. To borrowers, this may also mean smaller discounts off the posted mortgage rate.

Secondly, due to the overall economic impact and the soaring Canadian dollar, the impact will also be felt. There may be a slowdown in some business sectors related to real estate and that may impact Canadian consumer confidence.

Thirdly, the impact on our economy could come form the falling purchasing power of the U.S. consumers, which in turn impacts large ticket purchases that involves Canadian made products - the auto sector is a good example.

“The Canadian real estate market will slow down a bit in 2008, but that slowdown will be nothing compared to what happened in some U.S. markets in 2007. In Canada, the real estate market has been setting records for volume and units sold for five consecutive years. We believe things are just moving back towards a more ‘normal’ growth pace, but that still means the 2008 MLS home sales activity will be the second highest on record, second only to the overall record was set in 2007″, says the Canadian Real Estate Associations’s Chief Economist.

The Canadian Real Estate Associations’s market analysis for 2008 also does not show any dramatic adjustment in the average MLS residential price, again contrary to the conditions in some U.S. markets. The Canadian Real Estate Associations’s analysis shows prices setting new records in every province in 2007 and in 2008, but price increases will be smaller in 2008.

In effect, price increases will become smaller as the real estate market becomes more balanced. Manitoba and Nova Scotia are expected to post an increase in average price of 7% or more in 2008, while New Brunswick and Newfoundland are expected to show the smallest increase in average price of 4% annually. The national average residential MLS price is expected to increase 5.5%.

“The real estate market is expected to grow at a more moderate pace this year. However, this will be the result of decreasing affordability rather than the impact of U.S. sub-prime woes”, said Craig Alexander, deputy chief economist at Toronto-Dominion Bank.

To conclude, real estate markets will remain tightest in the western provinces in 2008. Even though Alberta and British Colombia are expected to pull back from the blistering pace they set earlier in 2007, housing there will remain in high demand. The days of 25% or 30% increases in average price are over, but prices are forecasted to go up in Alberta and British Colombia by 5.2% and 5.1%, respectively. Ontario’s market and other eastern provinces are expected to keep its momentum with a slight slow down.