Downtown Hamilton condo developers making slow, steady progress
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/669803...-developers-making-slow-steady-progress/
The developer of a downtown condo tower fashioned with the remains of a historic church on James Street South hopes to reach a key milestone this week.
Louie Santaguida expects the province to sign off on the Connolly's record of site condition by Friday.
"That's a big check mark for us," Santaguida, owner of Toronto-based Stanton Renaissance, said Monday.
The record of site condition, a summary of the environmental state of a property, allows the project to work on meeting city requirements, he said.
But Santaguida argues the document, which the city demanded, wasn't necessary for the former James Street Baptist Church property.
"We've been stymied for almost a year now with bureaucratic and administrative things in order to complete an application, which is totally out our hands or any developer."
That pushes construction to fall, which means occupancy of the 30-storey tower won't happen until 2019, instead of late 2018 as planned, Santaguida said.
The $80-million tower is one of a few high-profile condo projects anticipated in the downtown area.