From Forge and Foster
This week's most exciting and expensive sale was at 98 James St. S. in downtown Hamilton. The Connolly Site sold for $24 million ($75 million/acre). It's an astronomically high price, but it could make sense at an estimated value of $80/buildable sq. ft, although that's still very high for Hamilton. Alternatively, the price could include some other form of value, like an approved site plan or pre-construction deposits.
The former James Street Baptist Church, constructed between 1878 and 1882, has had a tumultuous decade:
- It was demolished in 2014, except for its historic stone facade, by developer Louie Santaguida for a planned $80-million, 30-storey condo development dubbed The Connolly.
- That project was placed in receivership in 2017.
- In 2018, it was sold to Hue Developments, which proposed a 31-storey tower with 315 units.
- The buyer this time is Toronto's Milborne Group. They bill themselves as Canada's leading marketer of urban, master-planned, multi-phased communities. They're affiliated with the 1 Jarvis development and the 75 James Condominiums, kitty-corner to 98 James St. S.