AEON Bayfront Studios - Cancelled

[ScreamingViking]

From today's Spec. Same photos TheRitsman posted were in the story.


Hamilton’s west harbour film hub is growing — but not on the city’s failed stadium lands

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...-film-hub.html

Matthew Van Dongen
The Hamilton Spectator
Thu., Oct. 21, 2021

The would-be builders of a Hamilton film hub have now set up shop in three buildings in the west harbour — but any work to develop the city’s failed stadium lands is still at least two years away.

Aeon Studio Group agreed in principle back in 2019 to buy 14-acres of city-owned land — a Barton-Tiffany block infamously bulldozed for a stadium built elsewhere — and turn it into a film production and live-work hub.

More than two years later, the city still owns the barren block and the renamed Aeon Bayfront Studios group is operating out of nearby buildings, instead.

That didn’t sit well with some councillors Wednesday who questioned if the group was meeting its commitments under a two-year-old memorandum of understanding.

“The studio was what they sold us on,” said Coun. Brad Clark, who noted a staff update on the project appears to show a focus on first developing residential and commercial buildings on the city lands. “They’re not hitting any of the targets to get that studio open on Barton-Tiffany ... Why are we not prioritizing what the original vision was?”

Mayor Fred Eisenberger, by contrast, gave the group credit for an “absolutely brilliant” decision to buy and quickly start film production in the former AVL Manufacturing building on Queen Street North last year, arguing it was a tangible commitment to the film hub vision. He noted the city itself has struggled to start development on anther former industrial site nearby, Pier 8. “It’s taken us 20 years,” he said.

Aeon co-founder Jeff Anders told councillors Wednesday the group has made “significant progress” on the project despite pandemic delays and a longer-than-expected environmental study of the city lands. He also announced the group will seek public feedback on a newly released conceptual plan for the Barton-Tiffany lands showing production space, residential and commercial units and a public plaza.

Those environmental studies suggest the grand vision won’t happen fast, however. “The site is loud, it is wet, it is contaminated,” Anders said.

He estimated the group will earn approvals to build on the “least challenging” parts of the block within two years, likely starting with commercial and targeted residential buildings on the corner of Barton and Queen streets. Construction approval on tougher spots could still be five years away.

...


Aeon is now supposed to conduct public consultation this month and deliver a master plan and business case to the city for consideration next February.

It’s not clear when Aeon will purchase the Barton-Tiffany lands from the city, which hopes to recoup around $13 million spent buying land in the area over more than a decade.


full story here