75 James Street South | 108 m | 34 fl | Under Construction

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by craftbeerdad

That drone shot really gives you an idea of the opportunity around Hamilton GO Centre for more density. There's at least five lots and probably that building on the Corner of James & Hunter (bus stops in front) could be levelled to make way for another by the Y.

Plus if you factor in 101 Hunter (which will be another building) and the possibility of the lot by Landmark, that would really add to the area and be a good survey of high rise potential.

They WANTED to redo the one on the corner but the plans never found fruition, it was going to be the same sorta shape but much higher..

the one on the left with the trees in front probably won't be leveled anytime soon - they resurfaced the entire building a few years back.

I do hope something goes up in the parking lot beside liuna though and on the opposite side of main - those areas DO look very bare, and very much are perfect spots for super high rises - the building on the corner of james and main will most likely never be demolished as that is the "gentlemans club of hamilton"

I prefer we dont just keep demolishing all of old hamilton just to build giant legoblocky skyscrapers. James corridor is a point of contention too because it, like king street is a HIGHLY heritage area - although less so when you get closer to the hospital..

I do agree though - the corner one where the buses stop in front of seems like a colossal waste of space, and there is nothing "heritage" about that building so I could def. see it developed in future - the one directly across from the go station I am not so sure.. I actually really like it with all the trees in front - gives you a relaxed feeling.

Besides you need a variation of heights to make the tall buildings look much taller - like the cobalt towers look giant because everything around them is relatively tiny. They should demolish the Y and make it much much taller and mixed use. It takes up so much room anyways.

[TheHonestMaple]

Don't have any pics, but this thing is flying up. It already has quite an imposing presence on James Street, and it's only on floor 5 or 6.

[Davis137]

Wow, didn't realize this one was above grade, and that many levels already (last time I looked at this thread, the pit for the foundation was only just being dug down from street level).

I guess that because it sits at a little bit higher elevation, it might look close to Century21/Landmark in terms of height...?

[Innsertnamehere]

grade along James here is 96m ASL according to Google Earth.. just 2 metres higher than grade at Landmark Place. So it won't look the same height as Landmark Place.

Downtown north of the railroad tracks is actually pretty flat.

[Bubba9000]

.. that building on the Corner of James & Hunter (bus stops in front) could be levelled to make way for another by the Y.

Pretty sure I heard the building was designed to have ~10 stories added on top. They just started with one for some reason

[GeneralLea]

I took this yesterday morning
Hamilton, September 4th by Draulerin Photographics, on Flickr

[TheHonestMaple]

Taken today. This thing is about to start flying up, you can see that they are just about to start pouring the main residential floors.

[SteelTown]

Thanks for all of the photo updates!

I'm excited about this project; it's gonna have such a profound transformation for the area.

[urban_planner]

I noticed last week you can see it from Sam Lawrence Park.

[TheHonestMaple]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Thanks for all of the photo updates!

I'm excited about this project; it's gonna have such a profound transformation for the area.

Yeah, I hope the several hundred new residents that this building will add will put pressure on the YWCA and YMCA to clean up their act. I appreciate the work that those two organizations do for the less fortunate, but something needs to be done about the amount of garbage left around those two buildings. I suspect these new residents will complain quite a bit to by-law and we'll notice an improvement.

That and just this buildings shear size is going to make Hamilton feel quite big city when walking north up James

[craftbeerdad]

Litter in this city is atrocious and frankly the city should be embarrassed. It's only gotten worse since the pandemic (labour shortage, lack of strategy, homeless clutter) and unless the city allocates more money to simple strategies like keeping underpasses, parks and trails clean on top of tourist areas (whatever that means), it will just stay the same.

Was recently in Calgary (lived there for 7 years) for work, and yes that city is much better run than ours, but still the difference in visual appeal of the downtown is night and day when you don't have litter everywhere. No wonder our reputation.

[ShavedParmesanCheese]

Moving to KW, the difference is one of the first things I noticed. So called 'rough' parts of Kitchener are so much cleaner than what you can expect in Hamilton. Perhaps part of that difference is from population, but not this much disparity. Quite embarrassing.

[Innsertnamehere]

Weeds are far more common in Hamilton than elsewhere too - honestly not sure why. Sidewalks are littered with weeds here that in other municipalities would be clean - even for sidewalks in similar conditions.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Weeds are far more common in Hamilton than elsewhere too - honestly not sure why. Sidewalks are littered with weeds here that in other municipalities would be clean - even for sidewalks in similar conditions.

I honestly think it's the quality of the contractors the city uses. Looking at the Pier 5, 6, 7 urban plaza, I was struck by how there were already cracked stones, chipped concrete and more. Compared to being in Toronto yesterday, all the new infrastructure was pristine and amazing everywhere. No noticeable imperfections.

[Chronamut]

Maybe one day we'll have nice stuff..

[atnor]

Hamilton also has a unique culture, many have low self-respect for themselves and their city thus the littering, spilled over garbage, etc. Hamilton also has large debt so there’s that as well.

[urban_planner]

Originally Posted by atnor

Hamilton also has a unique culture, many have low self-respect for themselves and their city thus the littering, spilled over garbage, etc. Hamilton also has large debt so there’s that as well.

I also think we don't realize how much money dealing with the Niagara Escarpment costs the city,

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by urban_planner

I also think we don't realize how much money dealing with the Niagara Escarpment costs the city,

Honestly the fact that Hamilton’s expressways are municipally owned is a massive drain on taxes too, on top of other problems with the escarpment and the tax base itself. Hamilton owns a larger share of its freeway network than any other municipality in Ontario. Toronto owns a few but it’s massive comparatively, and Waterloo regions urban expressways are provincially owned so they don’t pay a dime for them.

Like a lot of Hamilton’s problems I think it’s a mix of problems. Poor maintenance, poor project management, etc.

I’ve heard that Toronto struggled with its waterfront at first too - my understanding is that Waterfront Toronto does a lot of the maintenance itself and pays extra for it over what a standard city street would be maintained at by regular city departments.

I don’t know what other municipalities do for weed control, but whatever it is, Hamilton doesn’t do it. They don’t do nearly as much garbage collection either.

[atnor]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Like a lot of Hamilton’s problems I think it’s a mix of problems. Poor maintenance, poor project management, etc.

Unfortunately many are losing trust in the City and municipal politics due to decades of poor management and decisions.




This development has to be the largest footprint in some time no?

[urban_planner]

Originally Posted by atnor

Unfortunately many are losing trust in the City and municipal politics due to decades of poor management and decisions.




This development has to be the largest footprint in some time no?

Cobalt is a larger lot, same with The Design District. This might win for a single tower though. Atleast for now.