1 Jarvis Street | 44m | 15 fl | Under Construction

[urban_planner]

The site as of yesterday.

[TheHonestMaple]

Coming right along. I'd expect it to top out sometime in the summer at this rate.

I'm really excited to see 41 Wilson get started. Should be really soon. Same developer, so I'm expecting a similar pace.

[TheRitsman]

[Pulkvedis Pods]

1 Jarvis by Pulkvedis Pods, on Flickr

[HamiltonBoyInToronto]

Haven't been many updates on this one..but it looks like they are getting to the fourth floor now

[urban_planner]

Small update.

[TheRitsman]

They were working on this today, Saturday

[TheRitsman]

There's a bunch of reasons, but it seems like Emblem has a big bank account to push things forward, and this is in an area with very little residential that could justifiably push back. The same reason we see industrial lands getting dense development so quickly too.

[LikeHamilton]

Very little or no NIMBYism in the area!

[Innsertnamehere]

It's a combination of as-of-right zoning which all of Downtown Hamilton has, which limits the approvals process to a technical details site plan approval process only, a well financed project from a developer with deep pockets, and a project which sold out basically overnight meaning it could start very quickly.

[onetimetoomany]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

It's a combination of as-of-right zoning which all of Downtown Hamilton has, which limits the approvals process to a technical details site plan approval process only, a well financed project from a developer with deep pockets, and a project which sold out basically overnight meaning it could start very quickly.

Thanks! Curious what outside of ward 2 as of right zoning is like; outside of the LRT corridor wondering what other efforts have been made to quicken the process.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by onetimetoomany

Thanks! Curious what outside of ward 2 as of right zoning is like; outside of the LRT corridor wondering what other efforts have been made to quicken the process.

IIRC Hamilton also has a lot of as-of-right zoning across the LRT corridor.

The Eastgate Mall redevelopment has several 20-storey buildings proposed as that is the as-of-right density they already have that they can move on while their zoning amendment is processed for the taller buildings.

Generally Hamilton is very unusual in Ontario by having a significant amount of as of right density, most municipalities have existing zoning being very restrictive.

[mikevbar1]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

IIRC Hamilton also has a lot of as-of-right zoning across the LRT corridor.

The Eastgate Mall redevelopment has several 20-storey buildings proposed as that is the as-of-right density they already have that they can move on while their zoning amendment is processed for the taller buildings.

Generally Hamilton is very unusual in Ontario by having a significant amount of as of right density, most municipalities have existing zoning being very restrictive.

Id call this a good thing and a fun fact I wasn’t even aware of. With the way zoning has contributed to many contemporary urban issues and providing housing supply, as-of-right zoning really helps streamline what is already a complicated and laborious process. Glad to learn Hamilton’s taking a proactive approach.

What I’m curious about now is why we have a plethora of as-of-right zoning. I suspect it lies in either a) planning have enough time on their hands to create secondary plans and the various zoning designations, or b) legacy zoning that allowed/allows for ample development which didn’t come in the past as a result of our economic slump. Option c) is that Hamilton is actually just really on the ball planning-wise now

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by mikevbar1

Id call this a good thing and a fun fact I wasn’t even aware of. With the way zoning has contributed to many contemporary urban issues and providing housing supply, as-of-right zoning really helps streamline what is already a complicated and laborious process. Glad to learn Hamilton’s taking a proactive approach.

What I’m curious about now is why we have a plethora of as-of-right zoning. I suspect it lies in either a) planning have enough time on their hands to create secondary plans and the various zoning designations, or b) legacy zoning that allowed/allows for ample development which didn’t come in the past as a result of our economic slump. Option c) is that Hamilton is actually just really on the ball planning-wise now

Most municipalities like using something called "section 37", which comes from, well, Section 37 of the planning act. Section 37 allows for municipalities to require additional funds for community improvements in exchange for increases in development height and density above that required in the zoning by-law.

This means that many municipalities purposefully keep zoning very restrictive and outdated to ensure basically every development needs to file a rezoning, which 1. allows for increased input from council (more power), 2. allows for increased community input (as-of-right development does not need to hold a public meeting), and arguably most importantly, 3. gives councillors millions of dollars to spend as they please in their ward.

Hamilton, for whatever reason, has never used Section 37 agreements, even on projects which have required rezoning. I believe this is largely driven by decades of little to no investment in the city, causing the city to not use them in an effort to keep development costs low. Hamilton also has unusually low development charges and gave tax breaks to new development until very recently in order to encourage it.

So for Hamilton, 3. doesn't exist and it makes a lot more sense for politicians to support as-of-right zoning.

Regardless, the Ford government is getting rid of Section 37 charges in September and replacing it with a new, more consistent funding tool which is not dependent on rezoning (which Hamilton is planning on using now). I imagine we may see a lot more municipalities in Ontario create as of right zoning as a result since the $$$ from Section 37 agreements is no longer there.

[onetimetoomany]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

IIRC Hamilton also has a lot of as-of-right zoning across the LRT corridor.

The Eastgate Mall redevelopment has several 20-storey buildings proposed as that is the as-of-right density they already have that they can move on while their zoning amendment is processed for the taller buildings.

Generally Hamilton is very unusual in Ontario by having a significant amount of as of right density, most municipalities have existing zoning being very restrictive.

Thank you everyone that shared information, much appreciated. I'm left thinking that the demand to develop across the lower city just isn't quite there yet, unlike neighbouring cities... if there's great as of right zoning. How is a street like Barton not seeing more development in place of all the decrepit store fronts? Is the demand/interest in Hamilton just not there yet?

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by onetimetoomany

Thank you everyone that shared information, much appreciated. I'm left thinking that the demand to develop across the lower city just isn't quite there yet, unlike neighbouring cities... if there's great as of right zoning. How is a street like Barton not seeing more development in place of all the decrepit store fronts? Is the demand/interest in Hamilton just not there yet?

I think specific areas are more challenging for various reasons. Barton is a case where other economic changes may need to happen before we start seeing a lot more development (e.g., more jobs in the north end, as old properties are redeveloped for new commercial/industrial purposes). Right now it's probably a great corridor for buying properties, but to be profitable developing them other factors are at play.

[TheRitsman]

I'd suggest that despite the hate on Thorne here, Thorne is a very progressive and thoughtful urban planner. His staff have crafted great policy that encourages development throughout the city. I understand the hate for the height restrictions, but speaking to him about it, it makes sense. With LRT, demand will be stretched throughout the city, and at the same time the city wants redevelopment of the downtown, and without a height limit, the density demand would be met by fewer buildings, and speculation of the downtown would increase. It's actually sound policy, though it has its flaws.

The current zoning policy of Hamilton isn't perfect, but it's pretty decent. The most recent changes really improved the environment, but I'd like to see further changes to reduce restrictions. Toronto is a great place to take some ideas from like the removal of parking minimums, and the allowance of certain types of commercial in residentially zoned neighbourhoods. Hamilton recently allowed up to 4-plexes as well in many parts of the city, however it's only if the building looks like a single family house, which is a not great policy.

Im a big fan of many of the zoning policies in Hamilton. I'd like to see the TOC be expanded a bit both adding it to future transit lines, like the A-line, but also increasing the distance from stations. TOC zoning should expand at least 750m from any LRT station. Some places it is like 20m then back to detached housing zoning which is obviously nuts.

[Innsertnamehere]

Barton still has economic viability issues, it's a pretty rough part of town generally.

Right now development makes sense in the areas of Hamilton which command the highest rents - i.e. James north and Downtown.

Over time that will spread around, but for now, that's were developers can make money so that's where they are going.

[onetimetoomany]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Barton still has economic viability issues, it's a pretty rough part of town generally.

Right now development makes sense in the areas of Hamilton which command the highest rents - i.e. James north and Downtown.

Over time that will spread around, but for now, that's were developers can make money so that's where they are going.

Are there not ways that a city could incentivize or attract development to an area that is in need of it where both parties benefit. Waiting around for it to maybe hopefully someday creep it’s way seems passive and unproductive.

[mikevbar1]

Originally Posted by onetimetoomany

Are there not ways that a city could incentivize or attract development to an area that is in need of it where both parties benefit. Waiting around for it to maybe hopefully someday creep it’s way seems passive and unproductive.

It’s kindof difficult to attract investment to our worst areas when most of the city hasn’t seen any investment for decades. Looking at Toronto, development will come to every corner of the city, it just takes time. Incentivizing development means creating plans, policies or economic stimuli that would make developers want to build there. First, those things take a long time notwithstanding existing conditions. Second, for an area like the east/north end, it is a tall ask to bring It up to a standard of desirability where new builds are common when most of Barton hasn’t seen any construction or tangible growth in decades. Third, the city hasn’t had the money to invest in stimuli for the city, and the province hasn’t really taken up the mantle either.

Thankfully, I am confident that with the redevelopment of the Stelco lands, Barton will once again rise to prominence in rapid fashion. 23,000 jobs is akin to what was actually there 50-70 years ago, so we will definitely see uptake there in the coming years and decades. Luckily that project can probably move faster and deliver results more quickly than infrastructure investments, which often spend decades in planning and construction before benefits can be seen on the ground.