Downtown Update

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by GeneralLeeTPHLS

(Apologies for my flood of updates, I passed by a lot of construction sites yesterday. As a side note, I've never seen this much construction in Hamilton's core, which is great)

No apologies necessary!

Thank you.

[King&James]

2 part article on downtown Hamilton development.

https://renx.ca/downtown-hamilton-de...0-million-2023

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by King&James

2 part article on downtown Hamilton development.

https://renx.ca/downtown-hamilton-de...0-million-2023

Remember when topping $1 billion in a year was a big deal.

[Bubba9000]

Samir Supermarket, the new store at ground level of Marquee Residence building at George and Caroline is open 9am to midnight 7 days a week. Went there last night and saw they have lots of fresh produce and meat along with tons of dry and canned foods. Some prices crazy cheap (e.g. $0.39/lb for bananas).

Feeling the importance of such an amenity cannot be understated. Sure Busy Big Bear is open late, Nations has much more, but to have something at the scale, hours, and prices of Samir is a huge boost to livability downtown. A segment of the population previously unserved (those working full time days, working later evenings, students, etc.) are now more able to obtain the basics right downtown.

[downtown_eddie_brown]

Walkable downtown grocery stores are godsends. I hope this place sees a ton of business from all the condos and apartments around there, especially all the ones going up along Main in response to the LRT/Two-waying.

Nations certainly fits the bill too, but street facing businesses are important for making sidewalks welcoming for pedestrian traffic. I'd love for Jackson Square to bust open a few of those exterior walls to allow direct store traffic from the street. Maybe in time.

[SteelTown]

A huge parking lot @ International Village is going up for sale. I doubt this property will sit empty for long.




Hamilton to sell downtown parking lot, bank proceeds for affordable housing elsewhere
Some non-profits were interesting in 171 Main St. E., but councillor says a sale will provide more funding for housing elsewhere

https://www.thespec.com/news/council...e3db93448.html

The city is poised to sell a downtown parking lot to the highest bidder rather than turn it over to non-profit homebuilders — but sale proceeds are expected to help create “many more affordable housing units” elsewhere.

The nearly half-acre parking lot at 171 Main St. E. was one of six municipal properties pitched for sale or redevelopment last year to support building more affordable units amid a housing and homelessness crisis.

[Innsertnamehere]

The right call. The site is zoned for 30 storeys, which an affordable housing provider wouldn't be able to deliver on (look at 106 Bay - 6 storeys on a site zoned for 30). You will get many more units built taking the money from a private landowner willing to actually build 30 storeys and redirecting that to affordable housing units elsewhere.

[ScreamingViking]

Selling off city parking lots is a good policy where it makes sense to do so, and so long as the sale has a clear benefit to the city and the deal has teeth to ensure the buyer does something soon after (possibly including "affordable" units within) and doesn't just keep running it as parking or flip it.

That Dollarama site would make a good addition to the city lot, to provide for redevelopment of the Main St. side of the entire block between Walnut and Ferguson. I don't know how busy or profitable it is, but becoming a tenant in a new building could be possible too.

I also think [next door to this lot] Shakespeare's days are numbered, and much like Lo Presti's at Maxwell's it will unfortunately become a memory in the not too distant future.

It is nice though to see the beginnings of a beginning along Main east of the downtown core. It's been in a rather sad state for decades, even relative to other parts of the central city that have been in their own sad states.

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

A huge parking lot @ International Village is going up for sale. I doubt this property will sit empty for long.




Hamilton to sell downtown parking lot, bank proceeds for affordable housing elsewhere
Some non-profits were interesting in 171 Main St. E., but councillor says a sale will provide more funding for housing elsewhere

https://www.thespec.com/news/council...e3db93448.html

The city is poised to sell a downtown parking lot to the highest bidder rather than turn it over to non-profit homebuilders — but sale proceeds are expected to help create “many more affordable housing units” elsewhere.

The nearly half-acre parking lot at 171 Main St. E. was one of six municipal properties pitched for sale or redevelopment last year to support building more affordable units amid a housing and homelessness crisis.

Dear god that liquidations place across the street has seen better days..

let's hope Vranich doesn't scoop up this lot - need a bit of a break from his designs..

Honestly, with all the new people coming into downtown I don't necessarily think shakespeare's days are numbered. They are still quite propular from what I hear.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

Honestly, with all the new people coming into downtown I don't necessarily think shakespeare's days are numbered.

I hope so.

My main reasoning is because, unless that's changed in the past couple of years, it's had the same owners since it opened nearly 55 years ago. At some point they'll retire and want to pass it to family or sell especially if there's an offer to do that to make way for a new development. Other restaurants in a similar situation have ended up closing. The Black Forest Inn represents the opposite scenario (though I've not been in there in at least 10 years, when it was still family-run)

[King&James]

Originally Posted by King&James

2 part article on downtown Hamilton development.

https://renx.ca/downtown-hamilton-de...0-million-2023

and part 2 of the article.....

https://renx.ca/downtown-hamilton-developments-part-two

[ScreamingViking]

Good to know about the AGH. I need to visit again, as it's been a few years.

HUPEG's plans for the convention centre and FO Concert Hall haven't been mentioned in a while... hopefully now that the arena reno is under way, they'll become more of a focus again.