Posted Aug 30, 2008, 2:29 PM
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It's Hammer Time
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Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Hamilton
Posts: 20,398
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Centre Mall revamp: This neighbourhood surely deserves better
August 30, 2008
TERRY COOKE
The Hamilton Spectator
"It's going to create a friendly, pedestrian-oriented design, rather than a commercial island in a sea of parking along Barton Street" -- City planner Ray Lee on the Centre Mall redevelopment, quoted in The Spectator Sept 26, 2007
Except that it's not going to be any of those things. The tragedy of the Centre Mall redevelopment is that it represents such a missed opportunity for a neighbourhood that deserves better.
Make no mistake about it, if this urban redevelopment was proposed today in the heart of Burlington or Oakville, as opposed to a blue-collar section of Hamilton, the planners would insist on a substantially different and better design and the developer would almost certainly oblige.
But east end Hamilton gets stuck with an archaic power centre that fails every reasonable test of sound planning and good taste. With no fewer than six drive-thru's and buildings that will back onto Barton Street, the "new and improved" Centre Mall will be neither pedestrian-friendly nor architecturally redeeming.
The developer, Redcliffe Realty, seems to have simply ignored the intent of the city's planning guidelines, which call for "buildings oriented to the street ... to create a sense of enclosure, a more human scale and reasons for people to be walking ..."
Instead of higher density mixed use structures along Barton Street that would have created a visually interesting streetscape, passersby will see the back end of single-storey retail stores separated by vast expanses of parking lots and drive-thru lanes.
Rather than design standards that enhance the neighbourhood, the city settled for what can best be described as disposable architecture, indistinguishable from other big box sites that litter the North American landscape.
The city could have seized the opportunity to create a new east end transit hub connecting the CN mainline and Hamilton's busiest bus route, rather than approve a site plan that compels customers to drive because it will be difficult to navigate on foot or by bus.
Reliable sources inside City Hall say there were serious staff reservations raised about the proposal early in the application process, but those concerns were effectively muzzled for fear the city would appear to be anti- development.
There was also a reluctance to push the developer too hard for improvements and provoke an Ontario Municipal Board appeal that the city didn't believe it could win.
Ward 4 Councillor Sam Merulla has been a champion of the project and is unapologetic to its critics. He points to skyrocketing property values in the area and the rejuvenation of Ottawa Street as direct byproducts of Redcliffe's commitment to invest $120 million in the area.
Merulla also cites the conversion of several depressed neighbouring apartment buildings into condos as evidence that redevelopment is fuelling a local economic renaissance, saying: "I was not prepared to jeopardize the largest urban redevelopment project in Canada over a few aesthetic concerns".
Mayor Fred Eisenberger is more measured in his support for the project: "I would have preferred a stronger streetscape on Barton Street, some public meeting space in the interior of the site and a less car-oriented development overall. Hopefully, working with the developer, we can still make some improvements to the plan."
Here's hoping the mayor succeeds. But it's hard not to conclude that the city sacrificed quality for expediency. Shoppers may come to love the new mall. But history is rarely kind to that type of bargain.
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