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Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple
Going before DRP in September.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple
Longtime Gore Park development now envisions 32-storey tower above old facades
New pitch for mixed-use King Street East comes after many years of anticipation
The Hamilton Spectator
2 Sep 2023
TEVIAH MORO
A long-standing plan for a stretch of 19th-century landmarks at Gore Park that were to be incorporated into a new six-storey building has taken a turn.
Developers behind a longtime plan to incorporate heritage facades into a new building at Gore Park have come up with a loftier pitch.
Instead of six storeys, the consortium now proposes a 32-storey tower atop a five-storey podium, throwing a new twist into the decade-old project.
Hughson Business Space Corporation’s renewed vision for 18-22, 24 and 28 King St. E. still includes preservation of the old facades.
At first blush, the proposal appears to abide by the downtown secondary plan, city planning director Steve Robichaud told The Spectator.
It also ticks off the “three Hs: height, heritage and housing,” he said.
“We’re getting the intensification. We’re getting additional residential. We’re getting commercial and heritage preservation.”
The mixed-use proposal features 478 residential units, 4,372 square metres of commercial space and 426 parking spaces.
Robichaud noted the plan expands a “super block” toward Main Street East, where the city envisions more residential development to complement a plan to convert the busy thoroughfare to twoway traffic.
Markland Property Management said consortium representatives were “unable to comment at this time” on the new Gore Park proposal.
In 2013, the developers’ initial plan to completely demolish the buildings, which date to the 1840s and 1870s, sparked outrage from heritage advocates.
But in a last-minute move, city council spared them the wrecking ball by giving the facades heritage protection.
Ever since, it has been a work in progress, while the old buildings in downtown Hamilton’s signature park remained in a state of disarray.
In 2021, a heritage consultant noted one brick facade, No. 24, was too deteriorated to be saved but would be replicated.
Meanwhile, the pre-Confederation stone fronts of 18-22 were to be secured by a steel structure on-site while the rest of the work continued.
The plan for No. 28 was to dismantle the stone and later put it back into place.
The buildings are unfinished, boarded-up and behind fencing.
The project has active permits and the city is “monitoring the situation to ensure that it’s safe and it’s stable,” Robichaud noted.
The new application is to be discussed with city planners as part of formal consultation and put before Hamilton’s design review panel for feedback on Sept. 20.
Hughson Business Space Corporation’s new towering pitch echoes a flurry of development around Gore Park, including LIUNA’s twin highrises on the north side of King.
Just east, another effort to breathe new life into more-than-centuryold buildings — also with direct access to the park’s southern flank — is making progress.
Partner Patrick Bermingham said the two buildings, No. 62 and No. 64, will offer “prime office space” and a new eatery in the downtown.
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Hughson Business Space Corporation - I was not aware this business had changed hands as I thought wilson blanchard still owned it, and none of us expected much as a result..
I am actually VERY pleased with this - yes don't all have a heart attack at once, as I have always felt the back end and side gaps in this block SORELY needed not only some buildings, but also some HEIGHT. THIS is the area of downdown that NEEDS to be big, as everything around it is big. I also like that it is stepped back, and the height is near the back, so that shadows won't harm the park.
I also am pleased that the city is keeping such a critical eye on this - making it so parts have to be retained and other parts have to be replicated. I also love their 3 h's - height, heritage and housing. I like that vision. I don't mind height if it is in a proper place and I of course am all about bringing people living back in the core and heritage preservation. The great thing about the core is it has changed relatively little in 200 years, and it would be nice to keep as much of that timelessness as we can
I am really excited to see something go into the back area - as I often take the bus along this route - it will also be nice to have the bank building closed in and for this area to feel like a proper "block" once more
Overall pretty excited for this! I hope they really clean that stone, although as evidenced by the royal connaught cleaning it sadly does not keep it clean looking for long, one of the detriments of stone, it stains easily..
Only thing I may be critical of is what designs they plan for the side along james and the side along main - we can't see the main side design and the james st side is too small to see - I sincerely hope it has a heritage look and is not ultra-modern, although they could possibly get away with it because it will be right beside the corner skyscraper.. I like that that area of james is still relatively highly heritage looking, and hopefully they will be pressured to maintain that, although the bank across the street makes that a bit open ended..
also a little worried why they put the bank on the corner in red.. I hope they are not planning to demolish it.. because they are NOT, and I repeat NOT allowed to remove ANY of those types of buildings - the old bank buildings are off limits. > : (
..or are they building on TOP of it..? Hrmm.. I wish I had more renders and bigger pictures..
also of course we shall see if this ACTUALLY gets built - it has been a decade.. I am also surprised they are keeping the building roof on the left in the image as a 'green" roof - I would have expected they would have capitulated on any surface are they could to build height..
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