James North

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by msakalau

could someone enlighten me why the BIA is "vehemently" opposed to the inclusion of James Street?

You've got it backwards. The Downtown BIA is looking to annex more of James North, but many small businesses along that strip are apparently voicing opposition to that proposal. I'm not entirely convinced that it's universally about opposition to the notion of a BIA, as much as it is the desire to be self-identify as distinct from the Downtown BIA. At issue might be management style or neighbourhood marketing/branding.

Not aware of the 1980s history of BIAs in that neighbourhood that's alluded to in the petition (a certain "family business" might play a role in any reallistic appraisal of the neighbourhood's power dynamic of that period). But there is certainly a core of recent shopkeepers who pointedly self-identify as independents. Complicating matters is that opt-in to the BIA can be piecemeal. (Downtown BIA membership already extends north along Hughson to Wilson.) Bit of a wait-and-see.

[flar]

Quite understandable that the businesses on James North wouldn't want to be part of the downtown BIA. James North has a good thing going right now, let them continue without interference.

I certainly hope that nobody forces the issue, the last thing Hamilton needs is yet more petty infighting.

[thistleclub]

I don't know that you can force the issue, really. Either people see value in membership or they don't. Much of the percolating area of James North is already considered part of downtown by some accounts, which is why this is in some ways an understandable move. (And neighbours Sonic Unyon and many of its resident businesses are part of the Downtown BIA.)

James North is an unusual case in that the city has devoted resources to the area that would normally only be available to a formal BIA (e.g. business improvement loans, public art dollars). Presumably that will mute the appeal of joining the Downtown BIA. But the jockeying has obviously begun.

[durandy]

given the progress of James st without a BIA compared to the rest of downtown with one I'd probably want out as well. Or rather I'd want to create my own tuned in to the spirit of the street. The purpose of a BIA is not just to pool money for marketing purposes, it's also to access community improvement plan grants, which are otherwise barred for municipalities, so it would be crazy not to want one.

I hope they can get their act together all along James - north and south - because while the street definitely has a lot of promise, I still get the feeling that the Portuguese community are the only people actually spending money there.

[SteelTown]

Former Shoppers Drug Mart...

275 James Street North
The commercial building will be entirely retrofitted and renovated as part of the redevelopment, creating two commercial units. A national commercial tenant has been secured for one unit and will occupy 3,500 square feet. The applicant is currently working with a number of interested parties for the remaining 2,697 square feet.

http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/...__PED12122.pdf

[Pigeon]

.

[Jon Dalton]

I'm glad they finally got the building rented. Recently I've seen workers there clearing the building out and putting up new plywood on what used to be the big red sign board for Shoppers. Fingers crossed it's an LCBO.

[SteelTown]

Open Streets Hamilton is back on James Street North!

On Sunday, June 24th 2012, Make the streets your playground!
This year’s Open Streets Hamilton includes over 2 kilometres of car-free roads for pedestrians, cyclists, scooters, skateboards, wheelchairs, games, dancing, music, activities and more!


SUNDAY, JUNE 24TH - 10AM-5PM
James Street North

Featuring:
NEW SECTION! James North between York & King
James Street North closed to cars from north side of King & James to Guise St (see map for more details)
YWCA Hamilton’s Walk a Mile in Her Shoes (LiUNA Station)
Pathways to Peace (1-4pm at the Lister Block)
Over 60 great local businesses and organizations on the streets!
Local artist and music
GritLIT Booksale
Dance demonstrations all day long
And more!
Get involved!
Join us on the street
Run an activity or become an exhibitor
Volunteer with us

Visit www.openstreetshamilton.ca for more information!
Join our Facebook event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/353004931429109/
Don't use Facebook? Join our Eventbrite page to get the latest updates:http://oshjune2012.eventbrite.com/

[SteelTown]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Former Shoppers Drug Mart...

275 James Street North
The commercial building will be entirely retrofitted and renovated as part of the redevelopment, creating two commercial units. A national commercial tenant has been secured for one unit and will occupy 3,500 square feet. The applicant is currently working with a number of interested parties for the remaining 2,697 square feet.

http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/...__PED12122.pdf

http://www.pracommercial.com/propert...3&propertyid=3

[CaptainKirk]

[thistleclub]

Owner of Irving’s Clothes 'loved James Street'
(Hamilton Spectator, Daniel Nolan, Dec 20, 2012)

A funeral will be held Thursday for a businessman synonymous with James Street North and who was described by former Spectator columnist Paul Wilson just last year as “pure Hamilton.”

Sidney Leon (or just Sid), owner of Irving’s Famous Clothes at James and Rebecca Street, was found dead in his business Tuesday night, the possible victim of a heart attack. His cousin Richard Leon said he was 67.

Leon said Wednesday that his cousin’s wife sent Hamilton police to the store after he didn’t come home for dinner and she could not reach him on the telephone. Sid was found on the floor near his sewing machine at about 9 p.m. The machine was still on and Sid had been working on attaching a sergeant’s crest to a red jacket owned by a member of the Royal Hamilton Light Infantry.

“He loved the city,” said Leon, 79, who operated his own clothing store in the downtown core for three decades and came in once in a while to help his cousin at Irving’s. “He loved James Street.”

The funeral will be held at 10 a.m. at the United Hebrew Memorial Chapel, 28 Ewen Road. Burial will follow at the Anshe Sholom Cemetery on Limeridge Road East.

Sidney Leon had worked at the business for five decades, his cousin said. Irving’s Famous Clothes has been in business since 1915. Wilson reported in 2010 that Sid’s father opened the present shop at James and Rebecca in 1948. Before that, his parents ran a clothing business in the Lister Block.

Leon and master tailor Mario Giammichele, who ran Mario’s Custom Tailors on James Street North until 2001, said customers came in to express their condolences on Sid’s death, or to be stunned that he had died. Sid had the contract for Hamilton police uniforms and Leon said about five officers came in to express their sadness at Sid’s passing.

“Everybody knew him,” said Giammichele, 82, who also came in periodically to help Sid run the business. “He was a first-class gentleman.”

George Benton, 70, was Sid’s accountant. He wandered in late afternoon to look for a Christmas present and was shocked to learn of Sid’s passing.

“There’s an empty feeling in my stomach,” said Benton, who had done Sid’s books for 40 years and estimates he bought 30 suits at the store. “He was always a pleasure to talk to and he always had a smile on his face.”

Steven Brencur, 27, came in to pick up his Canadian Army jacket. The Grimsby resident was recently promoted to captain and brought the jacket into Irving’s just last week to have Sid sew some braids on the sleeves. He said Sid was well-known and appreciated in the Hamilton-Niagara military community for doing such work and doing it quick.

“He was a great guy,” said Brencur, who had been coming to Irving’s for the last few years. “There are going to be quite a few people shocked to learn of this.”

He said they talked for about 30 minutes when he was in the shop last week and recalled Sid “was as witty as he always was.”

Richard Leon said his cousin is survived by his wife Celia, a son, daughter and their families.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

That's a shame. For nostalgic reasons, I hope the store will persist - I've never particuarly liked his product unfortunately.

James North used to be lined by clothiers. I think Irving's is all that's left.

[thistleclub]

Hamilton’s Tivoli Theatre being sold to developer
(Hamilton Spectator, Joan Walters, Feb 14 2013)

The heritage Tivoli Theatre is being sold – to the husband of the CEO who heads the ballet charity that owns the property now.

Domenic Diamante, head of Hamilton property company Diamante Holdings, is the purchaser in a “pending sale” that has already triggered talks about redevelopment.

Preliminary discussions with city officials about “various options” for the Tivoli site have taken place, said Glen Norton, manager of urban renewal. But nothing firm has been proposed, Norton said.

The city holds a $50,000 interest-free loan on the disintegrating theatre on James Street North, through its heritage fund to preserve historic buildings. If a sale occurs, the loan must be repaid by the current owner, which is the Hamilton-based Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble.

Diamante’s wife - Belma Gurdil-Diamante – is CEO of the ballet group, which operates from facilities on Main Street West. She and her husband are in Italy through the first part of March, a spokesperson for Diamante’s property company said.

But the spokesperson confirmed that Domenic Diamante “is the purchaser of the Tivoli.”

The Diamantes did not respond to The Spectator’s requests for interviews.

The purchase price has not been disclosed, and the Diamantes have not publicly confirmed the specific sale arrangements between her ballet company and his property holding and development firm.

Gurdil-Diamante told The Spectator in December that her long-time campaign to find a way to preserve and redevelop the Tivoli was on its way to fulfillment. She said she couldn’t say “who is footing the bill until the T’s are crossed and the I’s are dotted,” but that a spectacular facelift was in the works.

“There will be condos behind, a commercial shopping centre in front and the theatre will remain at the heart and soul of the whole business,” she told The Spectator’s Gary Smith.

Gurdil-Diamante rescued the building from the wrecker’s ball by purchasing it for the dance company for $2 in 2006 from the Sniderman family of Sam the Record Man fame.

The dance company is a registered Canadian charity under the name Hamilton Ballet Youth Ensemble.

A Toonies for Tivoli campaign has been under way since 2009 to raise capital for restoration of the former vaudeville house and theatre, which has sat empty since its partial collapse in 2004.

Norton said Thursday the city has “informed the current owner of the repayment requirement.”

The $50,000 heritage program loan was approved to enable retrofitting of the roof on the auditorium portion of the building.

City council and municipal officials will clearly have some role in next steps for the property. For example, there’s an option for city council to allow the heritage loan to be transferred to the new owner, Norton said.

And there is another potential decision over the property’s current tax-exempt status, which would be lost upon ownership change. The tax exemption could be re-applied for, though, depending on the status of the theatre.

[thistleclub]

Councillors out of the loop in Tivoli sale
(Hamilton Spectator, Feb 17 2013)

Two city councillors who have been working on the Tivoli Theatre file say they have not yet been updated on a pending sale of the downtown site.

The deal under negotiation would see Hamilton developer Domenic Diamante buy the property from the Hamilton-based Canadian Ballet Youth Ensemble, the charity run by his wife, Belma Gurdil-Diamante.

Brian McHattie, who sits on the city heritage committee, and Jason Farr, who represents the area, last met in the fall with Gurdil-Diamante and some of her directors for a discussion of options to save the heritage site.

“We remain very concerned over the future of the Tivoli, an important example of early 20th -century burlesque theatres,” McHattie said after hearing about the pending sale.

Farr said that although he doesn't have details, “I am certain Mr. Diamante is well aware of concerns regarding the Tivoli and the need to act with respect to its restoration.”

Gary Santucci, a director of the ballet, said discussions are under way to have the charity retain ownership of the auditorium portion of the site on James Street North. The rest of the property would be developed commercially.

City council and municipal officials will clearly have some role in the next steps.

The city holds a $50,000-interest-free loan on the theatre through its heritage fund to preserve historic buildings — money that must be paid back if ownership changes. But there's an option for city council to allow the loan to be transferred to the new owner.

City loans, grants and expenditures for the site since 2004 amount to about $450,000, including the $50,000 loan to retrofit the roof.

In 2004, when a wall collapsed, the city spent $300,000 to demolish part of the building's front.

After the ballet purchased the Tivoli for $2 in 2006, there was a $20,000 grant for a heritage feasibility study to identify potential uses for the property and about $75,000 was granted for building stabilization and heating improvements.

[movingtohamilton]

SSP forumites, I need your advice and help. Here's the situation:

I'm looking for a large space downtown.

I want to buy the building, a heritage building, for $2.00,

I'd like a grant, say $20,000, to study the potential uses for the property.

If the building is suitable but needs some stabilization and improvements, I'd like a grant of $75,000.

If, heaven forbid, a wall collapses, I'd like the city to spend $300,000 to demolish that yucky wall.

The roof might need work, so I may need a loan for $50,000 to fix it.

Oh yeah, almost forgot. I don't want to pay any property taxes. I will create a charity. You could be on my board of directors.

So all in all, I need a $2.00 building and $400,000 in grants and expenditures from the taxpayer. I might be able to squeeze the loan repayment, if it's low-interest or forgiveable.

Does anyone have a list of properties? Thanks!

[CaptainKirk]

If the Tivoli can be restored, and used again as a theatre, then I'm all for it. It's the last remaining of many great, grand old theatres in Hamilton, I blelieve.

[movingtohamilton]

Originally Posted by CaptainKirk

If the Tivoli can be restored, and used again as a theatre, then I'm all for it. It's the last remaining of many great, grand old theatres in Hamilton, I blelieve.

Ok, so the Tivoli is unavailable. C'mon people, there must be some other grand old buildings you can recommend to me. I have $2.00 burning a hole in my pocket.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Foolish though it may be, the City's heart was in the right place.

All this business with the husband and wife seems a little peculiar, however. I can't quite get my head around it.

And yes, all the other old vaudville/ movie houses are gone. I won't bother going through that very long list again. Hopefully construction/ restoration will start soon.

[drpgq]

Hopefully the Tivoli gets saved, but this is very odd. Even by Hamilton standards.

[matt602]

I really want to see the Tivoli rise from the ashes but this stuff definitely has me concerned.