Lister Block | ? | 6 fl | Renovation

[ihateittoo]

is this also a LIUNA project? Condos marketed to who? is this going to be a seniors condo project as was hinted at in the past?

[SteelTown]

It's a LIUNA project. I don't believe this is a retirement home.

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by thistleclub

+ Acclamation Condos $20 million
+ Tivoli Condos $?? million
+ Blanchard Condos $?? million
+ James Baptist Condos $?? million

Boom market in renderings.

Bella Towers condos
Royal Connaught condos

[mattgrande]

Glad they're still talking about the Thompson facade. I thought we would never hear about it again.

[thistleclub]

Hi-Rise Group Announces Details for Lister Tower
(Raise the Hammer, Saira Peesker, Oct 18 2013)

The empty lot north of Lister Block on James Street North will soon be reunited with the building that once stood there, with a residential tower built on top.

The four-storey William Thomas building, built in 1855 and taken down in 2010, will be reassembled, with 16 storeys of condos added on top, developer Hi-Rise Group announced Friday at a conference being held on the property.

Sections of the facade were numbered as they were taken down and are being stored down the street at Liuna Station.

In addition to ground floor retail and three floors of offices, the building will contain about 100 residential units in total, Hi-Rise's Shawn Marr told a crowd gathered for a Renew Hamilton conference.

"There will be traditional single-story units and very creative two-storey units for some live-work opportunities," he said, describing "energy and confidence" in the city's development scene that helped lot owner Liuna determine it was the right time to move ahead.

While a projected completion date was not announced, Marr said there would be a sales centre and campaign in place for March or April.

[thistleclub]

Developer to rebuild Lister's neighbour, stack a condo on top
(CBC Hamilton, Oct 18 2013)

Toronto developer the Hi-Rise Group announced plans on Friday to rebuild the William Thomas Building, which once sat immediately south of the Lister Block, and stack a 16-storey condo on top.

Shawn Marr, the firm's director of operations, said the project would involve re-assembling the building's facade — which was delicately deconstructed in 2010 —"brick by brick" on its old premises and building a 16-storey steel-and-glass condo structure on top.

Marr said the James Street North development is expected to cost around $35 million and said he hopes construction will begin in Fall 2014.

The Hi-Rise Group and the Laborers’ International Union of North America partnered with the city to develop the Lister Block.

Built in 1923, the Lister Block, located on the north corner of James Street North at King William, sat vacant for more than a decade before its redevelopment wrapped up last year.


In addition to collaborating on the Lister restoration, Hi-Rise was behind 55 Bay North, a building whose story is also entwined with the Lister's development history.

[Beedok]

Wait, is something going across the street too?

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by Beedok

Wait, is something going across the street too?

Across the street from the William Thomas building on James St. N. is the City Centre. Is that what you're referring to?

[Beedok]

Originally Posted by CaptainKirk

Across the street from the William Thomas building on James St. N. is the City Centre. Is that what you're referring to?

It's just they're saying that it's being built "immediately south" of the Lister Block. I was confused.

[markbarbera]

I think it is just an error in the article. I am pretty sure the Thomas building was next to Lister on its north side. The south side of Lister is King William Street.

Here is the rendering as posted on CBC's Hamilton News website:

[Pearlstreet]

Holy shit! Where am I? Hamilton?

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by Beedok

It's just they're saying that it's being built "immediately south" of the Lister Block. I was confused.

I sent the CBC a "correction email". It is definitely north of the Lister block.

Content removed

[Paul V]

Anyone care to speculate on condo unit prices? If there's going to be 100 units, lets say the avg sq ft is 1000 (units to be between 700 and 1200) sq ft. The building cost is 35 million divided by 200,000 sq ft, so a cost of $175 per sq ft. Add markup of 33% and a 1000 sq ft unit goes for $232,000.
Maybe the project will get some city development grants to keep the unit price down.

[lucasmascotto]

Owner of Lister restaurant says opening ‘in sight’
The Hamilton Spectator
By: Meredith MacLeod

A much-delayed restaurant on the ground floor of the Lister should open at the end of March.

Chris DesRoches, owner of 28 Lister Chophouse Grill, says the cold winter and slow approvals have combined to continually push back the restaurant's opening.

"After delay after delay after delay, the prize is in sight."

DesRoches says acquiring the layers of permits and approvals necessary has taken much longer than he anticipated.

"The process of working with the city is a long, arduous, bureaucratic-filled process."

The snow and cold have also delayed the installation of a ventilation system for the kitchen that requires cutting a hole in the first-floor roof at the back of the building, says DesRoches. The contractor has waited for a dry and warm break in the weather. The hope is that the work can be done in the next couple of weeks.

"It's all complicated because this is a heritage building."

The restaurant's interior is finished, art is being framed, furniture is ordered or being upholstered and staff has completed most of their training.

The eatery will be a 1920s-inspired New York-style chophouse with a 50-seat patio, dining room and bar.

DesRoches' operation in the Lister, the 1924 iconic building at the corner of King William and James Street North, was approved by council in April under a 10-year lease. He took possession of the 4,200-square-foot space in June. He initially had hoped to be open by August.

DesRoches will pay more than $63,000 a year in rent to the city plus more than $50,000 in operating costs, including property tax.

He was responsible for all interior upgrades to the space.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

A 50-seat patio sounds quite big. Is that just on the pavement then, or is there another space I'm not aware of?

[davidcappi]

I wondered if they'd be using the lot where the Balfour building used to be as their patio. I personally think that'd make an awesome outdoor space, but I don't know if it's accessible through the restaurant.

Something covered with an arbour and some nice plantings would be gorgeous in that spot.

[oldcoote]

The process of working with the city is a long, arduous, bureaucratic-filled process.

The city really needs to do something about this. It should be easier for businesses to open in this city.

[thistleclub]

A sweetheart deal sours.

Exclusive: Lister grill owner plagued by money woes
(Hamilton Spectator, Steve Buist, June 3 2014)

One personal bankruptcy, at least four corporate bankruptcies associated with his name, and one business pushed into receivership with millions of dollars in debts that led to the forced sale of a Puslinch horse farm.

At least two successful civil lawsuits against him as a defendant, including one judgment against him of nearly $160,000 that resulted in the forced sale of a Burlington condominium unit.

At least 15 small claims court lawsuits against him or his companies with outstanding judgments and claims totalling nearly $100,000.

This is a just a snapshot of the financial history of Chris DesRoches, selected by the City of Hamilton as the winning bidder to operate the new high-end restaurant in the renovated Lister Block and the recipient of $267,000 for building improvements from the city to help him get his venture off the ground.

And the list goes on.

One company he was associated with dissolved for failure to comply with Ontario's Corporations Tax Act.

The suspension of his standardbred horse license by the Ontario Racing Commission.

At least $348,000 owed at one point to the Canada Revenue Agency, and another $145,000 owed to Ontario's finance ministry, based on DesRoches' bankruptcy documents.

DesRoches, the man who turned his downtown La Costa restaurant into a small chain across southern Ontario in the 1990s, is preparing to open 28 Lister, a 1920s-style chophouse on the ground floor of the Lister Block. The opening of the restaurant has been postponed several times since last year for a variety of reasons, including the death of the executive chef in April.

DesRoches and his company, 28 Lister Restaurants Inc., were chosen by the city from four submitted bids for the lease in April 2013.

In addition to the $267,000 that the city agreed to pay for the project, documents show that DesRoches would invest another $200,000 to develop the restaurant.

According to an April 2013 report to city councillors, "28 Lister Inc. met all of the criteria including the financial criteria."

But the city now acknowledges it was unaware of the financial information about DesRoches uncovered by the Spectator's investigation.


Read it in full here.

[Dr Awesomesauce]