Beasley neighbours not happy with police forensics building plan
(The Hamilton Spectator, Molly Hayes, Wednesday, July 06, 2016)
The funding model of a proposed Hamilton police forensics facility has sparked debate at city hall, but the building itself is raising concerns even before a shovel hits the ground.
While the proposed "police investigative services" facility itself is not an issue, neighbours are upset about the design of the building, which is slated to take up the block bounded by Wilson, Rebecca, Catharine and Mary streets.
"It's fundamentally a suburban building. It's not appropriate for a downtown setting," John Neary, a local physician and member of the Beasley Neighbourhood Association, said of the design.
An early rendering of the proposed $24 million facility — the drawings alone cost $1.5 million, Coun. Lloyd Ferguson, chair of the Hamilton Polcie service board, said — shows an expansive two-storey compound, with surface parking on two sides. On the Rebecca side, a large walled-in ramp would serve as an entrance to underground parking.
Hamilton Police said some of the services that would be performed there include the collection, analysis and packaging of DNA and other evidence.
Neary said his association has no problem with the facility being developed there — "but I don't think it needs to fill nearly the entire block. It could be built on a smaller portion of the block to a higher density."
He said a higher density build could potentially allow the city to sell of some of the remaining land to make much-needed cash to finance the project.
Beasley residents are particularly sensitive about the project given the history of that block, Neary says.
Before it was purchased by the city from the province in 2010, the Hamilton Downtown Mosque — which owns the adjacent property at Wilson and Catharine streets — had its eye on the land. The hope was to build a larger mosque, a school, a community centre and affordable housing.
The city ended up buying the building for police. Ferguson says the price was $1.3 million.
The mosque moved west, to Hess Street and York Boulevard. It was a loss for the neighbourhood, Neary says: "I feel, and I think many other people feel, we should get something good for the neighbourhood out of this (project) — now that the mosque has already been driven away."
Neary is meeting with police representatives and Ward 2 Coun. Jason Farr on Wednesday to discuss the association's concerns.
Meanwhile, council has expressed its own concerns about the cost.
What was originally supposed to be a $15-million project divided between all three levels of government has instead ballooned to $24 million — and the city is now expected to foot the bill alone.
"To try to change what was a (three-way) agreement, to a 100 per cent funding model on the municipal tax base, is irresponsible," Coun. Matthew Green said. "It feels like a bait and switch."
Ferguson says he too is disappointed by the lack of help from the provincial and federal governments, but chalks it up to the ongoing battle of downloading costs.
Green wonders why they cannot simply update the existing headquarters on King William Street —which he says is capable of withstanding another floor, a renovation he argues would cost millions of dollars less.
Ferguson said they did look into that, and argued it's cheaper to build new.
"Our (forensics facility) is outdated. It's been around for 40 years. We need to update that."
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