Downtown Update

[craftbeerdad]

Not sure what's happening here, but the TD on James is slated for demolition.

Blue spotted kid is mine, he's not part of the demolition.

[lachlanholmes]

Originally Posted by craftbeerdad

Not sure what's happening here, but the TD on James is slated for demolition.

Blue spotted kid is mine, he's not part of the demolition.

Nothing terribly interesting happening here, at least not for the foreseeable future. The demolition is interior only, in advance of future tenant fit-out of the space.

The DTSP, oddly, makes this west side of James South significantly harder to develop than the east side, which actually has many more buildings worth keeping… I was planning on writing a bit about this (as it really should be a redevelopment site) but haven’t had the time.

[Innsertnamehere]

I've missed a few months, but May's building permit data is out. A whopping $376.9 million worth of permits were issued last month, the largest single month of permit activity since October of 2012, where $402 million in permits were issued.

The vast majority of permits were for residential construction, with $327 million in residential construction.

YTD Permit value is at $865 million, slightly higher than 2021 at this point in the year. The running 12-month period has a permit value of $2.13 billion, up significantly from 2021 when it was $1.669 billion.

Notable permit issues include:

• 380 McNeilly Rd - $5.4 million - New Construction Factory
• 2782 Barton St E - $77 Million - Apartments, New Construction. This is for the LJM Tower which has been excavating it's pit for the last little while.
• 323 Rymal Road East - $5 million - Apartments New construction - This is for a new 3-storey apartment building.
• 1280 Main St W - $15.8 million - University Addition. Not clear what this is for at McMaster.
• 191 King St W - $80 million - Colleges, Residential, New Construction. McMaster Graduate Residences permit. Not sure how it's only getting issued now...
• 10 Aeropark Boulevard - $4.5 million - New Construction Warehouse. This is another Panattoni property starting.
• 75 James St S - $6 million - New Construction Multiple Dwelling. Wonder why this is so small, it's clearly not the main permit.
• 5 Medicorum Place - $7 Million - New Construction Warehouse. This is in the new industrial area in Waterdown where Stryker is. New 100,000sf warehouse.
• 71 Main Street, Dundas - $1.2 million - Excavation and Shoring - Apartments. Looks like a new apartment building in Dundas is getting started.
• 29 John Murray Street - $1.4 million - Foundation, School. Start of construction of replacement school for St James the Apostle catholic public school.
• 310 Governors Road, Dundas - $1.5 million - Alteration, School. Some sort of renovation of Dundas Valley SS.

[atnor]

Can’t find the thread but there’s a fire at Vrancor’s Marquee tower this morning.

[urban_planner]

Originally Posted by atnor

Can’t find the thread but there’s a fire at Vrancor’s Marquee tower this morning.

This came basically at the same time as the fire at Radio Arts.

[matt602]

Originally Posted by urban_planner

This came basically at the same time as the fire at Radio Arts.

Was most likely started from that fire, the wind was pretty strong at the time.

[StEC]

Yeah CTV news is reporting that embers from the main fire started the balcony fire.

[TheHonestMaple]

If anything that fire is going to speed up construction of the condo. Demolition was set to happen in a couple of months anyway. I suspect they'll be on site this week clearing the debris and hopefully trying to salvage the tile they were hoping to use.

Seeing lots of comments on reddit of uninformed people thinking this was a heritage building that was going to be repurposed into the condo. No one seems to be aware that it was planned to be completely demolished very soon.

Wish the city would do something about the addicts squatting in buildings like this though. It's not safe for anyone.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple

If anything that fire is going to speed up construction of the condo. Demolition was set to happen in a couple of months anyway. I suspect they'll be on site this week clearing the debris and hopefully trying to salvage the tile they were hoping to use.

Seeing lots of comments on reddit of uninformed people thinking this was a heritage building that was going to be repurposed into the condo. No one seems to be aware that it was planned to be completely demolished very soon.

Wish the city would do something about the addicts squatting in buildings like this though. It's not safe for anyone.

I doubt it will speed anything up, they'll have to wait for the investigation to finish, including insurance. I'm not surprised people on Reddit or elsewhere are unaware that the building wasn't to be repurposed, most don't follow the permitting or development process like those on this forum.

[TheHonestMaple]

Originally Posted by TheRitsman

I doubt it will speed anything up, they'll have to wait for the investigation to finish, including insurance. I'm not surprised people on Reddit or elsewhere are unaware that the building wasn't to be repurposed, most don't follow the permitting or development process like those on this forum.

Insurance investigation will be complete within a month. Fortunately, this will have zero impact on the timeline of this development. Again, I actually would bet it will speed things up. The building is now demolished. I would expect it to be cleared in the next few weeks.

[Markus83]

Sorry, this question may seem common sense, but I have always wondered. The money that is paid on a permit for say, "380 McNeilly Rd - $5.4 million - New Construction Factory" , that money goes to the City just for the ability to build there, i.e. a "permit to build".

[Innsertnamehere]

No, that’s the estimated construction value. So the construction the permit is for is estimated to cost $5.8 million.

The building permit cost itself will be a small fraction of that.

[Markus83]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

No, that’s the estimated construction value. So the construction the permit is for is estimated to cost $5.8 million.

The building permit cost itself will be a small fraction of that.

Ahhh..that makes much more sense. Thank you for clarifying that point.

[Innsertnamehere]

not sure if these have been posted here before, but Eric MacMillan over at UrbanToronto has prepared some excellent massing models of all the proposed buildings in downtown Hamilton:

[johnnyhamont]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

not sure if these have been posted here before, but Eric MacMillan over at UrbanToronto has prepared some excellent massing models of all the proposed buildings in downtown Hamilton:

Eric had been posting those on this thread. Do these ones reflect more recent updates?

[Innsertnamehere]

Thanks, they are the same. Just wasn't sure if they had been posted or not.

[johnnyhamont]

Originally Posted by johnnyhamont

a 7-storey, 100-unit apartment building:

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilton-re...-project-to-receive-city-incentives.html

I don't think there's a dedicated thread to this one? I failed to get a pic but went past King and Paradise earlier in the week. They're at grade level with construction now.

[Innsertnamehere]

Today.

[TheRitsman]

No July DRP meeting as there were no submissions.

[SteelTown]

Hamilton hits $1 billion construction mark in just 6 months; a new record

https://www.insauga.com/hamilton-hits-1-...Ba7837ufAzhgFOi592c5W7X-jxWn6_05YNsGS-qo

For the tenth straight year, the City of Hamilton has surpassed $1 billion worth of construction projects since the beginning of the year. This year, the city hit the mark on June 17 — the earliest in Hamilton history and 13 days earlier than the previous record in 2021.

This milestone represents 3761 building projects in the residential, institutional, commercial, and industrial sectors.

After two years of working remotely, the city’s building division re-opened to the public on Apr. 25, 2022.

“Reaching the $1 billion so early in the year is a strong indication that the city has weathered the COVID-19 Pandemic and the development industry remains optimistic about Hamilton’s future,” said Alan Shaw, Chief Building Official, Director, Building Division. “Having hit this milestone for the last 10 years, it remains clear, that Hamilton is a provincial leader in construction activity and is a prosperous community where business and people come to grow and develop.”

“This achievement is made possible through the dedication of the many developers, owners, and contractors who support Hamilton’s growth. I am thankful for our city staff who continue to help Hamilton build as we exit the pandemic.”

Total construction value up to and including June 2022 is comprised of 72.7 per cent residential, 25.7 per cent industrial, commercial, and institutional, and 1.6 per cent miscellaneous (signs, demolitions, fire repair, tents, sewage systems, protective plumbing, etc).

Residential construction has increased 31.1 per cent over the previous three-year average for a total of $749 million.

Industrial, commercial, and institutional have remained consistent with the previous three-year average for a total of $265 million. Within that average, the institutional sector has increased 130.3 per cent over the previous three-year average, surpassing $92 million in construction value.

“Year after year, Hamilton continues to achieve historic milestones in construction value,” said Jason Thorne, General Manager, Planning and Economic Development. “With 2022 marking the earliest the City has achieved $1 billion in new construction, it is clear Hamilton continues to be an attractive place for people to live, work and invest.”

“This milestone is made possible by the collaboration, dedication and hard work of our city staff, development community, skilled trades, businesses and investors, and community stakeholders, each of whom are direct contributors to this achievement.”

Last year was the first time Hamilton surpassed $2 billion in construction projects, having reached the mark in November.