Downtown Update

[realcity]

According to wikipedia. The Escarpment: The maximum high point is 250m (820') above the level of Lake Ontario. ///

or is Hamilton's height limit the lowest point? I would take 250m as a height limit IF you have to have one.
\\
nice one Thorne #itsthelittlethings

So an observation tower is totally out of the question? given geography that Hamilton has it is silly to not already have a tower for observing.

[matt602]

Originally Posted by drpgq

I'm disappointed that the Golden Fortune spot is still empty.

this. at this point it has to be one of the longest continually abandoned buildings downtown now.

[CaptainKirk]

I don't think John is as bad as some here say. I frequented Moulin Rouge when it was up and running, and now Toast. Always go through the alleys to get there form the parking lots, never see any problems.

John Street Diner has been a nice addition as has Downtown Bike Hounds, and of course there are the Capri and the Blue Grotto events I go to as well.

The methadone clinics patients are quite harmless. I think people tend to psych themselves out here.

[Crapht]

Pier 8 is 76m above sea level.
King/James is 94m above sea level which is 18 m above pier 8.
Sam Lawrence Park is generally 185m above sea level and 109m above pier 8. It is 91m above King/James.

[beanmedic]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

meth is the drug of the poor

I have made this point before, but methadone and methamphetamine are not the same thing. It's a methadone clinic. Methadone is a drug used to treat opioid addiction. "Meth" is a totally different thing.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

^He he.

Yeah, I think that's the first time I've heard someone refer to those places as 'meth clinics.' I think that's where the confusion lies...

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by beanmedic

I have made this point before, but methadone and methamphetamine are not the same thing. It's a methadone clinic. Methadone is a drug used to treat opioid addiction. "Meth" is a totally different thing.

methadone can be just as equally addictive however. Causes people to nod off randomly too - my partners brother is a methadone addict - takes something crazy like 120 mg a day or something, he's built up such a high tolerance.. not sure it that was the accurate amt in his case, but from what I was told enough to kill a regular person.

At some point getting addicted to the "cure" is just as bad as getting addicted to the opiod. But yes I misconstrued that hahaha.. meth clinic..

not to underscore the fact there is a serious crystal meth problem in the city.. or was anyways.

Originally Posted by matt602

this. at this point it has to be one of the longest continually abandoned buildings downtown now.

Maybe when Capri does their upgrades this area can see some much needed revitalization. I still want to know what's going to go into the building beside the fire hall - wasn't homegrown supposed to move into there?

[movingtohamilton]

Originally Posted by Chronamut

...I still want to know what's going to go into the building beside the fire hall - wasn't homegrown supposed to move into there?

That project was abandoned.

[LikeHamilton]

Carmen’s Group moves corporate headquarters downtown Hamilton

“We love that space because it’s right where my father and my uncles used to sell newspapers back in the 60s”

Jan 25, 2018 by Natalie Paddon Hamilton Spectator

Carmen's Group is returning to its roots.

The local hospitality and entertainment company has relocated its corporate headquarters to the Hamilton City Centre on James Street North from Stone Church Road East — a move that began right before the holidays and coincides with Carmen's 40th year in business.

"We love that space because it's right where my father and my uncles used to sell newspapers back in the 60s," said PJ Mercanti, CEO of Carmen's Group.

"It's kind of a perfect space for us to build the dream that is the Carmen's Group right where my family started their journey many, many years ago."

In 1978, Peter, Sam and Morris Mercanti partnered with their uncle Carmen Mancini to start a bakery on Concession Street.

The bakery's catering division expanded, and the brothers were able to buy land on the east Mountain where they opened their event venue, Carmen's Banquet Centre, in 1987.

The company has continued to grow over the years and now operates five establishments in the region and employs close to 400 full-time and part-time staff.

The new space, which is around 7,000 square feet and includes a boardroom and common area for private events and small gatherings, will allow the organization to continue to grow, said Mercanti.

The relocated head office will also be within a 15-minute drive from all of its locations, which include a contract to manage the Hamilton Convention Centre by Carmen's, the food and beverage operations in the Dundas Valley Golf and Curling Club and The Lakeview on Van Wagners Beach Road.

With their office overlooking the intersection of James and King William streets, the new location also positions the company "right in the middle of all of the action with what's going on in the hospitality scene and the arts scene," Mercanti said.

"We want a good component of our growth plan to be executed in the downtown area, so it just made a lot of sense for us to be here for that reason as well."

[email protected]

905-526-2420 | @NatatTheSpec

https://www.thespec.com/news-story/80918...orporate-headquarters-downtown-hamilton/

[matt602]

Really surprised by their choice of building to move into but thats definitely positive news.

[GeneralLea]

Glad to hear this news.

[davidcappi]

I bet they scored a long, fixed term lease. Good considering there are no restrictions on how much a landlord can raise office rents.

[LRTfan]

some friends and I have done some digging on the new Tall Buildings plan for downtown.
We all thought it was bad enough when we heard the city was proposing a new 30-storey height limit downtown.
It's actually WORSE.

In most of the core, the limit would be around 25-28 stories....yes, Burlington/Oakville level heights.

The problem seems to stem from the city consultant's definition of the height of the escarpment.

The escarpment height once you've ascended it, it 195-196 metres.
Move this map around and click on the parking lot entrance to Sam Lawrence Park, the Claremont Access at Inverness, and West 5th near Inverness Court:

http://elevationmap.net/221-247-concessi...s=(43.244757254677204,-79.86629247665405)

Simple math allows you to then see what height buildings would be allowed to be built on the various properties downtown by moving the map around and checking the elevation on each site. Here is the proposed height limit in metres from the city:

https://d3fpllf1m7bbt3.cloudfront.net/si...ulef-maximumbuildingheights-nov82017.pdf

EXAMPLES:
The condo project proposed at 71 Rebecca Street, the city's draft map shows an allowable height of 97 metres.
The elevation map shows that site is 92 metres above sea level.
With the escarpment top being 195m above sea level, that would allow for a building of 103 metres on that site, not 97. It may not seem like much, but it's an extra 2 stories of height...and extra units, extra tax base etc.....

Some friends and I have browsed around the entire downtown height map from the city, and they are on average 5-10 metres too low on every single site.

The SW corner of Main and Walnut the city has a limit proposed of 89 metres. It should be 97.

SW corner of King/Bay they have a limit of 89m. It should be 95.

Not surprisingly, Brad Lamb's site has the lowest proposed height of any high-rise zones downtown (after all the DNA Nimby's started this).
They city proposes a max of 77 for both of his tower sites.
In reality, the East Tower should be around 82-83m. The west Tower, 85 metres (his property slopes).

If you're bored stiff, noodle around and see for yourself.

More importantly, email all of city council, and Jason Thorne's office. The city needs to hear from citizens. I can't believe we're seriously considering blocking heights above 25-28 stories....at least if they use the proper escarpment height measurement it would bump that up to a max of 107m along the S side of Cannon from Ferguson-Wellington. For comparison sake, the Stelco Tower is 103 and Vranich's new 32 storey build on George will be 106. Would be fantastic to see a slew of buildings around the same height or slightly taller than both of those buildings in the future.

[Katrillion]

I'm perfectly fine with those heights. Height isn't everything and I've noticed many on this board tend to think only about height. Some of the greatest cities in the world (and highly dense) are made up mostly of mid-rises. I do think that if there is a place for high-rises, it's obviously downtown but are we really that upset over the loss of 2 storeys?

Nonetheless, I'm happy that we are slowly going to be filling in all those downtown parking lots and I'm excited for future streetscape improvements and the ones we have already accomplished (sidewalk bump-outs, Bay St. bike lanes, Queen St. hill re-do, etc).

[LRTfan]

Originally Posted by Katrillion

I'm perfectly fine with those heights. Height isn't everything and I've noticed many on this board tend to think only about height. Some of the greatest cities in the world (and highly dense) are made up mostly of mid-rises. I do think that if there is a place for high-rises, it's obviously downtown but are we really that upset over the loss of 2 storeys?

Nonetheless, I'm happy that we are slowly going to be filling in all those downtown parking lots and I'm excited for future streetscape improvements and the ones we have already accomplished (sidewalk bump-outs, Bay St. bike lanes, Queen St. hill re-do, etc).

it's not about height. It's about investment, population growth and not handcuffing developers.
Our lower city has 27,000 less people than it did in 1971. Time to get growing.
2-3 stories won't make a bit of difference to you and I from a design perspective, but it can make a huge difference in a builders ability to offer some entry-level priced units if they can build tall enough to spread the construction costs over more units.
People can't complain about affordability and then handcuff developers ability to offer many price points. We'll just keep getting stuff like City Square if we don't ease up on the height NIMBYism.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

^You've made an important distinction here.

I don't particularly like skyscrapers (ironic) but what municipalities need is less, not more, regulations.

But then what bureaucrat worth his salt isn't going to spend most of his time thinking up new laws? It's like telling a bear to not sh*t in the woods.

[drpgq]

Originally Posted by Katrillion

I'm perfectly fine with those heights. Height isn't everything and I've noticed many on this board tend to think only about height. Some of the greatest cities in the world (and highly dense) are made up mostly of mid-rises. I do think that if there is a place for high-rises, it's obviously downtown but are we really that upset over the loss of 2 storeys?

Nonetheless, I'm happy that we are slowly going to be filling in all those downtown parking lots and I'm excited for future streetscape improvements and the ones we have already accomplished (sidewalk bump-outs, Bay St. bike lanes, Queen St. hill re-do, etc).

We aren't going to get the density we need building midrises on the relatively limited number of vacant lots. Unless we are going to allow developers to buy up single family housing, demolition and put up mid-rises. I really don't see that happening.

[realcity]

Los Angeles about 20 years ago (a generation ago) for city of sprawling 10 million had a downtown resident population of 25k. Pretty sad.

In a generation that downtown actually got something back. No one talks about downtown Los Angeles because there really isn't one, but they now have a pop of 80k/ How? tall buildings.

[Beedok]

Ottawa has a pretty dense core despite strict height limits. Possible because of the height limits. The demand is still there, so it just means more towers.

Vancouver as well.

[LRTfan]

Originally Posted by Dr Awesomesauce

^You've made an important distinction here.

I don't particularly like skyscrapers (ironic) but what municipalities need is less, not more, regulations.

But then what bureaucrat worth his salt isn't going to spend most of his time thinking up new laws? It's like telling a bear to not sh*t in the woods.

100%. Well said. Sad to see Hamilton start dreaming up red tape for downtown developments in a core that saw virtually none for 4 decades.