Downtown Update

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

She would have made for a wonderful podium.

Could always rebuild it

also if you make everything huge along there all the patios will be swamped for light - that strip still has some nice sunny patches which make sitting out there enjoyable - esp the lister block patio - a giant tower would directly affect that stretch, and make your view just a giant slab - itd have to be set back. If the building had still existed and the tower on top had been set back then maybe. But yeah you make everything 30 stories along there and there's gonna be no light along there for all of the restaurants. And something there definitely would stretch all the way to the old absynth you can guarantee it.

that and staggered heights make for a nicer looking strip - if anything the corner of king and james on the east side should have a giant tower - as its shadows cast would be a more acceptable alternative, and the corner buildings have been remade so many times they're kinda blegh now.

[Innsertnamehere]

An interesting tid-bit in this Globe and Mail article:

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/busi...-construction/

Like Tricon, Fitzrovia is also looking for new sites. Mr. Rocca estimates that his company will add an additional 2,500 units to its pipeline. As well, Fitzrovia is expanding outside of Toronto into smaller Ontario cities such as London, Guelph, Hamilton and Kitchener-Waterloo. “This is a major needle mover for us,” he said.

Fitzrovia currently operates in Toronto and builds generally attractive, high-end rental buildings. Their entry into the Hamilton market could be interesting. In Toronto, they have a tendency to buy sites which already have approvals in place and move quickly to construction - if they enter the Hamilton market, I could see them picking up a site which already had a proposal on it but which has gone stale and quickly moving it to construction. We'll have to see.

[craftbeerdad]

Sounds like a good candidate for the stale Connolly build/project on James that's run into so much trouble.

[TheRitsman]

Also the Cannon St development of the old funeral home.

[Innsertnamehere]

Anyone know if the September DRP meeting happened? nothing has been posted online yet for it.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Anyone know if the September DRP meeting happened? nothing has been posted online yet for it.

It was cancelled, and the proposal that was originally supposed to go to September was pushed I believe to October. Not sure why. I wonder if there are going to be some alterations related to the parking minimums and such. While they haven't technically been approved, I wonder if developers will start to propose less parking now they are likely to not be mandated to provide more than needed.

[TheHonestMaple]

I'm guessing it was the new Gore Park development?

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by TheRitsman

It was cancelled, and the proposal that was originally supposed to go to September was pushed I believe to October. Not sure why. I wonder if there are going to be some alterations related to the parking minimums and such. While they haven't technically been approved, I wonder if developers will start to propose less parking now they are likely to not be mandated to provide more than needed.

Hmm. I thought I had heard that there was more than 1 file up for it. Wonder if both were postponed.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

Hmm. I thought I had heard that there was more than 1 file up for it. Wonder if both were postponed.

Perhaps the entire meeting was postponed and it's nothing to do with the proposals.

[TheRitsman]

https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...=ap_w6m5fs8lo1

Hamilton aims to up density along LRT route
Public feedback sought for plan to intensify development in major transit station zones

[craftbeerdad]

Not sure if this was mentioned anywhere (apologies if so). There's a few other tidbits I didn't hear about as well in the link below.

There have been a few recent residential land acquisitions, including Brad J. Lamb Realty Inc. purchasing a 0.7-acre parking lot at 117 King William St.

https://renx.ca/liuna-major-player-h...al-development

[urban_planner]

Forge and forster also reports that Lamb has also bought 73, 84, 89 and 91 hunter Street east. This is between Catherine Street and John Street.

[TheHonestMaple]

Will downtown Hamilton even be recognizable in 10 years? The number of condo towers potentially going up is astonishing.

[BCTed]

There need to be more things to do in downtown Hamilton to accompany the growth.

[TheHonestMaple]

The comment section of that article is embarrassing lol. The number of people screaming that it will be a tax burden, when the damn article is about how the LRT will attract numerous high rise condo towers and businesses along the route - which would be a massive tax revenue gain.

[TheRitsman]

Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple

The comment section of that article is embarrassing lol. The number of people screaming that it will be a tax burden, when the damn article is about how the LRT will attract numerous high rise condo towers and businesses along the route - which would be a massive tax revenue gain.

It's one of the big benefits of the upper levels of government funding the capital works. It's the entire way things should operate. LRT funded by the province and federal government, with the tax revenue gains more than covering the operations and maintenance costs.

The Eastgate development mentioned elsewhere for example will likely gain the city $10m in property taxes alone, and would never happen without the LRT. The LRT operations are expected to cap out at $40m so theoretically the net gain of a few developments alone will cover the cost, and the some which is the point.

Not to mention the city getting 14km of brand new utilities, roads, sidewalks, tactile crosswalks, street lights, signage, paint, jobs, all paid for by upper levels of government. LRT is the biggest bailout for the city in the last 100 years and people are worried about 5 years of construction hassle and the misplaced fears regarding it's costs.

[TheHonestMaple]

Originally Posted by TheRitsman

It's one of the big benefits of the upper levels of government funding the capital works. It's the entire way things should operate. LRT funded by the province and federal government, with the tax revenue gains more than covering the operations and maintenance costs.

The Eastgate development mentioned elsewhere for example will likely gain the city $10m in property taxes alone, and would never happen without the LRT. The LRT operations are expected to cap out at $40m so theoretically the net gain of a few developments alone will cover the cost, and the some which is the point.

Not to mention the city getting 14km of brand new utilities, roads, sidewalks, tactile crosswalks, street lights, signage, paint, jobs, all paid for by upper levels of government. LRT is the biggest bailout for the city in the last 100 years and people are worried about 5 years of construction hassle and the misplaced fears regarding it's costs.

Couldn't agree with you more. Most people's suspicion of it are likely simply rooted in misunderstanding or lack of knowledge on the topic.

Also, don't forget the landscaping. Pretty sure I read somewhere that Metrolinx will be planting trees along the entire length of the line? Something that some stretches of King badly need.

[Innsertnamehere]

I mean look at the success Kitchener has had with it - and that’s with kitchener paying for it itself!

Waterloo has been spoiled in its municipal freeway network being provincially owned, unlike Hamilton - different kind of bailout here with the transit system being provincially owned.

[ScreamingViking]

There are still many people who would love it if the LRT was cancelled again. It's a short-sighted perspective, but there are those who continue to oppose it nonetheless.

Hopefully things are well underway before the next federal and provincial elections.

But Ford has backed himself into a corner with the municipal housing commitments -- can't have the additional density in many existing urban areas without supporting it with much improved transportation, and the most viable way of doing that along a corridor like King/Main is higher-capacity transit. So this is needed for Hamilton. Some people will argue buses can accomplish the same thing, and to a point they might meet demand, but those people don't understand that BRT will also involve reconstructing streets to create dedicated busways to handle the buses, and in the future the capacity of those vehicles may not be adequate and we'll end up with bus congestion; better to go all-in on rail now instead of 20-years from now.

[TheRitsman]

Even more property being purchased by Lamb: "Also of note, Lamb Development Corp. continues to acquire downtown sites with 102 Park St N trading for $2,650,000 or $10,600,000/acre."

The plan must be to purchase the corner houses (might already be in the process of doing so. This is to me the first sign of things to come for this area of downtown. This section between Cannon and York, James and Bay has shown little promise until recently.