80 King William | ? |5 floors | Renovation

[crhayes]

Man this building is uuuuggggllllllyyyy IMO.

[highwater]

Originally Posted by crhayes

Man this building is uuuuggggllllllyyyy IMO.

Took the words right out of my mouth.

[crhayes]

Originally Posted by highwater

Took the words right out of my mouth.

It looks like it should be condemned to demolition and it's not even completed yet...

[highwater]

What, you don't like the way the sunlight glistens off all the ripples in the aluminum fascia?

[MPB]

Hello Highwater!!

Sorry to read your comments -- btw I am involved in this project, and let me assure you that it has been restored to very high standards thru the winter, by the developer from Vancouver (the original attempt to develop this building by our local developer had left it in a total mess) - however extensive work has been done in the last five months thru the winter - and now that the weather is getting better, the outside is being finished in the coming weeks. See some renderings below.

You may also be surprised to know that close to thirty percent of the lofts have already been sold to buyers from the film, entertainment and the creative industry from TO and the GTA, who have really appreciated the fact that these kind of condos are available at all in the GTA.

Also, working with the art & culture dept and the Film office, the soft programing in this live/work condo project will jump-start the theater and entertainment district as well as the ArtWalk project, not to mention the renewed interest shown by the surrounding property owners in developing their properties.

As you may already know, that this is one of the few projects being developed solely thru private investment in the core -- and as such we Hamiltonians need to support whole heartedly more of such investment and developers from out of town who are willing to put their money where their mouth is -- and for believing in Hamilton, when our own have forsaken our downtown for the burbs!

Now that most of the work inside is complete, and substantial sales grounds have already been covered - it will be time soon to celebrate with a spring launch party, quite unlike what we have been used to in Hamilton so far!!

Please watch for the launch announcement soon, and hope to see you there!

PS: the ripples are essentially from a bad picture :-)
I invite you to drive down and take a look at it in person.

Mahesh P. Butani
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[MPB]

80 KING WILLIAM ST.
HAMILTON’S THEATRE DISTRICT LOFT CONDOMINIUMS


38 large live & work lofts + 12 exclusive two floor penthouses with private terraces, in the restored former Hamilton Spectator printing press building on King William and Catharine Street, in the heart of the downtown core.

Centrally located in the upcoming theatre and entertainment district and the proposed ArtWalk, the Film Work Lofts have been redesigned for the creative minds in film, theatre, entertainment, media, design and other creative sectors. For those who are seeking high quality urban living - in a city that is fast emerging as the place to be for the creative industries, Film Work Lofts offers a great opportunity to test path breaking ideas and aspirations in sustainable living.

Model suites will be open very soon for those who want to participate in defining the shape and form of creative urban living in the evolving core of Hamilton. The Film Work Lofts is a privately funded multi-million dollar development with a total live/work solution for the creative industry.

[MPB]

Hello Chris Hayes:

For someone who is in the design business as well as a student of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour !!! your comments indeed leave much room for thought and imagination. But then you are a Mac student, what can I say!

I would like to draw your attention to Clay Shirky's, observations below:

"This shock of inclusion, where professional media gives way to participation by two billion amateurs (a threshold we will cross this year) means that average quality of public thought has collapsed; when anyone can say anything any time, how could it not? If all that happens from this influx of amateurs is the destruction of existing models for producing high-quality material, we would be at the beginning of another Dark Ages. So it falls to us to make sure that isn't all that happens."

Hopefully your best comments, insights and observations are yet ahead of you!

Best,
Mahesh P. Butani

[emge]

I don't like the siding on the top, but I do like everything else about this project. And if/when the greenery and lighting comes, that will do a lot for it.

And now that I know Mr. Butani is part of it, I like it more and have more faith in the renderings coming to pass.

[bigguy1231]

Indeed a very ugly building. The rendering looks good but in reality it looks nothing like the rendering.

The advertising is a little misleading as well. Theater District, maybe in the past, but nowadays there is only one theater in the area. It's a good thing they are marketing to out of towners, becuase people from this city would just laugh at the marketing hype. There is absolutely nothing up and comming about that area. It is the land of the parking lot.

But then again the building is almost complete, which I will give the developers credit for. It's only taken 30 years for someone to finally get it done.

[MPB]

Thank you!

The original architectural design and construction decisions that were made by the previous developer had many limitations that could not be modified beyond certain parameters, without going through a lengthy redesign and a re-approval process.

Given the past events and circumstances of this project, it has been in the best interest of our downtowns success, that this project is completed in the shortest possible time-frame.

A extremely challenging task that has been undertaken by Jamil Kara, the present developer of this project, who is from Vancouver. He brings to our city the entrepreneurial spirit, financial savvy, design skills and enthusiasm that is so missing from our community presently.

The speed and sincerity with which this project has been tackled - and which will very soon be brought to the market, is remarkable, and our community needs to embrace such a committed out of town investor/developer.

The least we must do as Hamiltonians is make him feel welcome with well chosen words and actions. Our downtown can only be rebuilt in our lifetime on such small gestures!

The new projects being planned which do not have the design constrains that this project had - will allow for much more refined architectural outcomes.

Mahesh P. Butani

[realcity]

any developer from outside our City is most welcome

[SteelTown]

Thanks for joining Mahesh and thanks also for all the information, sounds positive. I look forward to more announcements!

[geoff's two cents]

Mahesh, thanks for responding and posting the above renderings. I for one have always liked the project. My one quibble was with the smaller windows, but then fire regulations are to blame for that. Were I to have pursued my career in Hamilton rather than Vancouver (the option at the time was there), I would certainly have considered buying into a unit, at least after the ownership changed hands. After all, it's the only decent new market-housing development in the city, and it's attractively priced to boot - unlike my current city of residence. Hamilton needs more of precisely this kind of investment.

As for the critical comments above, I would question, considering the lack of investment in the core, the difficulties of financing, the widespread middle-class indifference to downtown, fire regulations and the like, how this development as it stands can be anything but a good thing. After all, nobody's forcing them to live there, and the exterior design is a much better fit with its surroundings than, say, the new social housing project in IV. Bottom line: It's not a cookie-cutter condo, and it attracts people with money to the core.

(One theory: People - myself included - tend to be more critical when they are anonymous).

[bigguy1231]

Originally Posted by realcity

any developer from outside our City is most welcome

I agree, we need new blood. We need people with a different perspective and we need developers with money to spend.

[MPB]

crhayes, Highwater, emge, realcity, SteelTown, geoff'stwocents and bigguy1231:

Appreciate all your feedback! I am confident that this project will open up the rational for some of the vacant lots in the surrounding area. I have already heard some very positive thoughts regarding developing adjacent vacant lots.

In the coming months, as many young-at-heart creative people from different cultures and age groups, come to reside in this condominium project, we will begin to see the influence of the new blood in this part of the core!

Jamil Kara, if you don't already know is a determined young man, with a clear vision and the ability to deliver the financial punch that is required to lift this part of the downtown core over its worst moments.

Redeveloping downtown is an incremental process, and each new project influences and gives confidence to build another new one.

Cheers!

[thistleclub]

While I appreciate the fact that the rainbow windows were replaced (though sadly not the adjacent vents), I find that the windows themselves are small in relation to the standard look of a GTA condo, which is predominantly glass. This makes it look somewhat squinty, IMHO. (The northern exposure is particularly challenged in this regard, especially when compared to retrofits like the Annex Lofts) But it's live/work, so that's a consideration, and I'm not familiar with the labyrinthine codes at play or the physical limitations of the building. As MPB says, "The original architectural design and construction decisions that were made by the previous developer had many limitations that could not be modified beyond certain parameters, without going through a lengthy redesign and a re-approval process." I know that Mr. Kara was making the best of a bad situation and I'm sure that most of the impressive work was saved for the interior finish. And seconded on the greenery. it looks much more human-friendly when the surrounding parking lots are softened with mature trees.

[adam]

Mahesh, I hope your team is very successful and profitable in Hamilton. Great project and great location choice with a lot of potential!

[crhayes]

Originally Posted by MPB

Hello Chris Hayes:

For someone who is in the design business as well as a student of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour !!! your comments indeed leave much room for thought and imagination. But then you are a Mac student, what can I say!

I would like to draw your attention to Clay Shirky's, observations below:

"This shock of inclusion, where professional media gives way to participation by two billion amateurs (a threshold we will cross this year) means that average quality of public thought has collapsed; when anyone can say anything any time, how could it not? If all that happens from this influx of amateurs is the destruction of existing models for producing high-quality material, we would be at the beginning of another Dark Ages. So it falls to us to make sure that isn't all that happens."

Hopefully your best comments, insights and observations are yet ahead of you!

Best,
Mahesh P. Butani

LOL... what university did you go to? McMaster has developed some of the best learning models/methodologies (i.e. problem based learning), which have been widely adapted by universities across the world, so I don't know where you're going with that comment.

The fact of the matter is I think the building is ugly so there is really no reason for me to elaborate. I know the building was a mess when the project was taken over and that it was already too far along to backpedal and improve the aesthetics. That being said, I'm not blaming or diminishing the new developer.

However, it doesn't change the fact that it's not a pleasant looking building. I particularly don't like the fact that there is a giant brick/stucco wall facing John street.. it's just not welcoming. Also, why is the second brick column from the left wider than the others? There are other inconsistencies in the design as well (again, this is the old developers fault) but they bother me; I am a perfectionist so things like this really stand out to me.

P.S. I appreciate you providing further information on here! And I think with some of the details in the rendering (like lighting) it will look better... so I will reserve my final judgement util the project is complete. Also, I will be getting into the real estate development business when I am finished my education; it is my dream. In many ways it makes me more critical of real estate developments

[Mike_V]

Mahesh,

Is there a website with floorplans and pricing available yet?

I've tried searching all over but no luck.

Thanks, Mike

[crhayes]

I also love how all of the vehicles in the renderings are Beamers, Audi's and Benzes; I don't think you'd even find that many in all of Hamilton