220 - 222 Main St W & 115 - 117 George St | 79.2m | 23 & 18 fl | Proposed

[Chronamut]

eh I don't mind it - add those 3 big condos going on the parking lot beside it and that's some pretty big infill!

Hopefully they'll eventually tear down the crack motel across the street from the parking lot too south of it.. that place is an eyesore..

[TheRitsman]

Apologies in advance for the crappy pictures. They were pulled as screenshots directly from the DRP video. I do notice this is Coletera again, so another precast mess most likely. I do also notice they have filled in the parking lot just east of this property, and the historical buildings across Main as well with I guess a future development? I guess this one is called "Oracle" and it seems they're hoping for GoodLife in the main floor and the world's scariest patio on Queen and Main. I also notice the renders in this presentation differ from the ones posted earlier. I'm not sure which are the more recent, but it seems the ones posted earlier look more fleshed out I think?

[TheHonestMaple]

Originally Posted by 905er

thankfully... the new towers are really distracting from all the dinginess downtown. It's so nice to see Hamilton turn the corner.. it's very up and coming now and starting to clean up. King st. in particular is cleaning up nicely too.. love seeing historic properties being tastefully restored and the tree lined aspect of the street is very appealing too.

sidenote, and totally unrelated.. Dundern castle is a huge disappointment. Walked the grounds for the first time a couple of weeks ago and was disappointed to see the neglect. Its much more appealing from the road than up close. I hope the city devotes some funds to necessary repairs and beautification of the grounds. The cemetery across the street is beatiful though.

Hopefully City Council has finally realized that you can't have a vibrant downtown core without....people. The only way to attract businesses and offices to the downtown is to have people live here, simple as that. And i'm talking high earners. Rental buildings are not the solution Hamilton needs. We need owner occupied high end condo buildings, plain and simple. Rental buildings are great, but the fact is owners spend more money on shops and restaurants downtown and that's what we need.

If city council wants to turn this city around, they need to be approving buildings like this weekly. The reason Toronto was so successful from 2008-now is because they approve condo buildings like crazy. It brings in city tax revenue, attracts businesses and makes the city as a whole much more livable. Sure, a boat load of condos has its own issues, but they far far far outweigh those problems. We need people here, and we need them here yesterday.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple

Hopefully City Council has finally realized that you can't have a vibrant downtown core without....people. The only way to attract businesses and offices to the downtown is to have people live here, simple as that. And i'm talking high earners. Rental buildings are not the solution Hamilton needs. We need owner occupied high end condo buildings, plain and simple. Rental buildings are great, but the fact is owners spend more money on shops and restaurants downtown and that's what we need.

If city council wants to turn this city around, they need to be approving buildings like this weekly. The reason Toronto was so successful from 2008-now is because they approve condo buildings like crazy. It brings in city tax revenue, attracts businesses and makes the city as a whole much more livable. Sure, a boat load of condos has its own issues, but they far far far outweigh those problems. We need people here, and we need them here yesterday.

I totally agree about the "people" part being important for downtown. But there are lots of them who *choose* to rent... and spend just as much on shops and restaurants as the so called "owners." That was me up until a year ago. And I was making a great salary, and without the house expenses I now have my disposable income was quite large.

Consider that a fair chunk of the condo market is made up of people who rent their units out. They have little stake in the area aside from the passive income they make from tenants, or the speculation that prices will rise and they'll be able to sell the unit in the future for a gain. So a rental market may indeed be what we end up with, in part... but one that is largely managed by independent owners and not large rental property companies.

A blend of condos and purpose-built rentals is ideal, IMO. Along with attracting new businesses and offices, retail, restaurants, etc.

[davidcappi]

Yeah I agree ^

Assuming that because a building is a condo in title means that its entirely owner occupied is kind of silly. Most condos are a mix of owners and renters. I'm renting a condo unit in a building that's about a 50/50 mix. The reality is that it's easy to get a mortgage but hard to save for a down payment. There are lots of people (like me) who earn a pretty decent salary but weren't in the position in their early 20s to save up a chunk of money for the initial down payment. I've been renting since I was 16 so that's basically why. To assume that renters don't contribute to the area is kind of ignorant and reflects Canada's disdain for renting as a whole. The most important thing to remember is that rental buildings contribute way more to taxes than condos do.

Toronto is just starting to see purpose built rental construction begin again with large projects like the GWL High Park proposals and the Selby on Sherbourne. Mirvish Village will be completely rental as will the redevelopment of Dufferin Mall. I think there are upwards of 5000 PBR rental units in the works in Toronto proper alone. Creating these new rental buildings is important because it helps disincentivize converting existing entry level rental buildings to premium suites.

[TheHonestMaple]

Originally Posted by davidcappi

Yeah I agree ^

Assuming that because a building is a condo in title means that its entirely owner occupied is kind of silly. Most condos are a mix of owners and renters. I'm renting a condo unit in a building that's about a 50/50 mix. The reality is that it's easy to get a mortgage but hard to save for a down payment. There are lots of people (like me) who earn a pretty decent salary but weren't in the position in their early 20s to save up a chunk of money for the initial down payment. I've been renting since I was 16 so that's basically why. To assume that renters don't contribute to the area is kind of ignorant and reflects Canada's disdain for renting as a whole. The most important thing to remember is that rental buildings contribute way more to taxes than condos do.

Toronto is just starting to see purpose built rental construction begin again with large projects like the GWL High Park proposals and the Selby on Sherbourne. Mirvish Village will be completely rental as will the redevelopment of Dufferin Mall. I think there are upwards of 5000 PBR rental units in the works in Toronto proper alone. Creating these new rental buildings is important because it helps disincentivize converting existing entry level rental buildings to premium suites.

I'm saying that purposely built rent controlled new builds are totally the wrong thing for this city. Of course condos have renters in them, but the rent is typically much higher than a purpose built rent building, resulting in higher earning residents who have actual money to spend on local businesses.

[Innsertnamehere]

Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple

I'm saying that purposely built rent controlled new builds are totally the wrong thing for this city. Of course condos have renters in them, but the rent is typically much higher than a purpose built rent building, resulting in higher earning residents who have actual money to spend on local businesses.

new rental buildings aren't rent controlled.

Also new build rental buildings rent at the same rate as condos.

The reason rental buildings are typically cheaper is because they are typically older.. modern rental construction is usually built to similar standards to new condos in order to get the same rents. I mean look at the Marquee rents and units - it's the same or better than condo buildings in the city.

And the reality is that Hamilton is building a healthy mix of condos and rentals right now.

[Innsertnamehere]

https://pub-hamilton.escribemeetings...ab=attachments

In front of Planning Committee, recommended for approval.

[Innsertnamehere]

delete

[Innsertnamehere]

Unanimously approved by Committee - now on to council, but I expect that to be a formality.

[Hawrylyshyn]

I'm excited for the day Hamilton gets away from this "white and black" trend

[TheRitsman]

Coletera loves it, so we'll have to wait until we get some other developers in town.

[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by Hawrylyshyn

I'm excited for the day Hamilton gets away from this "white and black" trend

Careful what you wish for lol..

[TheHonestMaple]

I seriously hope they do something better with this massive concrete wall...... like wtf. How does the city allow that?

Edit: Actually, taking a look at the latest elevations from today - they have fixed that.

[TheRitsman]

The assumption here is that there will be a building to the east. Since they are building to the property line they are limited in what they can do with these walls. They could paint it or something. I get quite annoyed that Vrancor and Coletera assume everything adjacent to their developments will be demolished though.

[PaperSun]

Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple

I seriously hope they do something better with this massive concrete wall...... like wtf. How does the city allow that?G

Would be a good opportunity for some public art, would like to see something like Wynwood, Miami with all the public art.

[TheHonestMaple]

Originally Posted by TheRitsman

The assumption here is that there will be a building to the east. Since they are building to the property line they are limited in what they can do with these walls. They could paint it or something. I get quite annoyed that Vrancor and Coletera assume everything adjacent to their developments will be demolished though.

Check out the latest elevations from today. Looks like they actually decided to do something with that wall. Looks like the other ones now. Windows and balconies.

[Hawrylyshyn]

Originally Posted by TheHonestMaple

Check out the latest elevations from today. Looks like they actually decided to do something with that wall. Looks like the other ones now. Windows and balconies.

Do you have a link?

[TheRitsman]

https://pub-hamilton.escribemeetings...umentId=348990

[Hawrylyshyn]

Originally Posted by TheRitsman

https://pub-hamilton.escribemeetings...umentId=348990

Thanks! Looks like ground floor to mech penthouse is also 79.2m