Effort Trust-Heritage Developments-

[cooker]

From the Mountain Community News

Wednesday, February, 12, 2014 - 8:08:58 AM






Effort Trust recently purchased the parcel of land known as the ‘earlobe’ at the top of the Red Hill Valley Parkway. It is looking for a unique occupant for the high-profile site.

New ‘earlobe’ owner looking for unique user


By Gord Bowes, News staff

Something very unique could be coming to a high-profile parcel of land at the top of the Red Hill Valley Parkway.
Effort Trust last month acquired the property dubbed the “earlobe” in two separate transactions. A landlocked parcel was purchased from the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board and the adjacent land was purchased from Infrastructure Ontario.
“That is really a unique parcel in Hamilton with great highway exposure, great access,” said Gerald Asa, the property manager overseeing four Effort Trust developments in that area.
“What we really want to do there is create something unique for Hamilton.”
Asa said he envisions a type of user that would require a large acreage of land and highway exposure and only do one such project in a city the size of Hamilton.
“We’re not looking to do a stadium and we’re not looking to do a casino, but those are examples of things that this piece of land cries out for,” he told the Mountain News.
The undeveloped land got its earlobe nickname during the Pan Am stadium debate of 2010, when the Hamilton Tiger-Cats pushed to have the stadium built at that east Mountain location next to the Stone Church Road exit from the Red Hill Valley Parkway. The new owner is calling its development Heritage Landing.
Asa said Effort Trust nearly purchased the land following that, but the deal fell through at the last minute. The company tried again when the school board put the land out to tender and the province offered the land through a new realtor.
“It became a bit of a challenge on our end to try and get both parties to agree independently to a joint closing,” he said.
“It was a challenge to assemble both pieces and close on it.”
Effort Trust has three developments in the works along Stone Church Road East to accompany its six-year-old Heritage Greene. Along with the new Heritage Landing, it has Heritage Highlands and Heritage Commons.
Heritage Highlands is on the south side of Stone Church directly across from the shopping complex which includes Home Depot. Development of that site, which will include a grocery store, has been delayed by an Ontario Municipal Board hearing this spring.
In the meantime, Effort Trust is developing its Heritage Commons site, which lies on the other side of what will be the Trinity Church Road corridor running from the Stone Church exit down to Rymal Road. Construction of a McDonald’s, Tim Hortons and Esso station could begin in the spring, Asa said.
Work on the corridor is expected to begin this year.

[thomax]

It's turning into a sprawling suburban car-dependent mess up there. I hope that whatever gets built at Heritage Landing, Heritage Highlands and Heritage Commons is more pedestrian friendly than Heritage Greene. I'd like to see whatever is built be a similar concept to Shops at Don Mills, with walkable streets with storefronts along them and maybe residential units and offices above the stores. Otherwise, its just Meadowlands 2.0...

[CaptainKirk]

Originally Posted by MeIsThomas

It's turning into a sprawling suburban car-dependent mess up there. I hope that whatever gets built at Heritage Landing, Heritage Highlands and Heritage Commons is more pedestrian friendly than Heritage Greene. I'd like to see whatever is built be a similar concept to Shops at Don Mills, with walkable streets with storefronts along them and maybe residential units and offices above the stores. Otherwise, its just Meadowlands 2.0...

Wish we could get something like this portion of the Waterfront mall in Pittsburgh that we like visiting time to time.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

^That could have been Centre Maul but, alas, we can't have nice things like that.

[ScreamingViking]

Asa said he envisions a type of user that would require a large acreage of land and highway exposure and only do one such project in a city the size of Hamilton.

Destination retail? Like Ikea, but something else?

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Like Ikea, perhaps but not Ikea.

[ScreamingViking]

I've been racking my brain trying think of another big retailer that would have a large regional trade area. Costco is already in Ancaster and Burlington, there's a Leon's right there...

May not even end up being retail.

[StEC]

Bass Pro Shops?

[mattgrande]

^ I think there's already one in Ancaster, isn't there? Would there be enough demand for a second?

[thomax]

There's only one Bass Pro in Ontario, and it's in Vaughn. There are only two more that are going to be opened in the near future. One is in Kanata, the other in Niagara-on-the-Lake at the new mall called "The Outlet Collection", Canada's largest open air mall. They wouldn't open one in Hamilton with one being so close in Niagara-on-the-Lake, they keep their stores spread out.

Info on The Outlet Collection:

The Outlet Collection, Niagara-on-the-Lake

Info:

- Will be the largest open air outlet centre in Canada
- 700,000 sf. two-phase development on 63 acres; 500,000 in Phase One
- Will feature approximately 100 marquee retainers, many of which will be first-to-market
- Nearly $200 million development
- Opening May 2014
- 1,000 construction jobs
- Over 1,500 full- and part-time jobs will be created upon the opening of the centre
- The centre is expected to draw about 6 to 8 million annual visitors, about
half of which will be from outside Niagara Region


Proposal pdf.

Fact Sheet pdf.


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• Video Link

[SteelTown]

It would be a great location for an outlet mall, but there's two in Niagara and a bunch in the GTA.

[bluevue]

If Great Wolf Lodge and Niagara waterpark weren't so close, it could be ideal for an indoor water park to be the catalyst for an entertainment destination...or maybe a Canada's Wonderland part deux (weren't they trying to relocate Canada's Wonderland years ago to put more houses in that Vaughan area?). I can't see any other retail being a destination other that Ikea (which I believe was to be relocating to North Service Road in Burlington/near Walkers?)

[SteelTown]

oohhhh!

IKEA abandons plan to relocate store in Burlington

Ikea Canada will not be moving its Burlington store or national headquarters.

In a surprise announcement issued by the City of Burlington on Wednesday morning, the company says it will remain at its Plains Road East location. The company had bought at 10-hectare property at Walker's Line and the North Service Road and announced the move almost three years ago.

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/43...in-burlington/

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Oh my, revenues down?

[ScreamingViking]

Or was the headache of lining up all the improvements that would have been required for that property just too intense?

I thought the size of the current store was a big issue. But that building also houses their Canadian head office - maybe they'll move that and convert the space to retail?

Maybe they're keeping their options open, despite saying they want to stay in Burlington?

EDIT: the original story has been updated with more details. I still don't get it - retailers this big spend a huge amount of time and effort researching and making plans before they announce anything.

Spokesperson Madeleine Lowenborg-Frick says a "huge myriad of issues" makes a 10-hectare site at North Service Road and Walker's Line not "viable" as an Ikea location.

"There is not one single factor that led us to this decision," she said. Everything was proceeding with the necessary approvals, she said, but when company executives discussed the plan with the company's global board, "it didn't add up to the right site for us."

...

Lowenborg-Frick said there are no plans to expand the existing store. She said two sites — the store and a secondary warehouse — serve customers well.

She also said Ikea will not be looking for other sites.

[the905sDW]

Being an east-end resident, I really want to see some different retail options.
Higher-end clothing stores would be nice. Considering the growth in that area, I think future residents would benefit from those higher end retail options. Eastgate is pretty dismal even after it's renos. Lime Ridge isn't great either when it comes to quality retailers.

On the skyscraper-loving side of my brain I'd love to see a development that creates something totally new and unexpected - a new core of sorts... somewhat like Moscow's Int'l Business Center. Maybe not to the height of those towers, but something that is attractive to businesses. great highway access, close to residential neighborhoods, halfway between the USA and Toronto. Not that bad of an area if you think about it. I just see Hamilton expanding out that direction more and more and it makes sense to think of another 'center' or sorts to anchor those new neighborhoods. Sort of like what Scarborough Civic/ Town Center is to the east end of Toronto.

Just my opinion!

[the905sDW]

So I mocked a map of the visible empty land in this area. I have no clue as to who owns what or property lines but it does appear from the sky that there is quite a few empty spaces that have road access and right off the LINC.

Obviously there are residences nearby so there would have to be a limit to the size of the developments, so I numbered what I thought would be a more appropriate building height scale (1-4).

[king10]

Is the north side of your area 2 (east of pritchard) not already being developed into an office park as we speak?

[the905sDW]

Originally Posted by king10

Is the north side of your area 2 (east of pritchard) not already being developed into an office park as we speak?

I'm honestly not sure of any plans for this area - I've been out of touch on development in that area.

[cooker]

Originally Posted by the905sDW

I'm honestly not sure of any plans for this area - I've been out of touch on development in that area.

Pritchard Rd just north of Stonechurch is the new office complex built by Vicano Construction. Its located just behind the former construction company located at the traffic light. That building is now vacant.