McMaster Primary Health Care Campus | ? | 6 fl | Complete

[raisethehammer]

please don't get us started on MEC again.... I'll still make the trip to TO once in a while when I need something. I REFUSE to spend a dollar of my money in some big box store in Burlington. They call themselves 'green', 'environmental' blah blah blah...not around here.

[ikerrin]

Originally Posted by raisethehammer

please don't get us started on MEC again.... I'll still make the trip to TO once in a while when I need something. I REFUSE to spend a dollar of my money in some big box store in Burlington. They call themselves 'green', 'environmental' blah blah blah...not around here.

OK, stop kidding around. There is no way that MEC is building a big box store in Burlington. April fools day isn't till Tuesday!

[flar]

It's no joke ikerrin. MEC chose a suburban Burlington location over a Hamilton location.

[ikerrin]

Wow, what next? An exclusive marketing deal with Wallmart? Its a sad day when MEC moves to suburbia. My consolations!!!

[coalminecanary]

ikerrin, please visit http://mecinhamilton.neenerneet.net to read all about it. And please let MEC know how you feel about their location decision.

[SteelTown]

Education Square plans lacks detail: KPMG
April 15, 2008
The Hamilton Spectator

A consultant has told the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board that a City of Hamilton plan for Education Square lacks sufficient detail to approve.

The board hired KPMG to look at city plans for redevelopment of King and Bay, in hope that the board would stay downtown in a joint Education Square with McMaster and city public health, instead of moving the board headquarters to the Mountain.

KPMG said an "Initial review of the City's Business Plan indicates it is very light in detail and does not provide sufficient information to allow for an approval in concept at this time."

KPMG tells the board to find details on corporate structure, zoning and density, project management and timing, revenues to the board, the shared parking facility, finance and building and costs. The board hoped to see business plans and alternate plans for the Mountain this month, but will have to wait till May.

[realcity]

^ this is a joke you realize? The Board hires KMPG to 'kill' the downtown Education Sq option. Perhaps it was 'lacking the details', details which are usually hashed-out after and expression of interest. Did the City and McMaster know the Board was hiring KMPG to review it? I doubt it, if they wanted more details I'm sure they could've contacted the City. Has anyone visited the Board of Ed website?.... their own options were lacking more detail then the TCA proposal. But that's okay because they want a sprawling campus in the middle of sea of ashpalt surrounded by useless, token, park space on the mountain.

Now the Board of Ed is going back to drawing board on the Jerome location, presumably in a effort to make it appear better then staying downtown.

Can Mayor Fred just come forward and tell the Board "give up on the Jerome site, you're not leaving downtown".


It's the secret agenda revealing itself again
http://www.raisethehammer.org/index....sue=2008/02/14

[hamiltonguy]

Originally Posted by realcity

^ this is a joke you realize? The Board hires KMPG to 'kill' the downtown Education Sq option. Perhaps it was 'lacking the details', details which are usually hashed-out after and expression of interest. Did the City and McMaster know the Board was hiring KMPG to review it? I doubt it, if they wanted more details I'm sure they could've contacted the City. Has anyone visited the Board of Ed website?.... their own options were lacking more detail then the TCA proposal. But that's okay because they want a sprawling campus in the middle of sea of ashpalt surrounded by useless, token, park space on the mountain.

Now the Board of Ed is going back to drawing board on the Jerome location, presumably in a effort to make it appear better then staying downtown.

Can Mayor Fred just come forward and tell the Board "give up on the Jerome site, you're not leaving downtown".


It's the secret agenda revealing itself again
http://www.raisethehammer.org/index....sue=2008/02/14

The Consultant didn't say don't do it. They said get these details. But I do agree, certain members of the board are determined to move.

[realcity]

No they didn't but you can see what the Board is up to... and KMPG has a rep to uphold. However..... you can easily direct them to arrive at a decision based on the INFO YOU PROVIDE THEM....

You can hand them a square peg and ask them is this a square peg? then hand them two holes -- one square one round -- and ask them to adise you to which hole would better suit the square peg. In other words... if the Board wants to merely put this down to nickels and dimes, it would be a simple case to say "Sell off the downtown land -- more higher prices -- and move to land -- we already own in the suburbs -- and built our headquarters that would house everyone, including our valuable blue vans.

[the dude]

i am in complete agreeance. the board does NOT want to stay downtown. if they did, they'd have made arrangements already. they will continue to fight this to the bitter end - the city's going to have to be persistent or lose.

as a teacher, or perhaps because i'm a teacher, i have numerous issues with the board, both teaching and non-teaching related. outside the educational realm, they act purely as real estate speculators. their agenda is to promote sprawl and to hollow out the core of our city - so many inner-city schools have been closed in recent years and so little investment has been made in our older downtown schools. they just don't care and it's hard to negotiate with people who don't give a damn. the struggle continues.

[SteelTown]

Renewal boss rejects Ed Centre plan

Fate awaits facts on 'very light' city proposal

By Richard Leitner
News
Apr 18, 2008

The director of the city's downtown renewal division is rejecting criticisms that a proposal to redevelop the downtown Hamilton Education Centre is too shy on details to judge its merits.

Ron Marini said he met this week with Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board consultants to clarify outstanding issues identified in a report to trustees.

"We had a meeting of the minds, if you will," he said. "Now I understand some of the comments in the context they were using them."

Consultant KPMG's initial review of the city's business plan for the massive redevelopment found "it is very light in detail and does not provide sufficient information to allow for approval in concept at this time."

The firm identified eight issues needing more information, including the project's corporate structure, partners, timing, zoning and density, construction costs, parking and financial benefits to the board.

Mr. Marini said he's now clarified that concerns about density relate to the proposed intensity of land use at the Education Centre site, located at the northeast corner of Main and Bay streets.

The plan calls for the 41-year-old landmark to be demolished to make way for a McMaster University family medicine centre, two hotels and new headquarters for both the board and city health department.

The city estimates its investment will be more than $41 million, including $3.3 million in enterprise-zone tax incentives that would be assigned to the board by the hotel owners.

It also projects the board will gain a further $6.75 million by selling land it doesn't need for its portion of the development.

Those revenues and possible provincial tax breaks could cut the net cost of a new 75,000-square-foot headquarters building to as little as $4.5 million, according to the business plan.

If the province doesn't kick in, the price tag would rise to $5.7 million.

"It's downtown. It's supposed to be intense. That's where you build buildings of mass and buildings of substance," Mr. Marini said.

"I don't agree that our report was light," he said. "We're producing a fundamentally different type of financial arrangement to assist them in making that decision (to go for the plan)."

As part of its contribution, the city is offering to cover the estimated $17.8-million cost of an underground parking garage for 792 vehicles. Based on existing rates, spaces would be rented for $108 per month or $7.50 per day.

But the city has yet to name the potential investors who would build the two hotels, projected to provide about 450 hotel rooms and cost $65 million.

"We've been talking to actual developers. That's all I can tell you," Mr. Marini said when asked if there may be fears the hotels and tax incentives won't materialize.

"We have people there who've said they would go forward," he said. "There's a lot of room for hotel growth in this city."

The city's redevelopment plan is one of two options trustees are considering after deliberations that began last October.

The other one would see the board sell the entire Education Centre site -- estimated to be worth $8.25 million by the city -- and build new headquarters at Jerome Park on the West Mountain.

That plan, which also includes a training and maintenance centre, is estimated to cost $33 million.

Options to preserve the centre have been rejected as too expensive despite citizen support at the lone meeting for public input. In a brief presentation to trustees, Lucy Veerman, the board's interim superintendent of business and treasurer, said staff expect to present a report on the two remaining options next month.

[DC83]

The schoolboard is being rediculous! They're acting like LIUNA on this one... nit-picking on everything, "Well we need space for 793 pkng spots... sorry, Jerome Site it is!"

Let's all email the trustees (not just our own) and remind them of the benefits of remaining downtown, especially with the RT line that will most likely stop right infront of their office!

Trustee Contacts: http://www.hwdsb.on.ca/about_us/trustees/index.aspx

[SteelTown]

Education centre decision set for May 21

May 12, 2008
The Hamilton Spectator

After months of debate and delay, Hamilton's public school board will hold a special meeting May 21 so trustees can decide where to build a new education centre.

The decision date has repeatedly changed as new ideas arrived and information trickled in. It had been expected today but will instead be made May 21 starting at 6:30 p.m.

After scrapping renovation of the downtown offices as an option, trustees told staff to present a business plan.

The two final options were: A move to a Mountain site while maintaining a downtown presence, or be part of a city-proposed Education Square on the redeveloped block at Main and Bay streets.

Trustees will vote on one plan preferred by staff.

Education Square would include a McMaster University medical centre, city public health, hotels and the board.

[raisethehammer]

is it just me, or am I the only one expecting this decision to be botched as well as provide some laughable material to be reprinted from the meeting as they explain away their love affair with mega-parking lots??

[SteelTown]

Either plan will have a downtown presence. Though I rather have the School Board go along with the city proposed plan.

[DC83]

I don't get the "Downtown Presence"? If they move to the mountain, how will they maintain a Downtown 'presence'?

[SteelTown]

A "storefront" presence as they call it. Probably a front desk with at most 20 office space.

[flar]

It's wouldn't be much of a downtown presence and would have little spinoff benefit to downtown because the vast majority of the workers would be on the mountain.

I'm writing my trustee again for sure. They need to be downtown along an LRT route. Then maybe they wouldn't need such a big parking lot.

[SteelTown]

The thing is the City is going to pay for the underground parking. So what's the hold up?

[coalminecanary]

Because they made up their minds at the very start so they are trying to force reality into their desires.

Probably the people with the loudest mouths live closer to the jerome site, and they don't want to come all the way downtown to work.