Hamilton's Upper James Street's 'renaissance' begins with eight-storey development
116 residential units proposed
By Kevin Werner Reporter Mountain News December 13, 2022
An eight-storey mixed use building is proposed for 1020 Upper James St.An eight-storey mixed use building is proposed for 1020 Upper James St.
The Upper James Street development renaissance is about to begin.
Hamilton councillors at their Dec. 7 meeting approved a recommendation to rezone a 3,623-square-metre property at 1020 Upper James St. for an eight-storey, mixed-use building that will have 121 underground parking spaces and 150 bike spots.
“It’s really important the renaissance of Upper James sets off on the right foot,” said Ward 8 Coun. John-Paul Danko during the Nov. 29 planning committee meeting.
He said the owner, Alex Arbab of Royal Living Development Company, is taking an “underutilized” property and proposing a development that “enhances” the area.
“When we talk about developments, we want good quality developments,” said Danko. “It should set the precedent for what we want Upper James Street to look like.”
The property, which houses a structure built in the early 20th century — and where former Mayor Fred Eisenberger had his mayoral campaign office located in 2018 — was rezoned to allow for eight storeys that will house 116 residential units, plus 100-square-metres of commercial space on the bottom floor.
The brick building will be demolished, said staff. A cultural heritage impact was completed on the structure in November 2017.
Glenn Wellings of Wellings Planning Consultants, said the proposed development “has seen a long road to get to this point” since the application was filed in 2019.
The original proposal had been eight storeys containing 99 residential units and 98-square-metres of commercial space.
The application was amended four times until the final document was approved by councillors.
Sarah Burjaw, a planner with Wellings Planning Consultants, said the owner “would have liked to have gone higher” but there would have been shadow issues impacting the surrounding neighbourhood. A small plaza is located beside the building, while the area behind it is residential.
The eight-storey design will “not create adverse shadow impacts,” said planning staff. There will be increased side yard setbacks on both the north and south sides.
“(The owner) was able to keep it at eight storeys,” said Danko.
But he said that will not be the case for other developments that have been proposed along Upper James Street.
“Under the current climate we will have applications that will go far higher than the eight storeys,” he said. “I’m quite excited for this proposal. The owner has the respect for the neighbourhoods.”
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