Tall order: 45-storey tower pitched for Hamiltonâs Pier 8 harbourfront
https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...bourfront.html
A startling proposal for a residential tower reaching up to 45-storeys in height is the upshot of a neighbourhood appeal of Hamiltonâs ambitious Pier 8 redevelopment.
The âsignatureâ tower was pitched by development architect and Hamilton native Bruce Kuwabara in a virtual meeting with city planners and neighbourhood residents Wednesday. The tall building would allow more family-sized units and on-pier parking in a planned neighbourhood that otherwise has an eight-storey height limit.
But thereâs no guarantee the harbourfront tower will go ahead at record-breaking heights, said ward Coun. Jason Farr, who stressed there are âvariations in massing and heightâ possible.
The proposed tower will need to survive public consultation, zoning and official plan amendments and an urban design study to set âappropriateâ maximum building heights on harbourfront land city officials previously vowed would not be used for âskyscrapers.â
Conceptual image of proposed Waterfront Shores development for Pier 8, before the inclusion of the proposed tower.
City council voted to partner with a consortium called Waterfront Shores in 2018 on a high-profile plan to redevelop the barren west harbour industrial pier into around 1,600 condo and townhouse units. Both neighbourhood residents and industry appealed the plan, with the former group settling with the city in November.
At the time, a city release said ânotableâ settlement changes included more on-pier parking, more âfamily unitsâ and city consideration of planning amendments needed for a âmid-to-highriseâ development next to the Discovery Centre.
Forty-five storeys would set a new highrise record in Hamilton, with the current tallest building the 43-storey Landmark Place downtown. (A developer also pitched a 59-storey condo tower in Stoney Creek last year.)
It would also be a significant departure from the area secondary plan and original Pier 7-8 urban design study that forced groups bidding on the redevelopment project to come up with neighbourhood plans for 3,000 residents limited to a maximum height of eight storeys.
The North End Neighbours Associationâs planning committee has recommended âfurther studyâ of the concept, telling its members a tall building would have âsome attractive aspectsâ â particularly increased family housing on the pier.
Herman Turkstra, an association member who was heavily involved in the pier appeal, said he is open to considering the âsignatureâ building concept as a way to promote more family housing and âreduce densityâ through the rest of the pier neighbourhood.
âIf you had asked me two or three years ago if I would ever be supporting a tall building on the waterfront, I would not have been able to imagine that would work,â he said. But Turkstra said the project architects have since convinced him itâs possible to build âsomething that was actually beautifulâ and adds to the neighbourhood.
Some council members were caught off-guard by Wednesdayâs sky-high pitch.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger said he had yet to hear the details of the height proposal, but added a 45-storey tower sounded like a ânon-starter.â
Coun. Chad Collins said the maximum height proposed âcame out of left field,â adding he had assumed the settlement contemplated âsomething closer to 10 or 12â storeys. âItâs just totally contrary to anything we as a council have told residents about the vision for this development,â he said.
As far back as 2013, former city manager Chris Murray said the city was intent on avoiding the type of complaints faced by Toronto about a waterfront âblockedâ by tall towers.
âWeâre talking medium density,â Murray said shortly after the Hamilton Port Authority agreed to transfer Pier 8 to the city, setting redevelopment plans in motion. âYouâre not going to see skyscrapers.â