Hamilton ripe for renewal, says author who studies cities

[realcity]

^ from what I've been made to believe there is a HUGE demand... and yet a 21 year plan..... it might be something by then that my grand children will consider when it comes to deciding on a city to live and raise a family.


But of course my own children in 10 years will -- at the closest -- be living in Toronto and their children will have to have a reason to move to the Hammer. This might be it.... o boy... 21 years I can't wait to see Hamilton then. So much will have changed. Our downtown will be full of working professionals getting to work via LRT, we'll have one of the lowest office vacancy rates in the country and the demand for head offices will be so great that Hamilton will have 4 or 5 new office towers being built. Our Bayfront will be full of activity 300 days of the year, condos and commercial buildings competing for the best view of the swamp .. I mean Bayfront... Randle Reef will be a container port. Via and Go will be making hourly stops in Hamilton. The Royal Connaught will be hosting national conventions, York Blvd will be converted back to a blvd and condos will line the route to the Royal Botanical Gardens.!!! Because they are so close to the largest botanical gardens in the country!!!!. (forget about that now, that doesn't apply.. o ya right it does.. I can see the cranes now). 35,000 new residents have made downtown Hamilton home because of the jobs, how safe it is, the new schools, the walkable shopping, the convenient LRT, and the amenities. Hamilton is truly a 24-hour city. So come on my grand children, move back to Hamilton... it's the best places to Raise A Family.... A program we started 20 years ago and are so proud that we worked so diligently on it that it paid off.. Hamilton 2030 The Best Place to Raise A Family..


Of course if that doesn't work. Hamilton can try for 2050 The Best Place to Raise A Family.

[LikeHamilton]

Originally Posted by realcity

k that's good news.

But 5 years to get the space ready?.... In a building that was already offices.? The original rendering will be completed in 10 more years at this pace. You do not think this is moving slooooow? With a high demand... it's even moving slower then it should. "Hopefully shovel ready in the Fall" holy crap.

But the McMaster business school in Burlington is almost finished.... it was started like 7 months ago.

5 Years from concept proposal to now. The building was an old office. It was completely gutted and an atrium cut into it and modernized. The Burlington facility was in the works for years. Another case of an overnight success taking years. This isn’t like TV where everything is done in a day. Reality is slow!

Here is a quote from MIP's web site.

The decision to create McMaster Innovation Park was taken by McMaster University in 2004 when the old Camco/Westinghouse site on Longwood Road South was listed for sale. The 37-acre site was acquired in March of 2005 after a considerable period of negotiation and due diligence including seeking and receiving professional advice on potential environmental liabilities. The site was acquired by a legal trust established by McMaster for the specific purpose of holding the land. The Park has been established as an arms-length entity operated by an incorporated trustee with an independent board of directors.

Throughout 2005 and 2006, a program of demolition and site reclamation was carried out. Three buildings remain on site. 175 Longwood Road South which is the former main office building with attached manufacturing/light industrial space, 270 Longwood Road South which is a warehouse facility of approximately 170,000 sq. ft. and the old central heating plant. At the same time, a conceptual master plan for future development was prepared by a team led by Diamond and Schmitt Architects. The team included engineering, environmental, municipal planning and zoning consultants and was supported by legal advisors. As part of this work, several costing studies were undertaken with respect to 175 Longwood Road South to attempt to ascertain the feasibility of renovating this property which included the main office building of about 50,000 sq. ft. and adjoining manufacturing facilities of an additional 130,000 sq. ft. Decisions have been reached to redevelop 175 Longwood, and to leave in place the warehouse facility on the west side of the property which as been leased out. The heating plant is being left “as is” for now.

2007 was a year of organizational development and detailed planning and design. Over the course of the year, staff has been hired, business processes put in place, bank accounts opened and financial accounting and management systems established. Governance relationships between the board and management as well as with the beneficial owner, McMaster University have been established. Detailed planning and design for the first major project, the re-development of 175 Longwood Road South (the red brick building) was completed and a $20M construction program began. Significant developmental work was carried out on a number of other projects including most notably the CANMET-MTL lab relocation from Ottawa.

2008 saw major work underway on 175 Longwood Road South and the beginning of lease up of the space in that building. Detailed design work was carried out on the CANMET-MTL project.

[realcity]

kk so MIP is moving along just great.... that's great to hear. I'm glad to be wrong

[highwater]

Originally Posted by realcity

Bayfront will be full of activity 300 days of the year, condos and commercial buildings competing for the best view of the swamp .. I mean Bayfront...

Ok, I know you're being a goof, but I have to call you on this. The hell? The restoration of the bay and Cootes is a huge success story by any standards, and a model of collaboration between multiple agencies and levels of government.

[SteelTown]

City has potential but needs a plan: urban expert

April 09, 2010
Meredith Macleod
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Business/article/750385

Hamilton has the ingredients for revitalization but it has to write the recipe, says a noted urban renewal expert who will be the keynote speaker at next month's Hamilton Economic Summit.

"Hamilton is a jewel. You have a catalogue of restorable assets," Storm Cunningham told a small group of key summit organizers this week.

"I do a lot of work in Canada ... and whenever I'm asked what is a prime city for revitalization, Hamilton always immediately comes out of my mouth."

Cunningham, an urban revitalization consultant and author of The Restoration Economy and reWealth, spent a couple of days touring Hamilton and talking to civic leaders this week in order to tailor his message for the May 17 community luncheon.

He'll be focusing on downtown renewal.

"It's hard to imagine a place with more potential than Hamilton," he said, citing the waterfront and underused buildings in the core.

But potential doesn't guarantee success, he cautioned.

The city has to create a vision of its future, set up a strategy to get there and bring the right people and institutions into the mix to put it in action.

The key is to have an organization dedicated to perpetuating renewal, whether that's a city council, a university, a community foundation or even a private sector developer, Cunningham said.

Otherwise, good things happen in fits and starts but momentum and investor confidence won't build, he said.

The third annual Hamilton Economic Summit will focus on business opportunities through the Pan Am Games, transportation and downtown renewal. The event is about two-thirds sold out for the invitation-only portion.

The luncheon, featuring Cunningham and moderated by McMaster professor Nick Bontis, is open to the public and tickets are available.

There is also a free Next Generation youth summit happening at the same time.

The summit's budget this year is about $290,000, raised by ticket sales and sponsorships. That pays for the cost of running the event and will go to launching the first phase of the Next Generation strategy to "attract and retain highly educated and mobile next-generation talent," according to the website.

Cunningham warned that cities can't buy their way to renewal or expect that a new stadium, convention centre or rapid transit system will be the silver bullet.

"It's not about buying a product but building a process."

A community has to prove to deep-pocketed investors that it knows where it's going and has a road map to get there. Those investors are lured by the "perfect combination of low property values and high potential," he said.