[innsertnamehere]

heritage restoration and two storey addition to several existing heritage buildings on the south side of Gore Park. This has been swirling around with different proposals for years, so who knows if this will happen. It will turn a currently vacant lot into a neat little laneway type space:

 

[UrbanOzz]

i imagine we'll see the redevelopment of King St ramp up now that the LRT is a go. Developers may still be hesitant that the rug will get pulled out from under them on it but shovels will be in the ground soon.

 

[innsertnamehere]

i imagine we'll see the redevelopment of King St ramp up now that the LRT is a go. Developers may still be hesitant that the rug will get pulled out from under them on it but shovels will be in the ground soon.

Metrolinx is expropriating a ton of property along the line to build it, something like 90 properties, so a lot of sites will sit empty for a while yet. Whenever Metrolinx gets around to vending the leftover land though (most property takes were only for a few metres of road widening that happened to require demolition of the building), it will all be sold to developers and we will probably see an explosion of construction along the line.

This project is basically in the immediate downtown are of Hamilton though and I think would happen regardless of the LRT. The LRT will do more to help development prospects further east in areas of the city that are historically much less desirable.

 

[Branden Simon]

Construction Crews were on site this morning for cleaning up the building

 

[macro]

This was taken Saturday:

 

[Chris R.]

So uhm, new Formal Consultation here...

FC-23-097:

"To facilitate the development of a mixed use 32-storey tower atop a 5-storey podium consisting of 478 residential units with 4372 sq m of commercial spaces from grade to the 5th floor. Includes 426 parking spaces."

 

[innsertnamehere]

LOL of course.

 

[Sunnyside]

This is like walking into a room, firing a gunshot, and leaving. I need more info on what the hell is going on here.

…But some speculation wouldn’t hurt. Seems they are either planning on knocking these buildings and are completely out of touch, or have reevaluated their options and will retain the heritage in something larger.

In any case, @Chronamut isn’t going to be happy… I for one could only tolerate some height here if it’s done extremely tastefully. And for some reason I don’t see that as super likely. Colour me concerned. We CANNOT lose these buildings.

 

[innsertnamehere]

This is like walking into a room, firing a gunshot, and leaving. I need more info on what the hell is going on here.

…But some speculation wouldn’t hurt. Seems they are either planning on knocking these buildings and are completely out of touch, or have reevaluated their options and will retain the heritage in something larger.

In any case, @Chronamut isn’t going to be happy… I for one could only tolerate some height here if it’s done extremely tastefully. And for some reason I don’t see that as super likely. Colour me concerned. We CANNOT lose these buildings.

They are heritage designated so they will remain as facades, like planned in the previous scheme.

Just now there will be a 32-storey tower plopped on top, instead of a 6-storey office building.

Will Blanchard actually build it instead of letting these continue to rot? That's the real question.

 

[jta5]

Does Blanchard still own this all these years later? They proposed a 25-storey tower on this same site over 10 years ago, including retention of the historic facades and a tower well set-back from the heritage facades. So it should be possible to achieve both outcomes (tower + heritage retention) if they still own the same collection of deep lots.

 

[Sunnyside]

Does Blanchard still own this all these years later? They proposed a 25-storey tower on this same site over 10 years ago, including retention of the historic facades and a tower well set-back from the heritage facades. So it should be possible to achieve both outcomes (tower + heritage retention) if they still own the same collection of deep lots.

I assume none of the lot(s) has changed hands. I didn’t know about this concept but it does illustrate the feasibility.

They are heritage designated so they will remain as facades, like planned in the previous scheme.

Just now there will be a 32-storey tower plopped on top, instead of a 6-storey office building.

Will Blanchard actually build it instead of letting these continue to rot? That's the real question.

This comes off as bargaining- they’ll build, so long as the city allows them to go big?

There is something to be said for the fact that there are a handful of early high rises here along the Gore. Perhaps the Royal Connaught and First Ontario’s office building are what heights the city ambitiously expected along here a century ago. But that time has passed, and I wonder if we ought to be open to realizing such a vision today. At the very least, should this really be solely residential?

 

[FF407]

This is like walking into a room, firing a gunshot, and leaving. I need more info on what the hell is going on here.

…But some speculation wouldn’t hurt. Seems they are either planning on knocking these buildings and are completely out of touch, or have reevaluated their options and will retain the heritage in something larger.

In any case, @Chronamut isn’t going to be happy… I for one could only tolerate some height here if it’s done extremely tastefully. And for some reason I don’t see that as super likely. Colour me concerned. We CANNOT lose these buildings.

When is he ever happy.

 

[innsertnamehere]

I assume none of the lot(s) has changed hands. I didn’t know about this concept but it does illustrate the feasibility.

This comes off as bargaining- they’ll build, so long as the city allows them to go big?

There is something to be said for the fact that there are a handful of early high rises here along the Gore. Perhaps the Royal Connaught and First Ontario’s office building are what heights the city ambitiously expected along here a century ago. But that time has passed, and I wonder if we ought to be open to realizing such a vision today. At the very least, should this really be solely residential?

there is nearly 50,000sf of commercial space here so it's not solely residential. Sounds like a few floors of offices as well.

 

[Chronamut]

This is like walking into a room, firing a gunshot, and leaving. I need more info on what the hell is going on here.

…But some speculation wouldn’t hurt. Seems they are either planning on knocking these buildings and are completely out of touch, or have reevaluated their options and will retain the heritage in something larger.

In any case, @Chronamut isn’t going to be happy… I for one could only tolerate some height here if it’s done extremely tastefully. And for some reason I don’t see that as super likely. Colour me concerned. We CANNOT lose these buildings.

You are correct, I am not happy, but it's really hard to know how unhappy to be because I don't know if they are tearing down the buildings or not..

*edit* ok it looks like they are keeping the heritage facade, but whether they actually build something or are just trying to run out the clock on these remains to be seen.. also I thought giant heights were no longer allowed on this side due to the shadows they would cast on the park? Or are these set back enough?

It's always been my suspicion that they never wanted to keep these buildings and have just been sitting on the property until they rot enough to collapse, then they can demolish the entire lot and build something tacky and modern looking..

 

[Chronamut]

When is he ever happy.

I am happy when core urban makes beautiful things lol, or other developers, or when heritage is rebuilt or respected or modern buildings are done tastefully and with attention to detail and finishes - I'm basically the simon cowell of architecture, my standards are high - but you are right, I am usually unhappy, but that's good - if I was happy with all the developments what kind of standards would I have - more people SHOULD be unhappy with what's being built in general in our core..

I have an architectural background and have a general knowledge of the entire history of the citys buildings - the buildings in question are pre-confederation so it's a huge point of contention to knock them down, and I am not the only one who feels this way since there was a petition basically to keep them which is why they are still standing to begin with, for now..

When I am happy with something, it's generally of very high quality - and if I am overly critical of a developer I usually praise, it's generally because I feel they are capable of much more and feel a bit disappointed in their proposal.

Also I love cornices - anything with a cornice gets an A+ from me lolol.. Like their restoration of buildings on king william (lister annex excluded) - muah!