innsertnamehere

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This is a fun one. 12 storey hotel building and proposed 25 storey apartment tower. Vrancor initially went in with a 10 storey hotel and 6 storey apartment building, and got SPA approval before refiling for 12 and 25. The 12 storey hotel is now approved, but the 25 storey apartment has just been appealed to the OLT. Hotel tower is topped out and the apartment building is at grade, and just had a crane re-installed, but won't get permission to go above 6 storeys for probably at least another year..
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This is a fun one. 12



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On the one hand Vrancor was one of the very few who were building in Hamilton when very little was being done so i'll give credit for that. On the other hand his group's developments are nothing but uninspiring trash and he's a sleazy developer.

For those who like to rake on Brad Lamb in Toronto, Vranich is on another level.
 
it'll be better once the glass is in and the precast is painted so that there aren't miscoloured panels, but yea, it's never going to look amazing.
 
https://www.thepublicrecord.ca/2022...or-deal-25-storeys-approved-at-354-king-west/

Ontario Land Tribunal Approves Council – Vrancor Deal, 25 Storeys Approved at 354 King West

The City of Hamilton and Vrancor developments agreed to a settlement allowing a 25-storey tall building on the northwest corner of the intersection of King Street West and Queen Street. The property is within the Strathcona neighbourhood, but across the street from the Downtown Secondary Plan zone and at a planning Light Rail Transit system.

Council approved the settlement in closed session on May 25, 2022. Ward 1 Councillor Maureen Wilson was the only councillor to vote against the settlement.

The deal allows Vrancor, the property company of Darko Vranich, to construct a 25-storey tower on the northwest corner of Queen Street North and King Street West. The revised building will comply with the City’s tall building guidelines.

During the Ontario Land Tribunal settlement approval hearing last Monday, the City’s planner on the file stated the changes represent good planning because of the location of the tall building being on a primary corridor beside the planned Queen Street B-Line LRT stop.

The City’s position is that the tower would be approved by the OLT and the settlement now represents good planning.

The Strathcona Secondary Plan, passed in late 2013, zoned the land for mixed-used medium density.

Since that time, the Provincial Growth Plan has changed to require significant intensification in Major Transit Station Areas, which are the areas within 500 to 800 metres of LRT stations.

The primary change is the creation of a six-storey podium below the tower, with the tower now including some step back in conformity with the City’s tall building guidelines.

The agreement states the podium shall be cladded with materials complementary to the historic Scottish Rite across King Street, have recessed balconies to decrease overlook of neighbouring houses, and no more than 60% glazing for energy efficiency.

Local neighbours in the Strathcona community, who organized against the proposal as the Strathcona Shadow Dwellers, state the settlement failed to protect their neighbourhood and the concessions from the developer are “all table stakes and hardly tough concessions on the part of Vrancor.”

Spokesperson Wayne MacPhail states the concessions are all items that should’ve been expected of the developer in an initial submission.

MacPhail distributed a document comparing the City’s expert witness statements of May 6, when the City was opposing the development, to their statements on May 27, after the City agreed to the settlement.

On May 6, the City’s expert stated “It is my opinion that in the above noted considerations, scale and massing should be given a greater weight than the other elements, as a reduction in scale and height would have a much more substantial impact on reducing the impacts on adjacent uses than providing landscaping, trees and fencing (particularly on the Subject Proposal). While useful, these considerations should not be considered as an alternative to a meaningful reduction in the building scale and massing.”

On May 27, the opinion changed to “It is our opinion that the revised design:
Provides reasonable regard for the intent of the UHOP and Strathcona Secondary Plan
policies, as well as the relevant urban design guidelines, subject to a future site plan application.”

Vrancor has applied for a zoning bylaw amendment and official plan amendment for their property one block north of this site.

The proposal for 200 Market Street is “To rezone to permit a mixed-use development comprised of two 15-storey towers and two 27-storey towers above a 3 to 7-storey base building (82m max height). Includes a total of 762 dwelling units, 1,003 m2 of commercial space and 369 parking spaces.”

The Market Street plan was submitted to the City on January 19, 2022.

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Latest construction update on the hotel shows windows being installed:

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This thing is literally an urban planning disaster, the whole site plan is a mess from head to toe with the chief problem being that parking lot/driveway entrance and exit.
 
Totally agree with Amare about this one. Absolutely terrible in pretty much every department—awful site plan, awful ground level interaction, awful architecture all around.

Photos taken on Friday, September 2nd. Only a few pictures taken from King—it didn't seem worthwhile to loop around the block for all the angles on this one...
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The 12-Storey Hampton Inn Hotel should be open in 2022 but they delayed the opening date maybe 🤔 in time for grey cup
 

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