Following its near total demolition back in 2014, what remains of the 180-year-old James Street Baptist Church in downtown Hamilton will be rechristened as Connolly. Spearheaded via a partnership between Hue Developments, LCH Developments, and McCallum Sather Architects, Connolly will see the addition of a modern, 30-storey condo tower over and above the remnants of the historic church, the latter's original main entryway to lead directly into the base of the former. 

Connolly, as it will appear upon completion, image via Hue Developments

Bemoaned by local heritage activists at the time of its demise, the sense of meaningless loss to the city's history has been felt harshly ever since, the scar left by the site's previous owners (who had similar plans for a condo tower) having been an open wound for more than five years. Centrally located within the heart of the city, the former James Street Baptist Church had been in service since 1838, nearly three full decades before Canadian Confederation. 

Connolly, street view rendering, image via Hue Developments

Fast-forward to early 2019, and the site was acquired by the Vietnam-based Hue Developments, which in partnership with LCH Developments and McCallum Sather Architects, will soon begin the process of shoring up the heritage facade ahead of preparatory work for the incoming tower. The 30-storey condo tower will soar high above the heritage facade, the inclusion (above) of a token amount of stone/brick cladding along its base to ostensibly go some way towards knitting the two structures together. 

James Street Baptist Church, all that remains of the 180-year old church, image by Forum contributor DC83

Set to include a large ground floor retail space and restaurant facing onto the street, the rebirth of one of Hamilton's oldest heritage assets is being marketed as a rejuvenation of sorts for the long-beleaguered downtown core. Billed thus as something of a saviour to the "derelict" church, promotional material for Connolly describes the second coming of the condo tower as fresh start for the site, and for the city of Hamilton writ large. 

SkyriseCities will be sure to return to this project as progress continues. For more information, check out the associated Database file and Forum thread, and as always, feel free to join the conversation in the comments section below.