All news concerning development news in Hamilton should be posted in here.
Hamilton Development News Thread
Lucky 24
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For HMP... Why don't they just use the historic building and build around like so many buildings downtown TO?
It's a downtown landmark and would be sad to see torn down rather than incorperated into the new hotel. Ever see the Ramada on Jarvis / Carlton (in TO)? It's an old building mixed with a new building to form ONE hotel!
It's a downtown landmark and would be sad to see torn down rather than incorperated into the new hotel. Ever see the Ramada on Jarvis / Carlton (in TO)? It's an old building mixed with a new building to form ONE hotel!
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There's nothing special or significant about the HMP site, it's a gaint auto shop. It may look 3 storey but it's really one floor with huge ceiling because that's the auto shop. Plus the building mostly goes along George Street which is very important to Hess Village future.
Hess Village plans to extend along George Street until Bay Street and Darko will help them do that. Under Darko's plan he intends to set up a restaurants/bars along the back of the old federal building facing George St. By the way the cost of turning the old federal building into lofts is about $40 million. It's going cost more than the Chateau Royale. It's going to be a huge project.
I'm betting be plans to do the same with the hotel. Have a fancy hotel restaurant along George St.
Here's George St towards Queen St
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Here's George St towards Bay St (white building on the right is HMP)
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So as you can see George St towards Bay St has a lot of work.
A hotel in that location is PERFECT. Next to Hess Village only steps way from Copps Coliseum, Art Gallery, Jackson Square and directly across Hamilton Place and Convention Centre. Couldn't ask for a better location. I would say it's a better location than the Sheraton Hotel.
Hess Village plans to extend along George Street until Bay Street and Darko will help them do that. Under Darko's plan he intends to set up a restaurants/bars along the back of the old federal building facing George St. By the way the cost of turning the old federal building into lofts is about $40 million. It's going cost more than the Chateau Royale. It's going to be a huge project.
I'm betting be plans to do the same with the hotel. Have a fancy hotel restaurant along George St.
Here's George St towards Queen St
Here's George St towards Bay St (white building on the right is HMP)
So as you can see George St towards Bay St has a lot of work.
A hotel in that location is PERFECT. Next to Hess Village only steps way from Copps Coliseum, Art Gallery, Jackson Square and directly across Hamilton Place and Convention Centre. Couldn't ask for a better location. I would say it's a better location than the Sheraton Hotel.
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This is off topic hope nobody minds.
So anyways I rented a movie, crap movie called Descent. Well I'm watching and all of a sudden I notice downtown Hamilton is in the movie. And guess what?! It gets blowing into pieces :lol: So anyways I'm bored and here's some screenshots from the movie.
Oooohhh lava coming down one of Hamilton's waterfalls
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Er Seattle? I think not!
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Apparently Jackson Square is ground zero
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Guess that's what Armageddon will look like in downtown Hamilton :lol:
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Skyway Bridge before
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After
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Bet aplz is mad since his favourite bridge has gone boom boom lol
To keep with development there's a lot of movies being produced in Hamilton. On Saturday City Hall was turned into an American embassy in Yemen. Last week Mohawk College was being used for a sci-fi film called Earth Storm. Saw Steven Baldwin at Mohawk well acting.
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If you film outside of the GTA you get a larger tax break. Kinda pisses Toronto off but the Premier is sticking up for us.
So anyways I rented a movie, crap movie called Descent. Well I'm watching and all of a sudden I notice downtown Hamilton is in the movie. And guess what?! It gets blowing into pieces :lol: So anyways I'm bored and here's some screenshots from the movie.
Oooohhh lava coming down one of Hamilton's waterfalls
Er Seattle? I think not!
Apparently Jackson Square is ground zero
Guess that's what Armageddon will look like in downtown Hamilton :lol:
Skyway Bridge before
After
Bet aplz is mad since his favourite bridge has gone boom boom lol
To keep with development there's a lot of movies being produced in Hamilton. On Saturday City Hall was turned into an American embassy in Yemen. Last week Mohawk College was being used for a sci-fi film called Earth Storm. Saw Steven Baldwin at Mohawk well acting.
If you film outside of the GTA you get a larger tax break. Kinda pisses Toronto off but the Premier is sticking up for us.
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In the newspaper this week it mentioned that the McMaster downtown residence proposal is still alive. From what I heard the city is trying to make McMaster a deal with a city owned land. Probably sell it dirt cheap in exchange for a student residence in the downtown core.
Here's the proposal
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That's a 15 stories building and located at the corner of Main and Hughson. It's a proposed graduate residence so it'll have mature students. It's located is directly next door to McMaster downtown campus, Centre for Continuing Education.
Here's the proposal
That's a 15 stories building and located at the corner of Main and Hughson. It's a proposed graduate residence so it'll have mature students. It's located is directly next door to McMaster downtown campus, Centre for Continuing Education.
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No problems with city's loan program
HAMILTON - An internal city audit of a downtown loan program, under investigation by the OPP, has found no evidence of wrongdoing or mishandling of money.
The auditors have reportedly found administrative shortcomings such as missing records, but the city's finance chief says all of the loans were made in accord with the financial terms council approved.
The report will go to a special council meeting this afternoon.
PHEW!
HAMILTON - An internal city audit of a downtown loan program, under investigation by the OPP, has found no evidence of wrongdoing or mishandling of money.
The auditors have reportedly found administrative shortcomings such as missing records, but the city's finance chief says all of the loans were made in accord with the financial terms council approved.
The report will go to a special council meeting this afternoon.
PHEW!
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Interesting movie, supposed to take place in Seattle, Washington, but is filmed in Hamilton. Those are interesting images. It is nice to see Hamilton getting all these movies filmed in their city and cheaper too. Keep pissing Toronto off! 
What is that thing under construction in the Hamilton Beach area, is that where the Canadian Music Hall of Fame is supposed to go?
What is that thing under construction in the Hamilton Beach area, is that where the Canadian Music Hall of Fame is supposed to go?
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Three guys bought a big warehouse near the General Hospital and turned it into a film studio called the Hamilton Film Studio, $30-million, 500,000-square-foot facility. Than about a month or two later they abandoned the place and left to build the Toronto Film Studio lol. Now their pissed that we get a bigger film tax credits than Toronto. Screw them they made a bad business mistake.
So I suppose if things keep going the way it is someone might buy that studio and make good use out of it.
Here's another movie being filmed in Hamilton
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Over at Hamilton Beach their building the Lakeland centre, which is a community and recreational centre, pool, spray park and a lighthouse open 24/7 which is located next to the Hamilton Beach trail.
The proposed location of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame is over at Pier 8 which near the downtown. The Lakeland Centre is near the Skyway Bridge which is way over the other side of Hamilton.
So I suppose if things keep going the way it is someone might buy that studio and make good use out of it.
Here's another movie being filmed in Hamilton
Over at Hamilton Beach their building the Lakeland centre, which is a community and recreational centre, pool, spray park and a lighthouse open 24/7 which is located next to the Hamilton Beach trail.
The proposed location of the Canadian Music Hall of Fame is over at Pier 8 which near the downtown. The Lakeland Centre is near the Skyway Bridge which is way over the other side of Hamilton.
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Hamilton's a Movie Mecca
HAMILTON - Hamilton continues to be a hot-bed of movie and television productions.
Movie Liaison Jacqueline McNeely says there are currently 15 productions on the go here right now.
One of them is a CTV television production dubbed "Doomstown".
It's written and produced by Sudz Sutherland who says, the movie is based on a compilation of true stories about young black men involved in Toronto shootings.
Actor Gary Farmer, from the nearby 6 Nations Reserve, plays the detective who cracks the case in the movie.
He says Hamilton is great to work in.
Farmer says not only is it handy, but its handy to fly out of.
Farmer has alot of work in Montreal, and the Munro Airport also offers flights there now as well.
"Doomstown" is expected to air on CTV next February, or possibly sometime in the spring.
Here are photos of Doomstown being filmed at Hamilton Beach
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Here are photos of ReGenesis at Hamilton Beach
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HAMILTON - Hamilton continues to be a hot-bed of movie and television productions.
Movie Liaison Jacqueline McNeely says there are currently 15 productions on the go here right now.
One of them is a CTV television production dubbed "Doomstown".
It's written and produced by Sudz Sutherland who says, the movie is based on a compilation of true stories about young black men involved in Toronto shootings.
Actor Gary Farmer, from the nearby 6 Nations Reserve, plays the detective who cracks the case in the movie.
He says Hamilton is great to work in.
Farmer says not only is it handy, but its handy to fly out of.
Farmer has alot of work in Montreal, and the Munro Airport also offers flights there now as well.
"Doomstown" is expected to air on CTV next February, or possibly sometime in the spring.
Here are photos of Doomstown being filmed at Hamilton Beach
Here are photos of ReGenesis at Hamilton Beach
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Rennie park plan up at bat
BY ROB FAULKNER
The city plans to turn the site of the excavated Rennie Street landfill into a park, possibly with baseball diamonds, soccer pitches and exercise trails.
It would represent a dramatic facelift to an old dump where crews just finished removing about 55,000 cubic metres of garbage, some toxic, to make way for the future parkway.
But Friends of Red Hill Valley say putting a park on the 45.6-hectare site, in the elbow of the QEW and future Red Hill Valley Parkway, would needlessly expose kids to air pollution from traffic.
The plan for the park is still in the early stages. It will be the subject of a community meeting on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Hamilton Beach Rescue Unit (31 Beach Blvd).
“Far too long, the east end has been neglected,” said city councillor Sam Merulla, who says the park will have a budget in the millions.
“This will make amends to what has been the city’s economic backbone since its inception.”
Though months overdue, excavation of the closed Rennie dump finished in July. Crews are expected to connect a pipe collecting run-off, or leachate, from the remaining waste next month.
For now, the landfill has a towering retention wall holding back soil north of the CN Rail line that crosses the valley. The future park site is home to the old Rennie landfill, the old Brampton landfill and a city public works yard.
Chris Murray, acting director of the $415.5- million Red Hill Valley project, said Rennie park construction may start in 2006. The next few months they will gather community input.
He said the community is home to heavy industry, highways and SWARU, the city’s garbage burner that was one of the worst dioxin sources in Canada until it was shut down in 2002.
“If we can do something to address some of their immediate needs, that’s the thing to do,” Murray said.
Just west of the landfill are city public works facilities, such as Quonset huts, a salt dome, a yard and an old office building. A park plan may concentrate these in a smaller area.
The city is seeking input on the park from groups like the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club, Friends of Red Hill Valley, Woodward elementary school, the Kiwanis and others.
Murray said talk of a Rennie park surfaced in 2000 but wasn’t pursued while the city and Rennie Landfill community liaison committee focused on how to excavate the dump.
Murray said zoning of the site doesn’t allow for a park, but notes Merulla and staff see a park as a logical development. Public input will shape design, then a report will go to council, requesting funds and rezoning.
Timing will depend on the parks’ final design.
Murray hopes it will have trail links south to Red Hill Valley paths and north to a future pedestrian bridge across the QEW to the Waterfront Trail.
For safety’s sake, he said the park design team will include a site contamination expert from Dillon Consulting. Merulla says parks have been built on other local dumps, as at Highway 403 near Christ’s Church Cathedral.
But having been invited to the Oct. 18 meeting, Don McLean of Friends of Red Hill Valley says he wants to stop the city from putting kids’ sports fields in the Rennie park.
“The location is very close to the expressway, the QEW and is downwind from the industrial core,” said McLean, citing studies linking health impacts to a person’s proximity to highways.
He fears kids playing sports would be at extra risk due to their age, and because they’d be breathing heavily right beside high-volume highways. “This is typical of compensation offered to north-end neighbourhoods … that would be unacceptable in west-end or Mountain neighbourhoods.”
McLean said he’d prefer the site of the Rennie park, roughly twice the size of Lime Ridge Mall and its parking lot, be replanted to restore some of the habitat destroyed by parkway construction.
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I would like to see natural habitat restored at Rennie but also build it sort of like Gage Park where it's a beautiful park open to the public. East enders deserve something like this. There are very few parks in the East end so why not make Rennie a park but also a beautiful park.
BY ROB FAULKNER
The city plans to turn the site of the excavated Rennie Street landfill into a park, possibly with baseball diamonds, soccer pitches and exercise trails.
It would represent a dramatic facelift to an old dump where crews just finished removing about 55,000 cubic metres of garbage, some toxic, to make way for the future parkway.
But Friends of Red Hill Valley say putting a park on the 45.6-hectare site, in the elbow of the QEW and future Red Hill Valley Parkway, would needlessly expose kids to air pollution from traffic.
The plan for the park is still in the early stages. It will be the subject of a community meeting on Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Hamilton Beach Rescue Unit (31 Beach Blvd).
“Far too long, the east end has been neglected,” said city councillor Sam Merulla, who says the park will have a budget in the millions.
“This will make amends to what has been the city’s economic backbone since its inception.”
Though months overdue, excavation of the closed Rennie dump finished in July. Crews are expected to connect a pipe collecting run-off, or leachate, from the remaining waste next month.
For now, the landfill has a towering retention wall holding back soil north of the CN Rail line that crosses the valley. The future park site is home to the old Rennie landfill, the old Brampton landfill and a city public works yard.
Chris Murray, acting director of the $415.5- million Red Hill Valley project, said Rennie park construction may start in 2006. The next few months they will gather community input.
He said the community is home to heavy industry, highways and SWARU, the city’s garbage burner that was one of the worst dioxin sources in Canada until it was shut down in 2002.
“If we can do something to address some of their immediate needs, that’s the thing to do,” Murray said.
Just west of the landfill are city public works facilities, such as Quonset huts, a salt dome, a yard and an old office building. A park plan may concentrate these in a smaller area.
The city is seeking input on the park from groups like the Hamilton Naturalists’ Club, Friends of Red Hill Valley, Woodward elementary school, the Kiwanis and others.
Murray said talk of a Rennie park surfaced in 2000 but wasn’t pursued while the city and Rennie Landfill community liaison committee focused on how to excavate the dump.
Murray said zoning of the site doesn’t allow for a park, but notes Merulla and staff see a park as a logical development. Public input will shape design, then a report will go to council, requesting funds and rezoning.
Timing will depend on the parks’ final design.
Murray hopes it will have trail links south to Red Hill Valley paths and north to a future pedestrian bridge across the QEW to the Waterfront Trail.
For safety’s sake, he said the park design team will include a site contamination expert from Dillon Consulting. Merulla says parks have been built on other local dumps, as at Highway 403 near Christ’s Church Cathedral.
But having been invited to the Oct. 18 meeting, Don McLean of Friends of Red Hill Valley says he wants to stop the city from putting kids’ sports fields in the Rennie park.
“The location is very close to the expressway, the QEW and is downwind from the industrial core,” said McLean, citing studies linking health impacts to a person’s proximity to highways.
He fears kids playing sports would be at extra risk due to their age, and because they’d be breathing heavily right beside high-volume highways. “This is typical of compensation offered to north-end neighbourhoods … that would be unacceptable in west-end or Mountain neighbourhoods.”
McLean said he’d prefer the site of the Rennie park, roughly twice the size of Lime Ridge Mall and its parking lot, be replanted to restore some of the habitat destroyed by parkway construction.
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I would like to see natural habitat restored at Rennie but also build it sort of like Gage Park where it's a beautiful park open to the public. East enders deserve something like this. There are very few parks in the East end so why not make Rennie a park but also a beautiful park.
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Search Continues For City Hall Architect
HAMILTON - It's back to the drawing board, in the bid to find an architect to design renovations to Hamilton City Hall.
The city is reissuing its request for proposals, with a new deadline of October 14th, after receiving no suitable bids the first time around.
The Ontario Association of Architects had encouraged its members to boycott the process, calling the contract terms unprecedented and unrealistic.
At issue, are attempts by the city to increase its financial security through letters of credit or withholding of fees, after watching architects walk away from previous contracts.
City officials are hopeful of a better response this time, saying that they've reviewed the document and are confident it is fair.
Renovations to City Hall will begin next year, take over two years to complete, and will cost up to 38-million dollars.
HAMILTON - It's back to the drawing board, in the bid to find an architect to design renovations to Hamilton City Hall.
The city is reissuing its request for proposals, with a new deadline of October 14th, after receiving no suitable bids the first time around.
The Ontario Association of Architects had encouraged its members to boycott the process, calling the contract terms unprecedented and unrealistic.
At issue, are attempts by the city to increase its financial security through letters of credit or withholding of fees, after watching architects walk away from previous contracts.
City officials are hopeful of a better response this time, saying that they've reviewed the document and are confident it is fair.
Renovations to City Hall will begin next year, take over two years to complete, and will cost up to 38-million dollars.
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City tops in Ontario to do business
By Steve Arnold
The Hamilton Spectator
(Sep 30, 2005)
A national survey concludes Hamilton is the best place in Ontario to do business and one of the top 10 in Canada.
The survey by Canadian Business magazine ranked 40 cities on five measures including costs of operation, cost of living, growth in building permits changes in the unemployment rate and crime rate per 100,000 people. A combination of all those factors landed Hamilton in 6th place. Toronto ranked dead last and Burlington was listed in 11th spot. St. John's, Nfld. ranked first.
City officials rejoiced at the announcement, declaring it a validation of everything they've done over the last four years to make Hamilton a desirable location for businesses.
"This is a way for us to measure that we're really moving in the right direction," said Councillor Terry Whitehead, chairman of the planning and economic development committee. "I'm not saying that we've crossed the finish line, but its one form of measurement that we're heading in the right direction."
Data for the rankings was gathered from Statistics Canada, local police services and from a data bank owned by The Boyd Co. Inc., a New Jersey firm specializing in corporate relocations. The cost of operation number is based on a 300-employee firm working in a 50,000-square-foot mid-rise office building.
Company president John Boyd said the survey's focus on costs reflects what companies say they want.
"Quantitative issues are trumping qualitative ones now," Boyd said. "Venture capitalists are emphasizing lean and mean, telling clients to be as cost competitive as possible."
That new attitude, Boyd said, is making cities like Hamilton a real alternative to expensive Toronto.
Boyd's data shows it would cost almost $28.5 million a year to operate that model firm in Toronto compared to $26.8 million in Hamilton, and $27.1 million in Burlington. Cost of living here is more than 25 per cent lower than Toronto while the unemployment rate has fallen by 20 per cent compared to a rise of 1.4 per cent in Hogtown.
Syd Hamber, senior vice-president of commercial realtor J. J. Barnicke, one of the country's largest commercial real estate firms, warns the city has a lot left to do. He said such factors are one measure of a city's openness to business -- but questions that were not part of the survey, such as available labour supply or the speed of municipal officials in processing plans, are also critical.
By those measures, he said, "I'm not sure Hamilton is at the top of the list for business friendliness."
One of Hamilton's major weaknesses, all players agree, is a crippling lack of serviced industrial land.
"We're seeing a lot of buildings go up and they're being filled because companies are moving this way," said Neil Everson, the city's executive director of economic development. "That shows we're on the radar, but we need the product."
In related news yesterday, the Conference Board of Canada reported Hamilton's gross domestic product is expected to grow about 1.1 per cent this year, well behind the nation-leading 7 per cent growth of Saskatoon and Kitchener.
The board's autumn Metropolitan Outlook report said Kitchener's growth will be led by an outstanding year in the construction sector while Toronto "will under perform for the second time in three years," with growth of 2.2 per cent.
By Steve Arnold
The Hamilton Spectator
(Sep 30, 2005)
A national survey concludes Hamilton is the best place in Ontario to do business and one of the top 10 in Canada.
The survey by Canadian Business magazine ranked 40 cities on five measures including costs of operation, cost of living, growth in building permits changes in the unemployment rate and crime rate per 100,000 people. A combination of all those factors landed Hamilton in 6th place. Toronto ranked dead last and Burlington was listed in 11th spot. St. John's, Nfld. ranked first.
City officials rejoiced at the announcement, declaring it a validation of everything they've done over the last four years to make Hamilton a desirable location for businesses.
"This is a way for us to measure that we're really moving in the right direction," said Councillor Terry Whitehead, chairman of the planning and economic development committee. "I'm not saying that we've crossed the finish line, but its one form of measurement that we're heading in the right direction."
Data for the rankings was gathered from Statistics Canada, local police services and from a data bank owned by The Boyd Co. Inc., a New Jersey firm specializing in corporate relocations. The cost of operation number is based on a 300-employee firm working in a 50,000-square-foot mid-rise office building.
Company president John Boyd said the survey's focus on costs reflects what companies say they want.
"Quantitative issues are trumping qualitative ones now," Boyd said. "Venture capitalists are emphasizing lean and mean, telling clients to be as cost competitive as possible."
That new attitude, Boyd said, is making cities like Hamilton a real alternative to expensive Toronto.
Boyd's data shows it would cost almost $28.5 million a year to operate that model firm in Toronto compared to $26.8 million in Hamilton, and $27.1 million in Burlington. Cost of living here is more than 25 per cent lower than Toronto while the unemployment rate has fallen by 20 per cent compared to a rise of 1.4 per cent in Hogtown.
Syd Hamber, senior vice-president of commercial realtor J. J. Barnicke, one of the country's largest commercial real estate firms, warns the city has a lot left to do. He said such factors are one measure of a city's openness to business -- but questions that were not part of the survey, such as available labour supply or the speed of municipal officials in processing plans, are also critical.
By those measures, he said, "I'm not sure Hamilton is at the top of the list for business friendliness."
One of Hamilton's major weaknesses, all players agree, is a crippling lack of serviced industrial land.
"We're seeing a lot of buildings go up and they're being filled because companies are moving this way," said Neil Everson, the city's executive director of economic development. "That shows we're on the radar, but we need the product."
In related news yesterday, the Conference Board of Canada reported Hamilton's gross domestic product is expected to grow about 1.1 per cent this year, well behind the nation-leading 7 per cent growth of Saskatoon and Kitchener.
The board's autumn Metropolitan Outlook report said Kitchener's growth will be led by an outstanding year in the construction sector while Toronto "will under perform for the second time in three years," with growth of 2.2 per cent.
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Steeltown said:A grander, greener vision for Hatt Street
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IDEAS TO TRANSFORMHATT STREET’S IMAGE
Hatt Street, once the industrial hub of Dundas, is becoming more residential with an art school, theatre, arena and community centre. Planners say it could be an important element of the downtown area.
Among the scenarios proposed:
*Turning the old curling rink on Memorial Square, now a warehouse, into a farmers’ market or grocery store, converting the fire hall to a retail-and-office building if the emergency services ever decide to move.
* Creating a new armoury square with sculptures of prominent figures from Dundas history.
* Adding a fountain and making a public space or square beside the former town hall.
* Turning the banks of Spencer Creek into a landscaped park with lookout points.
* Hiding cars behind buildings by moving parking lots to the back as properties are redeveloped.
* Building new housing to blend in with existing heritage buildings, and replacing less desirable structures with upscale townhouses designed to fit the neighbourhood.
* Adding bicycle lanes to a rebuilt, landscaped Hatt Street.
Developer wants to fast track Hatt Street makeover plans
By Craig Campbell
News Staff
(Sep 30, 2005)
Richard Leibtag, the developer who converted an abandoned industrial site into one of Dundas' biggest residential and commercial developments, wants the city to speed up the redevelopment of Hatt Street using local money already set aside for that purpose.
Mr. Leibtag updated councillor Art Samson's community council on the Spencer Creek Village development last week. The second of four residential towers is almost ready for people to move in, while plans are being finalized senior's resort-style residence. Spencer Creek Centre commercial and office building is operating.
The multifaceted development is at the end of Hatt Street, where it meets Ogilvie Street, site of the former Bertram factory.
Former Dundas town councillors Helen Beswick, Russ Powers, Mr. Samson, and Kerry McNamara, a member of the current community council, were all at last week's meeting. Each played a role in the major development's approval process prior to the town's amalgamation with Hamilton.
Mr. McNamara asked about money which was raised in the early stages, to provide some sort of historical element to Hatt Street to recognize the town's industrial history. Mr. Powers said $1,150 was raised and set aside.
"It's not a huge amount, but it would be nice to have something," Mr. McNamara said.
Mr. Leibtag agreed: "I like the idea of putting that money toward pushing forward the reconstruction of Hatt Street. Now is the time to incorporate it."
Mr. Leibtag referred to the Hatt Street Urban Design Study, received by city council in August. The plan includes several possible projects ñ including a new Town Hall public square with fountain and community space at Market and Hatt streets ñ for preserving the streets heritage and streetscape.
Those plans, Mr. Leibtag figures, fit in well with what the $1,150 was raised for.
"I think everyone has to be proactive and push on that," he said. "Hopefully it doesn't become a dream of Hatt Street, but a reality of Hatt Street."
Mr. Samson agreed: "It's a wonderful plan, but the timeline has a lot to be desired."
None of the Hatt Street initiatives are expected until 2010 or later. No money has been allocated to the project. Staff in the City of Hamilton's planning and development division and finance department could not track down this specific fund. But Joe Rinaldo, the city's finance manager, said money earmarked for Hatt Street by the former town would have been set aside at amalgamation in a special capital reserve fund for initiative within Dundas.
That Dundas fund currently has a balance of $85,292.12. It has earned $37,297 in investment income and other contributions over the past four years and is projected to surpass $100,000 in the year 2010.
Since amalgamation, only three withdrawals have been made from the Dundas Capital Reserve, including $10,000 for Martino Park fencing and $27,000 for the planting of 153 trees in Dundas.
Dundas residents at last week's meeting commended Mr. Leibtag for not only converting a local eyesore and brownfield into an attractive residential and commercial feature, but also for already doing his part to recognize and honour Dundas' history with a special addition to the site.
His 20-foot tall Inukshuk, a stone structure with a long history in Canada's Arctic, has stood on the site for over four years. The outstretched arms are 12-feet long. Inukshuks serve as orientation marks on pathways used by Inuit hunters.
"As long as I'm around, it will stand there," Mr. Leibtag said.
The structure was built in one day by Mr. Leibtag and one other worker. They used stone from the original Bertram factory and didn't cut any of the pieces.
"They were taken from the original plant as is," Mr. Leibtag said. "The curved pieces are from a cradle carved into the stone for a slough that took water from Spencer Creek into Bertram's in 1870."
Mr. Leibtag said the Inukshuk is held together by nothing but gravity, the way the structures have always been built. The heaviest part is the top and it would be difficult to take it down.
"I hope it stands forever," he said.
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Forgotten home finds new life
By Erin Rankin
News Staff
(Sep 30, 2005)
Historic home saved from wrecking ball thanks to Hamilton lawyer
Just when it seemed the fate of one of Ancaster's historic homes was the wrecking ball, an old friend returned. Bob Wilkins, an Ancaster resident and Hamilton lawyer, has made an offer to buy 286 Wilson St. E.
Mr. Wilkins said he bought the building for lots of reasons, most of them sentimental.
"I wanted to make sure it was preserved and fixed up rather than torn down," he said.
In 1976, Mr. Wilkins started his law practice with Richard Horodyski and rented the little red brick bungalow from the city until the early 1980s when both of them moved to Gowlings law firm in downtown Hamilton.
Mr. Wilkins said he wants to repair the building and rent it out to commercial tenants in the near future.
For the last several decades the city has owned the one-storey home. The building has such an enigmatic past it has made it difficult to determine exactly when and how the city came to own the property next to Ancaster's library.
John Clifford, an 82-year-old Ancaster resident seems to have the most knowledge on its past.
He told The News the building at one time was owned by Alf Hanley, who owned a number of buildings around the village.
About 70 years ago, Mr. Hanley had the building dragged by tractor from Filman Road to its present location after a previous building had burnt down. The building was later bricked in.
It then became the home of Jim and Belle Carter. Mr. Carter worked as a gardener for the Dalley's at Mansfield Park (the site of the Hamilton Golf and Country Club). Ms. Carter lived in the home until her death many years later.
Last January, the city put the building up for sale to help pay for renovations at the Ancaster library.
This spring, the building's only tenant- the local sexual health clinic, was shut and the house was put on the open market for $135,000.
Bill Farkas, the city's real estate manager, said he received a total of three offers for the property.
Mr. Farkas is now in the process of closing the deal with Mr. Wilkins and his partner.
The purchase of 296 Wilson St. E. is not only good news for the building but has members of the Village Core Advisory Committee heaving a sigh of relief.
The committee, which represents businesses and historical interests in the village, has been actively trying to preserve the historic nature of the streetscape.
Much of their work has been centred on what they call the "core," an area around Old Town Hall, Tisdale House, Hammill House and the Municipal Building.
Mr. Buchko agreed it would have been disastrous if 286 Wilson St. E., which is not in the core but is adjacent, had been bought and torn down.
"It's good news from the perspective the building won't be vacant and it will remain as it is, which will preserve the current streetscape," said Walter Buchko, an architect and chair of the committee.
Mr. Buchko said there is no doubt the building faced an uncertain future before its purchase.
With no parking, he said it wasn't likely to be attractive to many commercial interests.
Mr. Buchko said he's not concerned as to the new tenants.
"As long as what goes in is viable over the long term. The last thing we want is a vacant property," he said.
By Erin Rankin
News Staff
(Sep 30, 2005)
Historic home saved from wrecking ball thanks to Hamilton lawyer
Just when it seemed the fate of one of Ancaster's historic homes was the wrecking ball, an old friend returned. Bob Wilkins, an Ancaster resident and Hamilton lawyer, has made an offer to buy 286 Wilson St. E.
Mr. Wilkins said he bought the building for lots of reasons, most of them sentimental.
"I wanted to make sure it was preserved and fixed up rather than torn down," he said.
In 1976, Mr. Wilkins started his law practice with Richard Horodyski and rented the little red brick bungalow from the city until the early 1980s when both of them moved to Gowlings law firm in downtown Hamilton.
Mr. Wilkins said he wants to repair the building and rent it out to commercial tenants in the near future.
For the last several decades the city has owned the one-storey home. The building has such an enigmatic past it has made it difficult to determine exactly when and how the city came to own the property next to Ancaster's library.
John Clifford, an 82-year-old Ancaster resident seems to have the most knowledge on its past.
He told The News the building at one time was owned by Alf Hanley, who owned a number of buildings around the village.
About 70 years ago, Mr. Hanley had the building dragged by tractor from Filman Road to its present location after a previous building had burnt down. The building was later bricked in.
It then became the home of Jim and Belle Carter. Mr. Carter worked as a gardener for the Dalley's at Mansfield Park (the site of the Hamilton Golf and Country Club). Ms. Carter lived in the home until her death many years later.
Last January, the city put the building up for sale to help pay for renovations at the Ancaster library.
This spring, the building's only tenant- the local sexual health clinic, was shut and the house was put on the open market for $135,000.
Bill Farkas, the city's real estate manager, said he received a total of three offers for the property.
Mr. Farkas is now in the process of closing the deal with Mr. Wilkins and his partner.
The purchase of 296 Wilson St. E. is not only good news for the building but has members of the Village Core Advisory Committee heaving a sigh of relief.
The committee, which represents businesses and historical interests in the village, has been actively trying to preserve the historic nature of the streetscape.
Much of their work has been centred on what they call the "core," an area around Old Town Hall, Tisdale House, Hammill House and the Municipal Building.
Mr. Buchko agreed it would have been disastrous if 286 Wilson St. E., which is not in the core but is adjacent, had been bought and torn down.
"It's good news from the perspective the building won't be vacant and it will remain as it is, which will preserve the current streetscape," said Walter Buchko, an architect and chair of the committee.
Mr. Buchko said there is no doubt the building faced an uncertain future before its purchase.
With no parking, he said it wasn't likely to be attractive to many commercial interests.
Mr. Buchko said he's not concerned as to the new tenants.
"As long as what goes in is viable over the long term. The last thing we want is a vacant property," he said.
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3,701 Posts
Finally got pictures of Chateau Royale, which is a luxury condominium building, though there crappy pictures, I was in a rush.
Before the Chateau Royale it used to be two separate office buildings.
![Image]()
Chateau Royale is still under construction, only been under construction ohhh I dunno 2 or 3 years lol sheesh.
![Image]()
On the left where you see a yellow and blue pole is the Hamilton GO station, pretty convenient if you live at Chateau.
![Image]()
![Image]()
On the bottom right is a potential retail space.....my spidey senses is telling me Starbucks
![Image]()
Well waiting for my bus I took a picture of the St. Joseph tower, it's about 4 or 5 months old
![Image]()
Before the Chateau Royale it used to be two separate office buildings.
Chateau Royale is still under construction, only been under construction ohhh I dunno 2 or 3 years lol sheesh.
On the left where you see a yellow and blue pole is the Hamilton GO station, pretty convenient if you live at Chateau.
On the bottom right is a potential retail space.....my spidey senses is telling me Starbucks
Well waiting for my bus I took a picture of the St. Joseph tower, it's about 4 or 5 months old
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