Page 1 - APRIL-Issue Final

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APRILY 2019 | VOLUME 24 | OFFICE@NORTHENDBREEZES.COM | WWW.NORTHENDBREEZES.COM | @NORTHENDBREEZES | FACEBOOK.COM/NORTHENDBREEZES
UNDER CONSTRUCTION:
NENA CREATES A PLANNING COMMITTEE
housing units could be included in the redevelopment.
There are also at least two other development projects
currently in the planning process for James Street North,
and one—the Hughson Street Baptist/Indwell supportive
housing project at Picton—under construction. And south
of the rail corridor, adjacent to the new West Harbour GO
station, there are two 10+ storey development projects in
the planning approval process. One of them was recently
denied approval by City Council and has been appealed
by the developer to the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal
(LPAT), which replaced the Ontario Municipal Board
(OMB) in 2017. Planning Staff recommended against
approval on the basis the proposed development was too
large for its site.
Finally, after an RFP process similar to what will unfold
for Jamesville, last summer City Council selected the de-
velopment consortium Waterfront Shores as the preferred
proponent for the redevelopment of Pier 8. Plans to rede-
They say most people don’t pay attention to planning residents before plans for the demolition and rebuild of velop the West Harbour waterfront along the western and
until the bulldozer is next door. Well, if you’ve glanced the John Street bridge were finalized? northern rim of the North End go back decades, with the
southward up John Street recently you’ve likely seen a Similarly, you may have noticed many boarded-up win- most recent iteration having been determined during the
large excavator working away, piling up chunks of con- dows while passing by the Jamesville townhouses, par- Setting Sail planning process in 2004-05. Current plans
crete and steel. Did you know this was being planned? ticularly along Strachan. For several years now, James- are focused on redevelopment of the Piers 6-8 area that
Do you know what the new bridge will look like? Will it ville has slowly been emptied of residents as plans for its stretches between the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club and
be taller or have safer sightlines than the old bridge? Do redevelopment have percolated. HMS Haida, with the end result being an Urban Water-
we need a bridge crossing at John Street? front Neighbourhood that includes a mixed-used devel-
If your answer is no or I’m not sure, do you want answers In May 2017, a RFEOI (request for expression of inter- opment on Pier 8 and commercial village on Piers 6-7.
est) was launched by CityHousing Hamilton, the City’s
or more information? social housing agency, to seek development concepts and Zoning changes, under appeal at the LPAT, would permit
The truth is some people have been paying attention project partners to transform Jamesville into a mixed-in- over 1600 new residential units and more than 200,000
and asking questions over the years. Long before nearby come community. square feet of commercial floor space on these lands. To
property owners received notice that work was about to The future of the site will be determined by an RFP (re- consider these numbers in proper context: the Marina
commence in January of this year, people involved with quest for proposals) process that was to commence early Towers at the end of John Street North contain about 250
the North End Neighbourhood Association (NENA) had this year. Details have not been made publicly available, housing units, while the plaza at the corner of James and
been asking for updates on the status of the John Street but there are currently 91 townhouses on the site and the Burlington contains approximately 13,000 square feet of
Bridge and CN’s plans to demolish and rebuild it. Hamilton Spectator reported in February that up to 650 commercial floor space.
Why? Because bridges are important pieces of infrastruc- STORY CONTINUED ON PAGE 7
ture and serve as entrance and exit points to the North
End. They also influence the nature and volume of traf-
Jason Farr
fic on neighbourhood streets. Before all-way stops were Councillor, Ward 2 - Downtown
installed last fall, the intersection at John and Strachan ALWAYS ENGAGING
was dangerous for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians. Cars 71 Main Street West
Hamilton, ON L8P 4Y5
travelling northbound came down the John Street Bridge Telephone: 905-546-2711
at high-speed, only slowing when they reached Simcoe Fax: 905-546-2535
Street. E-mail: jason.farr@hamilton.ca
www.jasonfarr.com
Given the design of the new bridge will shape how traffic
flows into this part of the North End, shouldn’t there have 20 Hughson St. S., Suite 200, Hamilton, Ontario L8N 2A1
been at least one meeting held to consult with interested 905-544-9644 | ahorwath-co@ndp.on.ca