Raise the Hammer

I feel like the people who are interested and engaged in the plight of downtown Hamilton are like battered wives. We keep on saying that this time it'll be different, and now things are going to change, but evidence keeps showing us that there's always another kick in the teeth waiting around the corner.

As somebody who has seen the effects of domestic abuse first hand your anology is poor and offensive.

Lamenting over a couple of buildings does not even compare to the horror of spousal abuse

I totally get your point but the comparison maybe isn't as bad as you make out. It's not just a "couple of buildings", it's the devastation of most of the downtown over decades and the huge toll of misery and despair that has come with that. Real human lives, real families, their communities ruined, their people scattered. Am I being melodramatic? I don't think so. Walk around some of the "sacrifice zones", really take a look. Future generations will look back and wonder how we let such ghettoes grow and fester when we should have known better.

This is getting off topic, so I will say my piece and that will be it for me on this..

Firstly, stating a "couple of buildings" can be seen a trivializing this topic so I will give you that. I have walked downtown and I have seen a lot of damage done to its character. I have always supported adaptive reuse and keeping our old building wherever possible.

However, as somebody with a sister who has suffered domestic abuse I saw a glimpse of what she went through and I do not want to imagine the rest.

As much as I love this city I grew up in I cannot bring myself to compare any tangible brick and mortar in this town to what she (or anybody else) went through.

Not to sound to much like a PC thug but we can ALL (including myself) choose our words more carefully at times. It felt James used a poor metaphor and I still do.

I admire the passion people here have for the city but we need to choose our comparisons more wisely. There are people who have problems sor great that the preservation of buildings are the last thing on their minds.

I want to believe to Ryan....I'll consider it a small miracle of the front half of those Gore building don't encounter a 'whoops' while the back half is being taken off. Perhaps Premi knows something we all don't. Anytime I've heard Blanchard talk, he sounds like a guy not really concerned with building anything in the next decade.
I trust Premi though. Great architect who loves downtown and wants the best for our city.

I agree with Ryan: I want to believe that the "developers" are not actually "land speculators", but we've been burned so many times in the past that anyone proposing to demolish without a firm plan to re-build in the short term shouldn't be surprised at the backlash. In fact, I thought there was a City by-law that enforces re-development within a year or two of demolition, but if there is, it seems to be pretty ineffective.

Blanchard himself has a very mixed record: he was involved with the successful Piggot/Sun Life and Bank of Montreal re-developments, but he demolished an office building and the old Royal Bank building and the sites have been vacant lots (or parking lots) for over ten years. And this is just around the corner from his newest demolition project. So we have reason to be skeptical.

As the Lister, Connaught and huge expanses of surface parking lots downtown have shown, premature demolition can set back a whole district for decades as each land owner waits for someone else to make an investment so they can reap a wind-fall profit with no effort (except waiting). Eventually, this will happen, but in the meantime downtown has had several lost decades that have cost billions in missed investment, economic activity and jobs.

As we've seen in the recent debate over the the Gore demolitions, many RTH readers feel personally concerned because they have invested their own money and work into restoring buildings and starting businesses in the core. We know what can be done, and are frustrated by a tendency by those with real resources to do so little, and to seemingly have little respect or love for the built heritage and urban design of the city.

Comment edited by kevlahan on 2013-01-18 10:38:44

You paint too many of your wins as losses because you didn't get exactly what you want Ryan.

Urban stadium instead of suburban... win for you, perceived by you as a loss. 30 km/h speed limits established in James N. neighbourhood (except on 2 main arteries) win for you, perceived by you as a loss. Facades to be maintained on Gore building... win for you, again perceived by you as a loss.

The glass is half-empty routine is getting a little tired. If you don't claim these things as wins, it is your loss. People will continue to sit back and say "Well what does the RTH crowd do but complain". If you don't take credit for those positive changes and quit presenting them as negatives don't expect anyone else to give you the credit.

You should be proud to say you helped prevent a suburban stadium from being built but instead you can't see past the fact you didn't get exactly what you wanted to see that you got most of what you wanted.

You need to celebrate your little wins more and tone down the negative vibe a bit. This city isn't all doom and gloom. In fact it is pretty cool. Good restaurants, good book stores, good record stores, galleries, cafes, a respected college and university and nature at our doorstep from botanical gardens to beaches. Perhaps too much complaining about what way traffic flows may be distracting you from some of these very positive things?

Comment edited by Kiely on 2013-01-18 11:20:35

I understand your sentiment, especially with respect to the comments on the 30km/h speed limits established in the North End, but remember that without pushing back developers seldom do more than the minimum required for their project to succeed (for them). I do wish that Ryan had more to be positive about, but when I see all the empty parking lots downtown and see that we "needed" to lose the District School Board HQ to make room for Mac Downtown, I realize his and others frustration.

Comment edited by RobF on 2013-01-18 12:26:58

Of course you have to push back, but you have to take the inches they give you before you can claim the feet.

Ahh, how refreshing. There's nothing quite like setting your sights as low as possible. That way you're never disappointed!

What's this about grabbing your feet and taking some inches and pushing back? I didn't know this was that kind of site.

They were going to knock down 3 buildings without a plan to replace them, now they're only going to knock down 2.5 buildings without a plan to replace them and there's nothing stopping them from knocking down the last .5 if they change their mind later. Some win, let me break out the bubbly.

these are 'wins' like the Leafs winning the last 7 games of their season to go from getting a top 3 draft pick to a 9th or 10th draft pick.

Sometimes I wonder about all this. One thing that is desparately needed is affordable housing, yet that is no where in sight. Yes, I remember the backlash and poor bashing that went on during the campaign to turn the Connaught into affordable housing.I was truly ashamed of many who added their voices into this.

What about living wage jobs? Do not seem to be many them either and even if hotels are built, they are low wage jobs, with no access to pensions or benefits. That is why hotel workers in Toronto organized.

With Hudak's new messaging, that all people on OW, who cannot find jobs, will be cut off, leaving them to basically die in the streets, he is also calling for the privatization of all adminstration of social benefits.

How many of you out there will vote for this clown, meanwhile, if he did get elected, how many of your fellow citizens will be left with nothing.

"How many of you out there will vote for this clown"

Ancaster Dundas Flamborough Westdale - Ted McMeekin, Liberal

Hamilton Centre - Andrea Horwath, NDP

Hamilton East-Stoney Creek - Paul Miller, NDP

Hamilton Mountain - Monique Taylor, NDP

You have to go to Niagara West to find a Conservative (Tim Hudak himself, infact.)

If the ridings re-structure to follow the federal plans, Westdale/Dundas may be rejiggered into West Hamilton and Ancaster-Flamborough-Glanbrook might be a riding, and that would likely elect a conservative.

When has a developer ultimately lost? This is a bad concept that rewards absentee unimaginative property owners. For example, the Lister Block should have been taken out of the hands of those who were flagrantly and systematically destroying a historic site. What ended up happening, they changed their tune (its falling down/apart) to we love heritage. Why? Because we gave them tens of millions of dollars. Lets not go down that road again.

Blanchard should be considered a failed businessman. He bought the buildings did nothing but undermine their integrity by apparently (I would argue Premi exaggerates or blatantly lies)not doing any renovation or maintenance. Now they sit, arguably, financially unviable so he wants to tear them down. This makes no sense. Preservation outweighs personal profit here.

Otherwise Blanchard should, put the buildings up for sale. He bought buildings not just the lots. Let the "market" decide whether these need to be torn down. The city is much different now and there are new interests and perspectives in town. Its time the Blanchards, Premi's wake up to this. These ridiculous ideas need to be dismissed and real quality projects supported.

Is it possible to duplicate the original facades of the buildings that will be razed with new materials?

Anything's possible. But why would you? The only way that would make economic sense is if the replacement was utter crap. If you replace it with the same quality of construction, it costs you more. It's simple math.

Of course it is. They were talking about doing just that initially with the Lister block.

Imagine living in this city for two or three generations before the advent of social media, bearing witness to these demolitions one after another. Do so and you will never be quick to begrudge lifelong Hamiltonians their hide of pessimism.

"Basically what the neighbours get is a view of parking...Ideally, the plaza would fit into a grander vision for that part of the city...I think it’s surprising how utilitarian it looks."

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/872097--what-s-wrong-and-right-about-the-new-stadium-design

I was bored, so I started messing around with some free photo software. Here are the results...

1.) Main St as a two way, with tracks for streetcars/LRT.

http://i50.tinypic.com/2v1uikm.png

2.) Two way Main St with streetcar.

http://i49.tinypic.com/2ngh6a1.png

3.) Main and James with streetcars.

http://i47.tinypic.com/8vog1x.png

4.) King and James new investment.

http://i50.tinypic.com/157og3p.png

"...somewhere in the neighbourhood of 900 units."

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/872232--stars-align-at-royal-connaught

I thought they had decided against gambling as a revitalization strategy.

In a neighbouring downtown, plans for a 22-storey condo with an eight-storey, four-star Delta hotel containing 152 luxury suites next door. TBC: 2016

http://ourburlington.org/?p=16252

I am willing to believe but I want to act!

I am willing to believe that the developer is a good guy with the best intentions for the downtown. He appears to have saved and restored a number of buildings in the downtown area. He is willing to be flexible and change some of his plans for two of the four historical buildings on King Street East. He is willing to invest millions of dollars in development when many properties generate almost no income or stand vacate until they decay or burn down.

I am willing to believe that the City’s Economic Planning Council and City Council as a whole wants the very best for the people of Hamilton. They want to bring people back to the core and raise their families and enjoy the many great things that this ambitious city has to offer. They want both small and large businesses to thrive. They want people to find good paying jobs that allow them to generate more jobs and more taxes and more services.

I want to believe and I do believe.

So, why are we surprised when the Planning Council or City Council want to say yes to developers who are willing to invest millions of dollars in our City?

Are we really so surprised that developers, who have grand visions and act with the best intentions, run into problems caused by unexpected costs, hidden structural problems, and hiccups with financial backing?

Anyone who buys an old house or renovates a bathroom knows that nothing turns out as originally planned.

Crap happens!

Does this mean losing two 1870's buildings is acceptable?

My answer is no!

The buildings of Gore Park are the physical and spiritual heart of this City. Any changes to this area must be given careful consideration, particularly when it affects buildings with history.

Buildings matters, architecture matters, landscape matters, and history matters!

Even trees matter, and if you doubt this just go to the library and look at the reaction of folks in the Hamilton Spectator to the cutting down of century old trees in 1983.

Urban landscapes matters because it affects our experience of that space and as a result, we are all stakeholders and we have a right to say how that space is used.

If you believe that we should leave it to the developers or the politician, you simply don’t know your history of the city, particularly when it comes to Gore Park.

Ask yourself, what happens if the condo market goes bust and we are left with a bunch of empty glass boxes? Was that worth the destroying of our history?

My family has lived or worked in this city more than 100 years and I want to know that before you destroy something that it will be replaced by something of greater value.

Turning our backs on the past is not the solution. It actually robs the character that many urban dwellers are seeking. We used to live on Bold Street for a number of years in a 1850's stone and brick building with twelve foot ceilings, two great fireplaces and thick, thick walls. We had a nice little coffee shop around the corner and the YMCA five minutes away.

When we sat on the porch we were surrounded by beautiful 1860's to 1910's buildings that had been modernized into apartments units that are now attracting top rents. The developer of these buildings knew their value and knew that his investment in saving these buildings would pay off.

This is one vision for the City; another is the countless 1970's apartment buildings just up the street.

It is our city, the kind of development we get is our choice – all we need to do is act!

According to an article by Teri Pecoskie posted on thespec.com this afternoon, The Residences of Royal Connaught condominium project will commence this year and the first phase will be done by 2015: http://www.thespec.com/news/local/articl...

Here is a link to the latest rendering: http://media.thespec.com/images/dd/0b/43...

Comment edited by RenaissanceWatcher on 2013-01-21 19:03:24

"Valeri and Spallacci say they plan to open a presentation centre for The Residences of Royal Connaught in the hotel’s three-storey lobby this summer."

Wasn't this a two-storey lobby?

The Staybrige looks like an Offivce biulding .. lol

Ryan,

Rather than all this natter about wanting to "believe" why doesn't the RTH community actually do something about it?

Start a kickstarter.com campaign, raise a million bucks. Take it to the bank and get mortgage financing and buy one of these old Hamilton buildings.

Then negotiate a deal with a developer, and build something you think will enhance our community?