Raise the Hammer
Toronto has officially noticed Hamilton. A January 5 article in the Toronto Star interviews a recent transplant from Riverdale who bought 'twice the house for half the price'.
The article skips past Hamilton's sprawling suburbs, identical to Toronto's, and comes to rest in Hamilton's downtown core, a land of cheap urban houses, a revitalizing James North arts district, restaurants and amenities, and an underdeveloped condo market.
This segues smoothly into a special on Harry Stinson, the bankrupt Toronto condo developer who has moved to Hamilton and has his sights set on the stalled Royal Connaught Hotel redevelopment, which braces the Gore and, as the article puts it, "looks to be the perfect place for 'Stinsonizing.'"
Fed up with the development scene in Toronto, Harry Stinson sees acres of opportunity in Hamilton, a city he now calls home.
Viewing Hamilton's Gore Park, centrally located between Main, King and James Streets, he called it "the perfect urban square."
With small-scale buildings facing the part and a feeling of enclosure, The Gore, at it's sometimes called, has the intimacy of a European square.
With a current Downtown BIA that doesn't seem to see the Gore's potential as a vibrant people place, the infusion of new ideas (and, as Stinson moves out of bankruptcy, new capital) will be a much-needed catalyst for more reinvestment.
Hamilton house prices are cheap for a reason...it's not their current value that should encourage people to move, it's their potential value. What reasons do Torontonians have to believe that Hamilton will become a cool place to live anytime soon?
As always, you get whay you pay for...
As for Stinson, well, he stung a lot of people in Toronto. He has to vision for sure, but whether he can attarct any backers is yet to be seen.
By jason (registered) | Posted January 07, 2008 at 11:35:03
let's hope the downtown BIA doesn't try to block him and run him out of town.
By blinklist (anonymous) | Posted January 08, 2008 at 08:12:44
Now just wait a minute. The third paragraph of Ryan's article describes Mr. Stinson as "the bankrupt Toronto condo developer who has moved to Hamilton".
The Toronto Star article indicates Mr. Stinson's Bull's Lane area Hamilton Home as "The house, which he is believed to have purchased for more than $800,000".
Please show me how that is done. I will buy more than just one home! What is the street in Hamilton that this is possible to do it on?
By seancb (registered) - website | Posted January 08, 2008 at 11:37:48
Get a good accountant and you too can live the life of luxury while being penniless in the eyes of the government. It's capitalism at work!
By Capitalist (anonymous) | Posted January 08, 2008 at 14:48:42
seancb,
It is not capitalism at work it is a ridiculously complicated tax system at work that is full of giant loopholes. That is not capitalism.
By joejoe (anonymous) | Posted January 08, 2008 at 16:53:20
No, it's cronyism. Cronyism, Capitalism...does anyone know the difference?
By city watcher (anonymous) | Posted January 23, 2008 at 13:14:11
F.Y.I. the article in the Star was written by a Hamilton journalist/resident - Kathy Renwald writes a garden column in the Spec - she's well placed living downtown to be in the know, therefore the good article!
By newtohamilton (anonymous) | Posted February 07, 2008 at 13:43:58
In regards to the bankruptcy and Harry Stinson, I think journalists say he went bankrupt when in fact it was Stinson's two companies, Stinson Hospitality Inc., and Dominion Club of Canada Corp that went bankrupt.
The wonder is really the wonder of a Limited Liability company. Creditors can only go after the assets of the company and not assets of the owners/shareholders.
By highwater (registered) | Posted February 07, 2008 at 21:34:21
Harry, is that you?
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