Grow the Downtown Hamilton Area by utilizing the site’s prime urban location and proximity to two GO Stations which make it easily accessible to current and future residents and workers.
Client: Harlo Capital
Location: Hamilton, ON
Scale: Master Plan
Size: 3.45 acres
Project Duration: 2019
77 James Street North is a 3.54-acre site home to the Hamilton City Centre mall, which was built in 1990 by Cadillac Fairview and originally named The Eaton Centre. The property is located approximately 650 m from the Hamilton GO Centre and 1 km from the West Harbour GO Station. It is situated in the Downtown Hamilton Secondary Plan which intends to guide development in the area over the next 15 years. The City has set the goal of
accommodating between 5,000 – 6,000 new dwelling units (8,500 – 10,000 people) in the downtown, and the transformation of this site into a complete, mixed-use development will help it significantly along the way.
There is a huge opportunity for the site with the potential of residential and commercial development in this downtown core area to allow for more sustainable growth that strategically aligns with objectives in Hamilton’s Official Plan.
There are a few active and approved applications for tall buildings within Hamilton’s downtown, all of which are required to be below the height of the Niagara Escarpment (95 m or 30-storeys).
Downtown Hamilton is recognized as one of 25 Urban Growth Centres (UGC) in A Place to Grow: Growth Plan for the Greater Golden Horseshoe. UGCs are intended to support future intensification and “accommodate significant population and employment growth”. The Growth Plan directs the area to
support a minimum of 200 people and jobs per hectare by 2031. The Urban Hamilton Official Plan has itself set a minimum gross density target of 250 by this time.
Why? Hamilton is growing quickly and has a vision for the future of its downtown as a healthy, safe, comfortable, accessible, and prosperous community that promotes a high quality of life.
