Hamilton Beasley Park Lofts | ?m | 30s | Stinson

[Paclo]

More renders from the project website:

 

[AlbertC]

From Oct 2022. The original article on the Spec is paywalled, but part of the piece is available on the alternate link below:

‘This will financially destroy me’: Hamilton condo buyer says Knitting Mill delays will cost him his home

David Andrec put down a deposit on a Hamilton condo five years ago, but that agreement — and a purchase price he could actually afford — will likely expire before the Beasley Park Lofts are built.

www.thespec.com

'This will financially destroy me': Hamilton condo buyer says Knitting Mill delays will cost him his home

David Andrec put down a deposit on a Hamilton condo five years ago, but that agreement — and a purchase price he could actually afford — will likely expire…

news.knowledia.com

‘This will financially destroy me’: Hamilton condo buyer says Knitting Mill delays will cost him his home​

David Andrec says he is watching in helpless disbelief as his dream of affordable Hamilton condo ownership dies in slow motion at the former Cannon Knitting Mills.

It's an increasingly common condo conundrum for would-be buyers across the Greater Toronto Area disappointed by cancelled projects or refunded deposits.

The Hamilton native bought in early as an "enthusiastic supporter" of the long-planned condo project pitched by developer Harry Stinson near Beasley Park. He put down a $60,000 deposit in 2016 for a one-bedroom unit with parking that — at the time — was to cost around $184,000 in total.

More than five years later, Andrec said he has been warned the project is unlikely to be completed before his contract expires — and if he wants to buy in later, the same unit could cost three times as much.

"I put down the biggest deposit I could at the time … I moved to Newfoundland while I waited because I couldn't even afford to rent in Ontario," said Andrec, who argues his contract should be extended to honour his original purchase price. "This will financially destroy me. How is this fair?"

It's a particularly bitter pill for Andrec, who said he only started shopping for Hamilton condos after losing a pre-construction unit in Toronto to similar delays.

Stinson said while many original Knitting Mill condo buyers lost patience and took their deposit money elsewhere, Andrec's contract has been extended in the past and it remains valid — for now. "We've never pushed anybody out," said Stinson, who is best known locally for school redevelopments as well as an unrealized plan to…

 

[turbanplanner]

From Oct 2022. The original article on the Spec is paywalled, but part of the piece is available on the alternate link below:

‘This will financially destroy me’: Hamilton condo buyer says Knitting Mill delays will cost him his home

David Andrec put down a deposit on a Hamilton condo five years ago, but that agreement — and a purchase price he could actually afford — will likely expire before the Beasley Park Lofts are built.

www.thespec.com

'This will financially destroy me': Hamilton condo buyer says Knitting Mill delays will cost him his home

David Andrec put down a deposit on a Hamilton condo five years ago, but that agreement — and a purchase price he could actually afford — will likely expire…

news.knowledia.com

‘This will financially destroy me’: Hamilton condo buyer says Knitting Mill delays will cost him his home​

I don't know how to feel, like Harry has a really great vision but delay is his middle name. If I go to a mechanic or phone repair place I look at reviews to see what I'm getting into.

Did anyone really expect things to get off the ground on time?

 

[Chris R.]

New Formal Consultation here:

FC-23-101

"To develop 2 towers (14 and 30-storeys respectively) atop a 6-storey podium which incorporates the existing heritage building. Includes 458 residential units, 63 commercial units, 95 office units and 59 hotel units. Includes 328 parking spaces."

Likelihood this time it will get started? 3%

 

[AHK]

New Formal Consultation here:

FC-23-101

"To develop 2 towers (14 and 30-storeys respectively) atop a 6-storey podium which incorporates the existing heritage building. Includes 458 residential units, 63 commercial units, 95 office units and 59 hotel units. Includes 328 parking spaces."

Likelihood this time it will get started? 3%

Well, given Harry's record, at a 3% likelihood, if anything you may be erroring on the optimistic side...

 

[KingJames]

What is Harry living off these days? Poor guy.

 

[onetimetoomany]

What is Harry living off these days? Poor guy.

I saw him get out of his Tesla the other day so I'm thinking he's living fine.

 

[Towered]

We all love to make fun of the guy, but I'd probably trade with him.

 

[AHK]

We all love to make fun of the guy, but I'd probably trade with him.

Well, Harry may be fine personally, but for his investors and purchasers I think it may be another matter. A history of failed projects, either never built or financially restructured. Purchasers who lost their payments, and so on. A developer can draw a salary from a project, and when it fails, walk away while the creditors take the hit.

 

[Paclo]

Updated renderings from Stinson:

Fly-around video:

 

[Chris R.]

Should spend more time planning the thing, and less time making fancy renders. The most realistic render is one that is just the current building but in worse shape. This guy is a snake oil salesman.

 

[innsertnamehere]

The renderings match his latest consultation request with the City:

To develop 2 towers (14 and 30-storeys respectively) atop a 6-storey podium which incorporates the existing heritage building. Includes 458 residential units, 63 commercial units, 95 office units and 59 hotel units. Includes 328 parking spaces.

 

[AlbertC]

Hamilton-based developer Harry Stinson could face huge penalties for breaking securities law

A tribunal has ruled the developer broke the law while soliciting funds for a hotel redevelopment in Buffalo

www.thespec.com

September 23, 2023

Developer Harry Stinson is facing up to a $1-million fine and repayment of more than $13 million solicited for a star-crossed Buffalo hotel redevelopment after he was found to have broken Ontario securities law.

But the Hamilton-based developer argued Tuesday for a much smaller fine — and a repayment plan conditional on the completion or sale of his fire-ravaged hotel project — at a hearing held remotely before the Capital Markets Tribunal.

The tribunal, an adjudicative arm of the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC), earlier found Stinson breached securities rules but has not yet issued a decision on sanctions.

In an interview, Stinson said he would consider appealing to Ontario divisional court any decision that “endangers the successful completion” of the hotel redevelopment project.

“The protection of investor funds is best accomplished by seeing this through … by either reopening the hotel and refinancing, or reopening and selling,” he said. “What’s proposed (by the commission) will not assist with that.”

Stinson, 70, acknowledged the long-running OSC investigation has been a “huge distraction” and “slowed the pace” of work on local projects like a rental loft conversion of the former Gibson school and the oft-changing redevelopment of the Cannon Knitting Mills.

But he argued both projects are unrelated to the Buffalo Grand securities probe and remain viable, with a new application for a taller Knitting Mills tower now filed with the city.

 

[AlbertC]

Article from Dec 2023:

Tribunal hits Hamilton developer Harry Stinson with hefty sanctions over Buffalo hotel project

Tribunal orders repayment of more than $13 million in investors’ funds for Buffalo hotel project

www.thespec.com

The tribunal's ruling “certainly doesn't help” and “creates a cloud” around his ventures, but his two long-standing Hamilton projects are moving forward, nonetheless, Stinson says.

When he bought the Cannon Knitting Mills for $3 million in 2016, Stinson announced plans for a six-storey condo redevelopment that also included retail space and a boutique hotel.

After shooting for considerably higher, Stinson says he's now settling at 15 storeys after recent talks with city planning staff and focused on sorting out "nitty-gritty" details.

Sales for smaller-sized office spaces in the sprawling former industrial complex at Cannon and Mary streets have been brisk, and interest in full-sized classroom units at the old Gibson school at Barton just west of Sherman Avenue North are greater than anticipated, Stinson notes.