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Long-stalled James Baptist project hit by marketplace 'complications'​

May 27, 2024 | Hamilton Spectator, The: Web Edition Articles (Ontario, Canada)
Author/Byline: Hamilton Spectator | Section: news/hamilton-region



A partially demolished downtown Hamilton church and an aspirational 30-storey condo tower a decade in the making remain in flux as weeds grow on its rubble-strewn site.

Developers behind the James Street Baptist property, where the Connolly project has been planned since a previous owner partly razed the 146-year-old church in 2014, say they're reassessing their plan.

In an email to the city requesting an extended heritage permit, a representative said "several setbacks" have delayed the James Street South project.

"As you know the current marketplace is experiencing complications with elevated interest rates and delays due to supply-chain disruption, labour shortages and cost escalation," wrote Michael Budovitch, a principal with 98 James South (2022) Inc.

"We have been working with our architect on the building mix to design a mix of products that is appropriate for today's marketplace, as larger suites have resulted in price points that are not affordable," he said.

"Several options are available to us, however, will need more time with consultants to finalize the marketing mix. The goal is to achieve the ultimate product mix which will be saleable and create profit at the end."

The target for a sales launch is this fall or spring next year, noted Budovitch, who didn't respond to a request for comment.

His correspondence asks the city to extend by one year a heritage permit the developers need to move their project forward.

That extension to March 2025 follows the recent expiry of a previous year-long extension granted in the spring of 2023.

In a report before the heritage committee Friday, staff noted the newly extended permit would hold the developers to property- and building-related tasks laid out in their request letter.

The Connolly project has had more than one false start since a Toronto developer knocked the old church down in 2014.

Louie Santaguida had aspired to incorporate the facade into a future condo building, but amid financial troubles in 2017, those efforts fell apart.

In 2019, Hue Developments bought the property and announced plans to resurrect the project with an infusion of capital.

Then in 2022, Allen Le Nam said his firm, a subsidiary of a larger Vietnam-based corporation, had to pull the plug due to pandemic-related woes.

In August that year, 98 James South (2022) Inc. bought the parcel.

The long-stalled project is troubling, Coun. Cameron Kroetsch said.

"It bothers me. There are many sites downtown like this."

The development industry faces headwinds, but Hamilton is struggling through a housing crunch, the Ward 2 councillor said.

"So I get it, but we're in a housing crisis and so when there's a housing crisis, you have to build housing."

Despite frustration with the idled site, Kroetsch told the heritage committee Friday he was heartened to see the permit extension come with conditions that the owners must meet by specific dates:

Cleanup of the site must be done by Aug. 31;stabilization and restoration of the facade must start in the fall;the launch of sales is expected in the fall or next spring, "depending on market conditions';and engineers must continue monitoring the structure each month "for movement."

So far, engineering reports show the facade is "sound and not experiencing significant cracking or separation," but "the longer the building sits vacant, the more costly the restoration work will become ..."

Meanwhile, municipal law enforcement has issued orders that have tasked the property owners with cleaning up garbage and debris on the site, and securing doors and windows to keep "vermin and birds" and "unauthorized persons" from entering.

On Friday, a city-hired contractor was whacking weeds on the overgrown parcel at James and Jackson streets after one order expired May 5.

"The costs of the maintenance bill will be billed to the property owners' tax roll," Dan Smith, acting director of licensing and bylaw services, said via email.
 
berklon said:
Future tip, most times you can read the archived version of the page by adding "archive.is/" right before the "www" in the address. and then click on the link that's presented to you.
Click to expand...
You can also just log into your library account and all Spec articles are posted there for free.
 
I love how they're calling this project set back by "marketplace complications" when there's literally so many 30 storey developments in various stages of construction.

I guess (max profit) condo king Brad Lamb didn't get the memo with twin tower Television City
 
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Wigs said:
I love how they're calling this project set back by "marketplace complications" when there's literally so many 30 storey developments in various stages of construction.

I guess (max profit) condo king Brad Lamb didn't get the memo with twin tower Television City
Click to expand...
Elevated interest rates (relative to recent lows, at least) certainly do influence things like financing for condo construction...
 
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