It’s going to be a busy few months in the neighbourhood, and across Ward 2, so I’m grateful to get this update to you so you have notice about a few things that are happening in the North End that you may be interested in knowing more about.

I’m sure that many of you have heard about the new developer proposal for Jamesville by now, but if not, I wanted to share it with you as soon as I could. As I said in the last version of the North End Breezes, I suspected it was very likely that any final plans for the project would see more density and height, but that I was also working as hard as possible to ensure that the neighbourhood’s concerns for a better project were addressed. And that’s exactly what the developer and CityHousing Hamilton, with the support of the City, are proposing to CN Railway.

The new proposal will permanently preserve the Sunset Gardens, put some surface parking underground to create a greenspace along James Street North, save a few more trees, and add east to west and north to south pedestrian connections through the site. There will be trade-offs for these things.

There will likely be more height in the form of a tall tower, at around 20 storeys, at the corner of James Street North and Strachan Street West. This dramatic change in height is, in part, because of how much it costs, in 2024 dollars, to build on this site in the time since CN filed their appeal of the project almost 2 years ago. The original site plan is simply no longer viable in the current financial climate, especially considering some of the trade-offs being proposed.

Sadly, the existing hearing set for May 21 has been delayed so that this new proposal can be considered. This doesn’t mean settlement negotiations will stop, but it does mean that if the parties cannot settle at all, the official hearing date will be pushed to early next year.

I’m very disappointed that it’s come to this. I want everyone to know how hard the parties are working to address CN’s concerns about sound impacts from their shunting operations and to ensure the project is built on time. I will also continue to advocate for commercial retail space on the ground floor and additional affordable housing on the site with the hope these important community benefits can also be incorporated into any final settlement.

Now, the ball is in CN’s court.  The developer has released their proposal so that the City can comment on it publicly. I hope that CN is as supportive of this new proposal as the City is, and does everything in its power to prevent further delays so that the project can get going.

This also means that demolition of the existing buildings could happen much sooner than anticipated. I’m hopeful that it will start in the next 3-6 months, but I will provide you with more confident and accurate timing when it’s available. I recognize that many are concerned about the site’s security and want to see it demolished as soon as possible.

I understand this is a significant issue for North Enders and a project the whole City is looking forward to being completed. If you have feedback to share about the developer’s plan, I will happily pass it along to the developer and others involved in the ongoing settlement negotiations. You can email any feedback you have to Ward2@hamilton.ca. If you’d like to look more closely at the plans or read my official statement on the matter visit www.ward2hamilton.ca/statements.

In other news, I recently met with representatives from CN Railway to talk about two other pressing issues in the North End – train idling and the potential for an activated greenspace and other amenities along Strachan Street. It was a promising conversation. Everyone is committed to improving things in the North End and I know that many nearby neighbours are anxious for more information. While I don’t have any final answers yet, we’re getting closer to a preliminary plan that I hope I can share with you all soon.

The next Ward 2 town hall, our second of the year, will be focused on safe streets in our neighbourhoods. I’ve been working with City staff, since I was first elected, on a plan for traffic and pedestrian improvements in Ward 2 and I’m grateful to say that I have enough information now to be able to present a comprehensive update, for every neighbourhood, at a town hall on May 30 at 6:30pm at the Spice Factory.

As some of you may know, I held a meeting with the North End Neighbourhood Association regarding the future use of Pier 4 Park for events. The City has come up with a preliminary plan to ensure that excessively loud events, or events with too many people for the size of the park, are moved to other parks. We will be embarking on a pilot this year to trial out a new bylaw protocol, noise complaints process, and advanced schedule of events that we hope will improve things. We’ll be getting feedback from North Enders throughout the summer and will hopefully be able to transition to a permanent solution that everyone is happy with by next year.

If you need to reach me, or the Ward 2 Team, please get in touch with us by email at Ward2@hamilton.ca or by phone at (905) 546-2197. We’re around Mondays,  Wednesdays, and Fridays from 8:00am to 4:00pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:00am to 8:00pm, and Saturdays from 10:00am to 2:00pm. We’d love to hear from you and are here to connect you to the right folks at the City who can help you with any issues or concerns you have.

Until the next edition of the North End Breezes, be well, and hope to see you out in the neighbourhood!