‘By far the nicest highrise’ in Hamilton, Television City developer says about pair of 32-storey towers at former CHCH property

The developer of Television City - a pair of 32-storey condo towers in Hamilton's Durand neighbourhood - expects the delayed project to be built in late 2026.

And preserving a 172-year-old stone mansion on the former CHCH television property on Jackson Street West at Caroline Street South is part of the plan.

This particular project's beautiful. It will be by far the nicest highrise project in the city," Brad Lamb told The Spectator of the 642-unit plan.

The hope is to demolish the 1980s-era former CHCH television studio building connected to the 1850 heritage home this year, the Toronto-based developer said.

With a goal to start construction after that, the project should be completed and occupied" by late 2026, Lamb said.

Heritage advocate and Durand resident Janice Brown worries the heritage mansion known as Pinehurst will deteriorate if there are delays after the 1980s-era spaceship" building is demolished.

This is a huge issue. This, to me, is no different than James Street Baptist," said Brown.

In 2014, a developer demolished most of the 1879 church at James Street South and Jackson Street with plans to incorporate the remaining facade into a highrise condo that never happened amid financial woes and changes in ownership.

You're in a historic neighbourhood and you're looking at war zones," said Brown, referring to debris- and garbage-strewn heritage sites like James Street Baptist.

But Pinehurst - which CHCH made its headquarters in 1954 and left in 2021 - won't be left to languish with project construction starting after the newer building is razed, Lamb said.

The plan is to repurpose the mansion - which is protected under the Ontario Heritage Act - as a space for weddings, parties and corporate events, he said.

A tasteful" glass addition will give it more square feet. A publicly accessible green space is to replace an asphalt parking lot. We are going to bring it back to a spectacular state."

Lamb pitched Television City in 2017 - initially as twin towers of 40 and 30 storeys on the one-acre site - but later ran into resistance at city hall.

In 2018, council, following planning staff's advice, rejected the plan, citing concerns with shadows, setbacks and compatibility with low-rise homes in the area.

In response, Lamb appealed to the provincial land-use tribunal, which ultimately approved the latest two-tower, 32-storey iteration in 2020, nearly a year after the hearing.

Aaron Collina of Hamilton's Movengo Corp. is a minority partner with Lamb Development Corp. on the project, which Lamb estimates is worth nearly $450 million.

The building is basically sold out," said Lamb, noting prices range from about $500,000 to $2 million.

The project received the city's conditional site plan approval last year but still needs to be finalized, he said.

Television City lost time due to arm-wrestling with city politics," but it's also kind of a refugee from COVID," Lamb said, noting the pandemic has also slowed the project.

Amid delays and rising costs, the firm refunded deposits to an initial cohort of would-be buyers before relaunching sales.

The building costs right now 25 per cent more than the original sales," said Lamb, noting increased project costs made it difficult to line up financing.

Brown - a member of the Durand Neighbourhood Association, which opposed the Television City plan at the tribunal - contended Monday it's crazy" to believe the 32-storey towers won't have sun and wind impacts.

But at this point in time," she hopes the development won't be stalled further. It's vacant now," she added, using an expletive to describe the property's condition.

Brown is also on the municipal heritage committee, which expects to deliberate on the developer's demo permit application during a yet-to-be-scheduled meeting.

A permit review subcommittee has given the application - which carries conditions - initial approval.

Lamb, meanwhile, says when Television City is occupied, its many residents will breathe more economic life into Durand and downtown.

It's a huge, huge shot in the arm for this part of Hamilton and we're ready to go."

Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com