Towers on horizon for east Hamilton shopping plaza

For June Shipley, the Food Basics in a retail plaza on Centennial Parkway North in east Hamilton is within walking distance of her apartment.

She makes her way there from the densely populated Riverdale neighbourhood about twice a week.

It's just a good walk for me to Basics. Sometimes, I sit down on the walker, but big deal," says Shipley, 80, taking a moment to chat before resuming her stroll.

At some point, a good chunk of the low-rise plaza just south of Barton Street East could turn to rubble.

SmartCentres plans to build a residential complex with roughly 1,000 units and four towers reaching as high as 20 storeys on the property.

The footprint, which covers the southern part of the plaza, would spell the end of some of the retail units.

I just hope that they don't get rid of the grocery store," Shipley says, adding the rest can go."

Food Basics, which is in the northeast corner, will stay and become part of a new contingent of commercial space, says a planning consultant on the project.

The big pitch for the plaza - whose existing tenants also include a Burger King, Kings Buffet, Salvation Army Thrift Store and Love Shop - has yet to make its way to council for a required zoning change.

But Coun. Russ Powers, who represents the ward that straddles the east end and Stoney Creek, backs the concept.

In principle, I'm in support of the rejuvenation of that site that has become tired over the years and really does need a new face on it."

The 200 Centennial Parkway plaza is on a traffic-heavy commercial corridor where big-box retail, auto dealerships, strip malls and expansive parking lots dominate the landscape.

The city has made the area a sub-regional service node" where it hopes to intensify residential growth by increasing density in tandem with plans for public transit.

Eastgate Square, at the corner of Queenston Road, is to become the eastern terminus of the LRT while a GO station is in the works for Centennial just south of the QEW.

You'll see more of these proposals coming forward in order to build up," Power said.

Last week, Harrison Equity Partners and Retail Ventures CND Inc. announced they plan to commingle residential development with retail space in a reimagined Eastgate Square but offered few details.

A second sub-regional service node includes CF Lime Ridge Mall on Upper Wentworth Street in its catchment area.

The Ontario government has told cities, including Hamilton, to update their official plans to reflect long-term growth projections.

Provincial forecasts say Hamilton can expect another 236,000 people over the next 30 years, bringing its population to 820,000 by 2051.

Last year, in response to a community-driven anti-sprawl campaign, council decided not to expand the urban boundary to accommodate that expected growth, but instead channel density into the built-up area.

SmartCentres and its planning consultant GSP Group presented their Centennial proposal to the city's design review panel last week.

One phase features towers of 20 and 15 storeys, while a second calls for 16 and 12 storeys. A pair of nine-storey buildings and lower-level commercial space are in the mix.

The development doesn't extend to the northern part of the site due to no-build agreements" baked into long-term leases with retailers there, Amanda Ireland, SmartCentres' vice-president of development, told the panel.

We have leases well into the future," Ireland said, noting that limits what can be done on the property.

But panel members lamented the plan couldn't make use of the entire property to distribute the density throughout, allowing for more green space and a less bulky form.

I mean you're sacrificing quality of community here for the density that you're placing on the site," architect and panel member David Clusiau said.

SmartCentres, which Calloway Real Estate Investment Trust acquired as part of a $1.16-billion deal in 2015, didn't respond to The Spectator's request for comment.

But in an email, GSP senior planner Sarah Knoll noted the proposal is early in the process" and awaits further feedback, including from city staff and the public, before council weighs in.

It really is a positive change to the area, with development that conforms with the city's official plan and brings residents to an area where much transit expenditure is planned."

Those residents would become neighbours to Shipley and many others in an older generation of tall buildings to the east in Riverdale, where some waged a rent strike over rising rates a few years ago.

Mario Brunetti, who has lived in his townhouse-style condo for 11 years, would prefer the planned towers not reach as high. I personally would rather see the mall there instead of buildings, but I mean people need to live somewhere."

Powers, who doesn't expect council to consider the proposal before 2023, says he has asked the developer to hold a community meeting.

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