Developer set to break ground on Corktown condos highrises in 2023
A developer says plans are underway to replace a downtown strip plaza with a sleek 700-unit residential complex that includes retail offerings.
Slate Asset Management will begin sales for the two-building complex - one a 27-storey highrise, the other a 14-storey mid-rise - at the Corktown Plaza as late as this fall. Ground is expected to be broken in the summer of 2023.
It marks the Toronto developer's first foray into the Hamilton market and comes four years after they first pitched the project to council in 2018.
The project's fully zoned and approved and ready to go," said Brandon Donnelly, managing director of development at Slate. We look for sites that are in urban, walkable neighbourhoods that have amenities and are (near) transit, and this site checks those boxes for us."
The complex on John Street South will have a unique look, with the boutique scale" mid-rise wrapping around the towering, slender point" highrise, said Donnelly. A rooftop terrace will overlook Lake Ontario and the escarpment, while indoor units - ranging from studios to two-bedrooms - will mesh with a fitness centre, social lounges, coworking spaces and an outdoor pool. A courtyard will separate the two buildings with retailers on the ground floor facing John Street.
Donnelly said the development will pay respect to the area's past, with lead architects planning to incorporate the same style of bricks found on nearby buildings.
We want to make sure it's rooted in the area and something that belongs, but also taking that and doing a modern interpretation of it."
Local residents have expressed concern over the project, fearing it would leave them without accessible food options like the Hasty Market currently in the plaza.
Donnelly said the development is expected to have a wide array of retail offerings for locals, including a possible micro-grocer," he added.
Downtown Coun. Jason Farr said Slate went above and beyond" to engage residents and really listened" to concerns over food security for people in the area.
We did a couple of charettes where the community sat down and talked about how they'd like the development to look and what they want from it, and it went fabulously well," he said. It would be great if we could that with every large development."
Sebastian Bron is a reporter at The Spectator. sbron@thespec.com