At 50 years of age, Jackson Square has seen it all
There was a recent 50th anniversary celebration in Hamilton's downtown where organizers handed out 1,000 free red T-shirts with a pithy slogan that said:
I've seen it all at Jackson Square."
The managers of the shopping and office complex that opened its first phase in 1972 could have sugar-coated the message to go with the free coffee and doughnuts they were giving away near the King and James entrance.
But they decided on a more irreverent approach amid some harsh truths. They know Hamilton's experiment in downtown mall making is a bit unsettling to some. Many have pleasant memories. But others, not so much.
Heritage advocates still scorn the blitzkrieg-like demolition that preceded its construction. They note the complex has fallen short of its objectives in revitalizing shopping in the core, and many today see it as a case study in making downtown problems worse.
In 1969, more than 43 acres of Victorian buildings were torn down to make way for what was called the Civic Square project that transformed the area between James and Bay, Main and York.
The demolition ushered in Lloyd D. Jackson Square; the Hamilton Eaton Centre (now the Hamilton City Centre that is about to be demolished to make way for a major condominium and commercial project); Hamilton Place (now the FirstOntario Concert Hall); the Convention Centre; the Sheraton Hotel and Copps Coliseum (now the FirstOntario Centre that is about to undergo a major renovation); among other buildings, over the following 15 years.
Everyone knows we have had highs and lows," says Jackson Square property manager Allison Drennan from First Real Properties Ltd. We are back in 1972 almost, trying to reinvent or bring new life to Jackson Square and to say, yes we are here.'"
The pandemic hit hard. Customer traffic hasn't recovered as much as hoped. A lot of stores are vacant. And many days, the busiest people are the security guards.
Vandalism, assaults, thefts, drug overdoses and disturbances caused by people with mental health issues are a lot more common than they used to be.
Our security people see an insane amount of things with the downtown core and especially since COVID has hit," says Drennan. We speak to the police, unfortunately, on a daily basis."
We've been meeting with our tenants, asking them to be vigilant. We've upped our security contract too. But (the situation) is no different than anywhere else in a downtown core."
Maria Mendolia-Mosher, who owns three businesses after first buying Joseph's Coiffures hair salon in 1995, says things have gotten a little scary."
I am very aware of my surroundings at Jackson Square, and I have never been so aware before. It used to be that I couldn't care less about going to my car at 10 o'clock at night. But now things have changed."
Sidewalk violinist Michael Leech, who often performs in front of Jackson Square at King and James says, There is a horrible drug problem. I have to be honest about that."
Earlier this year, he says, someone out of nowhere punched me right in the face ... I mean that's what it is like down there."
But mall administrators and storekeepers are hopeful the condo boom around the complex will usher in a new era and better times for Jackson Square.
It might finally bring the thing that the shopping complex needed from the start - a critical mass of walk-in traffic from nearby residents.
But the condominium projects - that include IN8 Developments' four residential towers to replace the City Centre Mall - will take years to complete. And Jackson Square storekeepers fear an impending recession because of problems with the overall economy.
The seeds of Jackson Square were planted in the 1960s, driven largely by then Mayor Vic Copps, as well as Lloyd D. Jackson before him.
The downtown area was dying, and we saw what had happened in other cities where the trend had gone too far to reverse. We felt we had to move fast to head it off here. It was a move to restore economic vitality downtown," Copps told The Spectator in 1972.
He felt the rundown Victorian buildings in the downtown with ma and pa stores were holding back progress and the area was falling short of its economic and tax-generating potential.
There was federal money for urban renewal projects, and Hamilton became known as the the most ambitious attempt to resurrect a city ever undertaken in Canada."
Jackson Square was to be the main driver of the transformation, a city within a city." And a lot of people were excited about its official opening.
Hamilton Spectator columnist John Robinson wrote on Aug. 22, 1972: As a native-born Hamiltonian who has lived all his life in this city, I think I can say with very little risk of serious contradictions that the opening of the Lloyd D. Jackson Square, if not the single greatest advance ever made locally, certainly ranks right up there with the coming of McMaster University, the new medical complex, The Royal Botanical Gardens, and the self-loading garbage truck."
Not sure what he meant about the truck, but there was no doubt about the columnist's enthusiasm.
Helen Benoit, 69, recalls the early days: My husband and I were still dating when Jackson Square opened, and I remember being awe struck by it. We would cut classes to go for coffee and walk around. We'd admire the building and the bustle of people. Everything was new, exciting and different."
Her husband, Ron Benoit, also 69, says: When I grew up, Woolco on the Mountain was the biggest store you'd ever seen. So, years later when Jackson Square opened. Oh my God. Every store you could possibly want was in there."
The Benoits say they still love Jackson Square and visit it more often than they ever did since moving into a condominium on James Street North three years ago.
Jackson Square through time
- 1972: Lloyd D. Jackson Square Phase 1 opens
- 1973: Hamilton Place opens as well as the nearby Canadian Football Hall of Fame
- 1977: Second phase of Jackson Square opens with a six-storey office tower
- 1980: Hamilton Public Library central branch and new Farmers' Market opens on York Boulevard
- 1981: Hamilton Convention Centre and the Ellen Fairclough Building open
- 1983: Standard Life Building at 120 King West opens
- 1985: Copps Coliseum opens as well as the Sheraton Hamilton hotel
- 2013: The 55,000-square foot Nation's Fresh Foods grocery store opens in Jackson Square
- 2014: Copps Coliseum renamed First Ontario Centre
- 2022: Jackson Square turns 50
Jackson Square has 99 retailers and 21 businesses within four office towers.
Six original tenants of Jackson Square still operate: Laura Secord; Coles; Suzy Shier; Tamblyn Drugs (now Rexall); TD Bank; and Landmark Cinemas (formerly Famous Players).