Pushback against pitch for 14-storey condo towers on Delta school site

A plan for 14-storey condo towers and nearly 1,000 units at the site of a now-shuttered east Hamilton school is shaping up to be a tough sell for residents of its low-rise neighbourhood.

But New Horizon Development Group says it's still early days as it considers the community's take on its pitch for the former Delta Secondary School.

The earlier that we get that feedback, the more of a chance that we can act on it," managing director Jason Garland said during an open house this week.

The plan is to create 87 units by retrofitting the classrooms of the nearly century-old school that fronts Main Street East and backs onto Maple Avenue, between Wexford Avenue South and Graham Avenue South.

The rest of the 975 units are to be in new buildings, including three- and four-storey townhomes along the perimeter of the sprawling site and three 14-storey towers framing a courtyard.

Parkettes and walkways are part of the design. With a parking ratio of 1.15 per unit, more than 1,000 spots are to be underground.

The spectre of that many more cars motoring down neighbourhood roads and taking up on-street parking raised a few eyebrows during the open house, where more than 400 attendees signed in.

Local resident Ryan Sim, who predicted parking roulette" would ensue, also worried future tower dwellers could gaze into the two-and-a-half-storey home he shares with his wife and child.

You know, I have nice, big windows, but I guess I'll have to get blinds."

And when construction gets underway, Main will also likely be torn up for Hamilton's future LRT line, Sims added.

So we're going to be living in a traffic hellhole for 10 years."

Likewise, longtime Delta East resident Pat Gubbins suggested a more modest seven storeys would be a better fit for the low-slung area. I think 14 is far too big."

But that density is essential to build enough homes to accommodate a forecast population boom and not pave over farmland, Karl Andrus said.

There's always neighbourhood pushback against these sorts of projects, but we need density if we're not going to build beyond our urban boundary," said Andrus, who leads the Hamilton Community Benefits Network.

In November, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark imposed an urban expansion into farmland for residential development with the city's population expected to grow by 236,000 over the next 30 years.

But city planners have insisted Hamilton can meet growth targets by increasing density through such housing types as apartment buildings, fourplex conversions, townhouses and secondary suites in the built-up area.

Nonetheless, the Delta proposal represents a big change" for the neighbourhood, city planning director Steve Robichaud said.

Generally, he said, the public raises the same concerns as city planners: traffic, overlook, shadows, tree removal, capacity of the school system.

So we do want to listen to the community and hear what their concerns are. I've often said density without design equals disaster."

But even with the minister's expansion, the city still must plan for 70 to 80 per cent of its growth within the existing urban area, Robichaud noted.

There was strong support amongst the community in general for intensification and redevelopment, but it's now just seeing on a project-by-project basis how are they achieving the various goals and objectives."

So far, her office has fielded plenty of feedback on the Delta project, new Ward 4 councillor Tammy Hwang says.

People understand that there needs to be density and there needs to be development."

But their concern is how much New Horizon and project partner Losani Homes have proposed, Hwang said.

We're looking at three condo towers being 14 storeys and so that is really causing a lot of concern for our neighbours."

As it stands, the official plan only allows up to 12 storeys in the area, which means the extra height requires a council-approved amendment. The project also needs a zoning change.

No date has been set yet for those considerations. A statutory round of public consultation is also on the horizon.

In 2021, Indwell had made a bid to purchase the Delta site from the public board with plans to create affordable rental and ownership units.

The non-profit, which specializes in affordable, supportive housing, also wanted to keep the school's amenities, including its gym and auditorium, available to the community.

But the developers came up on top, purchasing the property for $15.1 million.

Andrus contends council should do some horse trading" to secure some community benefits, nonetheless.

A missed opportunity" for the Delta project was inclusionary zoning - a provincially legislated tool that obliges a certain percentage of affordable units in developments - with no bylaw yet in place, he said.

I think this is an excellent opportunity for the City of Hamilton to be extractive in its demands with the developer."

Community benefits are a consideration, if we can achieve a certain density," said Garland, also pointing to the project's viability" is a factor.

It's that balance and trying to find that sweet spot," he said, and the only way we can sort of gauge what's important for everyone is to hear from them.'

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