The pocket of East Hamilton tucked into the Red Hill Valley nearest to the escarpment will have two new tall buildings if Medallion Developments gains Council approval for redevelopment of Mount Albion Plaza.
Medallion submitted conceptual plans for two tall buildings to the City of Hamilton’s planning staff. One building is proposed for 20 storeys, and the other is proposed for 18-storeys. In addition, the redevelopment concept includes two more buildings at nine-storeys each.
The new buildings will have ground level commercial units.
Mount Albion Plaza, on the northwest corner of Mount Albion Road and Greenhill Avenue, is similar to many suburban style strip plazas built during the 1970s with the notable exception of the addition of offices on the second level of the plaza structure. Those offices were converted into residential units in 2010.
Presently, it includes a CIBC branch and a Shoppers Drug Mart as anchor tenants. The 20,400 square foot Foodland grocery store closed in November of 2020. It is unlikely a new grocer will operate in the space, and it is not easily adapted to other uses.
Medallion Developments, a part of the Medallion Corporation, is a significant developer with projects underway across Southern Ontario.
They operate four residential apartment complexes in Hamilton.
City of Hamilton planning staff provided initial comments to the developer in January. Hamilton’s Tall Building Guidelines will be applied to the project and it will be sent to Design Review Panel for comments.
A rezoning will require Council approval as the present “C3” zoning imposes a 14 metre height limit. The City’s growth plan calls for a maximum density of 200 units per hectare outside of the Downtown Secondary Plan.
The site proposes 504 units per hectare.
The conceptual plan envisions 761 proposed units, 60 percent will be one bedroom or smaller. The remaining 40 percent will be two bedroom apartments of various sizes.
Across the street on the southeast corner of the intersection, there is a 12-storey apartment building. Directly to the south of the plaza are two 11-storey condo buildings. Further east on Greenhill Avenue is a nine-storey building.
The City will expect the developer to pay for upgrades to sewer infrastructure to address these concerns.
“Public Works has identified this neighbourhood has a history of sanitary sewer backups and flooded residential basements during heavy rain events. The proposed development represents a large increase in density and sanitary flow relative to existing conditions”, writes Peter Dimitroulias, a development coordinator in Public Works development engineering approvals section. [emphasis in original document]
The site is directly beside the Greenhill Avenue access to the Red Hill Valley Parkway, highway access is sought by many renters and should enable the development to show a manageable traffic impact.
The developer met with City staff in a Formal Consultation meeting. No timelines are yet known in regards to the project. Medallion did not respond to an email request for comment.
Discussion
11 commentsWhat about parking? The small amount of on street parking around there will definitely not accommodate these buildings and neither will the current lot at the mall. As there will probably be quite a few people moving from Toronto to take up residence at what will be cheaper in Hamilton compared to current Toronto rental rates for the same amount of space this needs to be a major consideration.
Parking will be underground and within the podiums of the buildings.
As for the parking ratio, that will need to be negotiated between the developer and the City’s planning staff. I expect staff will be mindful that the area is car dependent and HSR service is poor, thus requiring adequate parking for the development.
This was the site of the Original Fortinos, it was also the gathering spot for many students from the old Bagshaw & Redhill schools, I grew up in this area (Congress Crescent), this area is Food Desert, it desperately needs a NoFrills, I’m pissed off that the developer hasn’t thought of wheelchair accessible units, nor affordable housing, also bus services are basically non existent in this area.
This area has been left to die for many many years.
The grocery industry has consolidated in the past decades, larger stores are now the norm. My chapter in Reclaiming Hamilton opens with a story of going between Congress and the “Fortinos Plaza”.
we are becoming just like Toronto. Screw the people who bought condo’s in the 11 and 12 storey building directly behind the plaza. They purchased for the peace and quiet of the neighborhood, less traffic, beautiful views of the escarpment and the city sky line. Let’s drop a couple of hi-rise buildings right in front of them.
On escarpment views, we do not own our neighbouring properties. During the 1970s, many of the apartment buildings of the area were built.
I am not sure what the city staff planning opinion for 18 and 20 storey buildings will be, but much as is the case in the suburbs where people argue they moved to the edge of the city to get away from the city, past development informs future development.
We as resident need to contact our councillor Chad Collins to protect our assets.
We need to be invited/informed when a public meeting will take place prior to approval.
These are rental units. As most of the units are small 1 bedroom or studio units, there will be a large turnover of renters.
Our sight lines will be impeded , the amount of sunlight will impact the buildings to the north as well as decrease our current property values.
The area is prone to drinking water issues as it is at the end of a line. The infrastructure cannot currently sustain such a large increase in flow of water and waste water.
The current plaza is in need of being upgraded and change is good for neighbourhood, however this development plan need modification and resident input.
An increase in users is good for a water system. Waste water upgrades will have to be paid by the developer, and done to a standard to ensure the added users do not impact existing ones.
Rentals do not decrease nearby property values.
Shadow impacts are regulated by the Tall Building Guidelines, and there are separate requirements.
The proposal is in the early stages, it will be interesting to see how it proceeds though the planning process.
You say rentals do not decrease property values but I am, sure dropping 4 large condos in front of existing condos blocking sightlines and sunshine certainly will.
If you think that we will not go down fighting this you are sadly mistaken. We have just moved in this condo and spent over $100,000.00 in renovations . We have live in this neighbourhood for over 45 years watching all this area being built. We raises our 4 children here, helped build a church and have enjoyed many years in this neighborhood. When we decided to sell our house and downsize, we were fortunate to move into this building which suited our needs and stay in the same quiet area. Now we find out that money grabbing Toronto corporation wants to ruin our lovely area. Good luck
We desperately need a grocery store in the old Foodland spot. The neighbouring apartment buildings alone depend on grocery access, especially seniors or those without a car. Please listen, we need a grocery type store such as Zarkeys here NOT more apartnents/condos. Please listen to the people who will be greatly affected by this plan.
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