Rosehaven Homes is lowering the planned height of their 71 Rebecca Street tall building to 29-storeys from the approved 30-storeys by removing one parking level.
This does not come as a surprise to me.
A decade ago, when the then-landowner pitched a 40-storey tower, the original parking levels were designed for eventual conversion into residential units.
The reason was simple: the City of Hamilton required more parking than condo buyers would purchase. The development could not proceed without building excess parking.
When the parking went unused, it would become new residential units. The developer would make money selling units, and the condo fees be spread among more people. Win-win.
The 2010s “Parking Crisis” debate
At the same time, discussions were underway to create the Downtown Secondary Plan. Reducing parking minimums was on the table.
The Beasley Neighbourhood Association and the City of Hamilton had been deadlocked over parking for years. Both the BNA and City said the neighbourhood had a parking crisis.
We disagreed on what the crisis was. (At the time, I was the minor variance planning coordinator for the BNA)
The City felt there was a lack of parking in the neighbourhood.
The BNA knew there was too much surface parking. Surfacing parking was the largest single category of land use.
The Downtown Secondary Plan, approved in 2018, reduced parking requirements.
The 71 Rebecca project architect said they would still have excess parking, saying they still expected to have at least one parking level converted to residential as a minor variance after units were sold.
The 2020s Housing Crisis and Market Limitation
New condo sales are weak.
Rosehaven needs to sell around 70 percent of the planned 477 units to secure construction financing. Converting a parking level to residential will add approximately 30 units, 21 of which must be sold to begin construction.
Simply put, it is likely more challenging to sell 21 units than using the existing structural plans with one less parking level.
Production Details v. 1.0.0 Published: October 4, 2024 Last updated: October 4, 2024 Author: Joey Coleman Update Record v. 1.0.0 original version