Last weeks’s announcement that the ‘studio district deal’ is cancelled is a long-term positive for Hamilton.
“The City of Hamilton is disappointed with the outcome of the City and Aeon Studio Group’s mutually agreed upon termination of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), effective immediately.
This difficult decision came as a result of the City concluding that the MOU required termination due to a combination of factors, including high interest rates and slow construction growth within both the land development and film and television industries.”
The Barton and Tiffany lands are among the most valuable in the Greater Toronto-Hamilton Area. When they are developed in the coming decades, residents of the lands will have access to express GO train service at West Harbour, waterfront trails a short walk away, and all the amenities of Downtown Hamilton and the Pier 8 amenity lands.
The exact terms of the ‘studio deal’ are classified as secret by the City of Hamilton.
Was it a good deal?
Maybe, due to secrecy, we will never know. We know it was a non-competitive contract.
Was it the best deal for Hamilton? No.
2024 is not 2019.
The shift in favour of hybrid workplaces has changed the economy of the Greater Toronto Hamilton Area.
On-shoring of manufacturing will increase industrial activity in Hamilton.
Most importantly, Hamilton’s City Council has changed.
This council will not be star-struck by a faint promise of Hollywood magic while sitting in director’s chairs with sunglasses.
On October 20, 2021, Aeon unveiled renderings for the Barton Street residential developers they need to build to finance the promised movie studios.
They made claims about major movies planning to be filmed, and video game studios looking to relocate.
Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr summed up City Council’s excitement by opening the debate by saying the plan was exciting but “not as glamourous as the occasion where we got to sit in the director chairs and wear shades, along with the mayor and other dignitaries at the park, really exciting stuff.” [Video clip on YouTube]
Time is on Hamilton’s Side: Let’s Plan for Better
The Barton and Tiffany lands can become the best high-density neighbourhood in the GTHA.
Thoughtful design and noise mitigation can enable residential near the shunting yards.
There is no shortage of lands approved for housing in Hamilton, including lands for affordable housing. What is lacking is the economic conditions for market-based development.
Hamilton will need to launch a process to gather ideas and provide options – this will take time.
(A decade ago, Hamilton produced a plan for the Barton and Tiffany lands. The Barton-Tiffany Urban Design Study. Upon sitting in a movie chair, councillors quickly forgot about it.)
Maybe, just maybe, for once, Hamilton will not squander opportunity at the Barton and Tiffany lands.
Production Details v. 1.0.0 Published: October 7, 2024 Last updated: October 7, 2024 Author: Joey Coleman Update Record v. 1.0.0 original version