The Ontario Land Tribunal has scheduled a seven-day hearing beginning on September 21 to decide whether it will overrule Hamilton City Council’s 9-2 denial of an application to construct a 12-storey, 290-unit residential building at 1630 Main Street West and 69 Sanders Boulevard, located approximately 800 metres west of McMaster University.
City Council denied the application, citing concerns that the proposal represented “overdevelopment” inappropriate to the surrounding low-rise residential neighbourhood. The City objected specifically to the building’s height, massing, and scale, arguing that they do not provide adequate transition to adjacent residential areas.
The City further argued that development along this corridor must be limited due to the nearby industrial operations of the Mondelez candy manufacturing plant on Ewen Road.
This is not the first time a development application for this property has reached the OLT. In a January 2022 decision, the tribunal approved a nine-storey, 160-unit residential condominium with 22 townhouses positioned behind the main building to create a transition to the surrounding neighbourhood. That decision effectively invalidated the Ainslie Wood Westdale Secondary Plan (AWWSP), with the OLT ruling that the “dated” 2005 plan no longer complied with provincial planning policies.
The current application proposes small residential units in a building substantially larger and taller than the previously approved development.
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: April 1, 2026
Last updated: April 1, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
“The City objected specifically to the building’s height, massing, and scale, arguing that they do not provide adequate transition to adjacent residential areas.”
A rather interesting argument when the City approved the 10 & 15 storey McMaster resident (Lincoln Alexander Hall) that towers over the houses across Traymore and the 13 storey 1107 Main St. W.
Why do we have to wait 6 months. Is this fast tracking housing and cutting red tape. If a builder is willing to invest and take a chance on this project why does the city care about overdevelopment. Hamilton west desperately needs more housing and being by an industrial park is a win for the workers who might be commuting. This is why we move 2 steps and then step back 2 steps. Just approve it, and get building