More than two years after Mayor Andrea Horwath exercised her first-ever Strong Mayor veto, the City of Hamilton has formally opened the land-lease process for portions of a downtown Stoney Creek municipal parking lot at 5 and 13 Lake Avenue South.
The project represents one of the Mayor’s top priorities during this term of Council, and remains the only time Horwath has exercised her veto powers.
During the March 27, 2024, City Council meeting, Ward 5 Councillor Matt Francis argued the removal of 57 of the site’s 162 parking spaces would severely impact downtown Stoney Creek businesses, medical clinic patients, and local events. Francis secured enough votes to defeat Horwath’s motion to declare portions of the property surplus on an 8-8 tie vote.
Immediately following that deadlock, Horwath issued her veto.
“Leveraging municipally owned properties for the construction of sorely needed affordable housing is a vital step towards addressing the pressing and urgent crisis of housing affordability and homelessness in our city,” Horwath stated in a written release announcing the decision. “The decision to use Strong Mayor Powers is not one that I make lightly.”
The City’s April 2025 expression of interest posting included preliminary modelling showing 5 Lake Avenue South can accommodate a three-storey building with 24 studio units, while 13 Lake Avenue South can support a five-storey building with 43 one-bedroom units. The posting explicitly stipulates that the City’s financial contribution to the development is strictly limited to the nominal land lease.
Francis continues to oppose the initiative and has stated the bid process should be cancelled. If re-elected, he plans to move a motion to end the project shortly after the next Council term begins on November 15, 2026.
Production Details
v. 1.0.1
Published: May 2, 2026
Last updated: May 2, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
v. 1.0.1 modified headline, added "affordable" descriptor.
Matt Francis says he will cancel it but the process has begun, Matt Francis will not be able to
This parking lot is full ALL the time and would devastate businesses and Medical offices, pharmacies etc.
There are vacant lots everywhere that would be better suited for housing. I’ve reached out to our Mayor with NO RESPONSE EVER!.
Leave Stoney Creek alone and look at existing empty building that would be better suited for housing. Plus there’s no grocery stores in this area and if you don’t own a car you will be taking 2 or 3 buses to get anywhere.
Not a realistic project Andrea.
This project makes no sense for the area being bided on. The congestion it will create is unimaginable. Downtown Stoney Creek, as short as it is, already is experiencing gridlock from New Mountain to #20( Centennial pky). There are 6 traffic lights in that almost 2km area. Not synced therefore causing congestion. A four minute drive is calculated to 20-30min. Depending on the hour of the days. Getting onto or off King Street is often difficult especially off the side streets.
How is it considered a good idea when the plan will add more traffic to the problem, as well as taking the parking for the entire village and medical arts building? There are many options in Stoney Creek area that would benefit the residents in need of affordable housing, being studio or one bedroom apartments.
This is needed for Stoney creek. The waits to get shovels in the ground and these homes built is unacceptable. We’ve wasted 2 years, waiting.
You know, this is a respectable move from Mayor Horwath considering I grew up in affordable housing and fully believe in it. I can respect the issues local home owners might have, but truly the only way to avoid over gentrification of any neighbourhood is to have the affordable and non-affordable in the same neighbourhoods.
I give you 245 Kenora as a perfect example. Across from Kenora are modest but respectable homes that homeowners can/have purchased. And across from the respectable homes? Kenora. Respectable. Same thing with Oriole Crescent (affordable) mixed into the Roxbourough neighbourhood (home owners).
Some can argue that these surveys, or now gov’t buildings, bring more crime to these areas, but not everyone who lives in affordable housing is a criminal. Lots of criminals come from good families too, so that would be my argument as to why affordable housing can, and should belong, in any and many neighbourhoods in a unique city like Hamilton/Stoney Creek.