During an early March closed session, Hamilton City Council approved settling an Ontario Land Tribunal appeal involving a proposal for apartment buildings at 1494 Upper Wellington Street on the southwest corner at Stone Church Road West.
Council ratified an agreement to permit mid-rise buildings of six and 12 storeys with 519 rental units instead of the original mid-2024 proposal to construct 682 units—a significant reduction from the original 20-storey proposal.
A minimum of 40 per cent of the total units must be two-bedroom units, and a minimum of five per cent must be three-bedroom suites or larger. The settlement does not mandate the square footage of these units.
The development will be required to provide a minimum of one parking space per unit, inclusive of visitor and accessible parking.
The development faced intense opposition from surrounding residents concerned about traffic, infrastructure capacity, and height.
The OLT held a one-day settlement hearing on May 7 to approve the agreement.
Stephanie Mirtitsch, a land-use planner testifying on behalf of applicant Valery Group, stated that all relevant and appropriate concerns raised by neighbours had been addressed through the project’s revisions.
OLT Member Daniel Best accepted Mirtitsch’s expert testimony, ruling that the settlement adequately addressed community concerns regarding height, density, traffic, privacy, environmental impacts, and compatibility with John C. Munro Hamilton International Airport.
Valery Group is one of Hamilton’s largest rental housing and new home developers.
The full decision is available on the OLT’s website.
Production Details
v. 1.0.0
Published: May 12, 2026
Last updated: May 12, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
Update Record
v. 1.0.0 original version
The number of units and height should have been reduced further. The area will be oversaturated for the infrastructure and over capacity for the area roads, schools and transit system. Missing from the information is that these 6, 8 and 12 storey units will be built on 2 podium structures, utilized largely as a parking garages as the underground area is unsuitable for more than a partial one level of underground parking. There is also no integrating of outdoor public space within the existing community. The outdoor spaces with be on 3rd and 5th floor podium levels overlooking residential yards. Numerous opportunities were missed to develop a cohesive community for new and existing residents.
This was a misstep by the city, and the number of units should have been reduced further. Before he resigned, Danko held a community meeting to discuss the development and was noncommittal on opposing the 20-story structure. Danko acknowledged that the community area and infrastructure were saturated and not equipped to accommodate the structure or the new residents, yet did little to engage the community or to further discussions with the Developer. Danko even mentioned that the schools were over-capacity and would struggle to accommodate this influx of residents. Upper James is a parking lot, imagine what will happen with the added residents here, the developments at Upper James and Stone Church and the 22-storey apartment going up at Upper James and Rymal. The area is saturated. The OLT, and City officials clearly have other motivations than quality of life for the current and incoming residents.