A 12-storey, 153-unit residential rental building has been proposed for the southeast corner of Governor’s Road and Ogilvie Street in Dundas Valley.
The Sandyford Holdings Limited project (file FC-24-060) requires both an Official Plan Amendment and a Zoning By-law Amendment, meaning the application will need to go to Hamilton City Council for a decision. A date for that Council decision has not been set, as the OPA and ZBA application has not yet been filed.
Sandyford Holdings Limited’s address is listed as 110 James Street South in Hamilton. The architectural site plan states the drawings were created for Effort Group.
It will first be reviewed by Hamilton’s Design Review Panel in a review meeting scheduled for Thursday, July 9, 2026, at 1:30 p.m. The public can observe the meeting webinar by emailing drp@hamilton.ca to request the meeting link. The City of Hamilton will post application files to its Design Review Panel webpage in advance of the meeting.
Situated in the Dundana West neighbourhood, the 1.905-hectare site occupies the southeast corner of Governor’s Road and Ogilvie Street. The municipal address for the project is presently 1 Old Ancaster Road, which is a remnant unmaintained roadway that connects to Osler Drive. The apartment building will utilize a small portion of the property, a 0.32-hectare footprint. The remaining 1.58 hectares, which encapsulates portions of Spencer Creek and Spring Creek, will be maintained or restored as open space conservation lands. This 1.58 hectares includes environmentally sensitive areas that provide habitat for species at risk.
The proposal includes ground-level commercial spaces, 133 two-bedroom units, 11 one-bedroom units, and nine three-bedroom units.
Planned vehicle access is from Ogilvie Street with an access roadway connecting to an internal parkade integrated within the building’s four-storey podium. The development will provide 181 vehicle parking spaces, representing a ratio of 1.18 spaces per unit, alongside 116 bicycle parking spaces. The architectural design by KNYMH Incorporated divides the 40.0-metre structure into a four-storey podium and an eight-storey upper tower.
The area of Ogilvie Street in front of the proposed building is a busy pedestrian area with two busy HSR bus stops used by multiple bus routes. A pedestrian wind comfort assessment commissioned by the developer’s consultants concluded that the stepped massing of the building will mitigate downwashing winds. The consultants’ study notes that existing coniferous and marcescent trees in the surrounding forested areas will provide extended wind protection throughout the colder months.
Ward 13 Councillor Alex Wilson stated he is watching the file as it progresses towards public consultation, which will follow the design review stage.
“The Dundas Valley is really a constrained community to do development. And that’s not to speak about political attitudes or any type of NIMBY, YIMBY conversation. It’s to say that we’re an Escarpment Valley, in the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve,” Wilson stated in an interview on June 29 at Hamilton City Hall. “We have several waterfalls, Spencer Creek floodplains running right through it, and there are several pieces of both provincial planning law, special area plans that all complicate planning and development in this area.”
“As a result of all of these constraints that are real and important, I’d say community consultation is so key because people feel protective and defensive over shared heritage” Wilson continued. “I’m on the Spencer Creek Trail most mornings, I see lots of community members there. It’s such a key part of our community. And so any development both needs to be compatible with the special planning policies that exist for development along and inside the Spencer Creek floodplain, as well as all the other ecological constraints that exist in the area.”
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Published: June 29, 2026
Last updated: June 29, 2026
Author: Joey Coleman
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