Downtown's looking up with a flurry of new investments in the core.
By Jason Leach
Jan. 9, 2006
Jackson Square continues to be its ever-changing self with more store openings and closings. We already told you the bad news, but the good news is that Yves Rocher is opening a new location right inside the main entrance from King and James.
Also, the theatres have been bought by Empire Theaters, a Canadian firm that has become the second largest in the country. This is a good sign for downtown Hamilton to have them want to buy the core's only chain movie house.
A new art gallery is opening on March 2 in Councillor Bob Bratina's old campaign headquarters at King St. and Mary St., a beautiful building with an owner content to wait for the right tenants. Let's hope this gallery is just that.
More residential space and another gallery are going up just north on Mary at King William, joined by artists' lofts and a ground floor auction house at the old Langley Parisian factory just south of King St. on Mary St. Yesterday's Antiques and GW Thompson Pawnbrokers add to the vibrancy of this wonderful urban corner in the heart of downtown.
A good source has teased me about a huge new project that should be announced within the month for downtown Hamilton. We don't have the details yet, but I can tell you that it will be located within spitting distance of King St. and is in the heart of the core, somewhere between Wellington St. and James St. Highrises, condos, lofts, cafes? Stay tuned.
Also, there may be announcements about a new building across from the old federal building on Main St. W. This parking lot used to be owned by HMP across from their main site. Possibly another condo?
A high end hotel chain has contacted the city about possibly locating here. It's a good sign when they call us.
Rumours have swirled about the Canadian department store that is negotiating space in the Hamilton City Centre. RTH has just learned from city sources that the company in question is Hart Department Stores, based in Quebec. With all the activity taking place at the City Centre, let's hope they start to fix this building's problems and reconnect it with the streets with large windows, stores and café patios.
A new Italian restaurant might be going into a building in the King St. and Ferguson St. area. This stretch of downtown is certainly looking up and will become a model of urban living if things keep going the way they are.
St Deny's is supposed to come down in January and have construction start in the spring. Here's hoping.
You can!t build subways with tax cuts." -- Adam Vaughan, CityTV
NewsfeedsISSN: 1715-1554
'Benign Neutrality' is What's Wrong (Jul. 22, 2008) -
Ahhh, things have become a whole lot clearer today after reading a letter to the editor in today's Spectator by John Dolbec of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce.
The most telling comment i
The City as Dynamic System (Jul. 18, 2008) - I wrote yesterday about the complex and often counterintuitive properties of networks, and the role that simplistic "common sense" thinking can play in leading people to false conclusions about ho
Heat Alert 'Trigger' Too High (Jul. 17, 2008) - Toronto has issued an extreme heat alert - that city's highest warning level to inform and protect vulnerable residents from the dangers of extreme heat. The high humidex is supposed to last u
Passport to Hamilton (Jul. 17, 2008) -
A great new initiative developed by Environment Hamilton and the HSR will be unveiled at a public launch this Friday, July 18th at 10:00 am at Williams Coffee Pub on the waterfront.
Passport
Beyond 'Common Sense': How Traffic Networks Work (Jul. 16, 2008) - With all the talk recently about the Downtown Transportation Master Plan and some councillors' objections to spending money to convert downtown streets to two-way, it seems instructive to stud
Free HSR Fares Not The Way To Go (Jul. 16, 2008) -
Councillor Sam Merulla's recent suggestion that public transit in Hamilton ought to be free would risk making transit an economically and politically unsustainable venture for the city.
T
PRINT EDITION