More family-size units to be included in Beasley project
A builder with a plan to redevelop two apartment highrises in downtown Hamilton has agreed to include more family-sized units and not displace current residents after talks with an inner-city neighbourhood association.
The agreement, hammered out by Greenwin Inc. and the Beasley Neighbourhood Association, will also avert an Ontario Municipal Board showdown over 181 John St. N. and 192 Hughson St. N.
The developer says its revised plan will allow for a minimum of 35 three-bedroom units in the buildings, which is 25 more than originally proposed.
“The Beasley Neighbourhood Association is pleased to arrive at a mutually agreed-upon solution,” association member Rob Fiedler told councillors at Tuesday’s planning committee meeting.
The association had initially taken Greenwin to task for a plan that reduced the number of threebedroom units in the two buildings, raising concern that families there would be displaced.
The city’s committee of adjustment then denied a minor variance that would have allowed the developer to carry out the plan. Greenwin appealed to the OMB.
On Tuesday, Brad Clark, a former councillor and MPP, told councillors he’d represented the neighbourhood association in talks with Greenwin to reach an agreement that would allow families to stay put and increase the number of three-bedroom units.
Former mayor Larry Di Ianni represented the developer during those negotiations.
Councillors directed legal staff to present the new redevelopment proposal to the OMB.
Clark, Toronto principal for Maple Leaf Strategies, described Greenwin’s decision to not displace families as “very magnanimous” and called the outcome a “reasonable, pragmatic solution.”
Through a letter from its legal counsel, the developer said the deal was the “product of co-operative community planning effort.”
Coun. Jason Farr applauded the parties for arriving at an amicable solution for a dispute that was fraught with tense dialogue only a couple of years ago. “It’s been a bit of a roller-coaster ride.”
The Ward 2 councillor also praised the neighbourhood association for convincing families, some of whom didn’t speak English, to stay put and fight for more three-bedroom units.
In 2015, The Spectator reported how the landlord was offering tenants incentives of $2,000 to move out of the two buildings to make way for renovations.
The Social Planning and Research Council of Hamilton described many of residents as newcomers to Canada, including a large number of Somali immigrants and refugees.
Residents also received notices that the landlord had applied for rent increases above the provincial guideline of 1.6 per cent.
A Greenwin spokesperson at the time said it aimed “to deliver quality housing at accessible prices.”
On Tuesday, Clark said Greenwin and the neighbourhood association alike believed the dispute has underscored the need for a “made-in-Hamilton” strategy for family-sized units.
Fiedler pointed out the proposal comes amid a pressing housing crisis in Hamilton. “It’s something we look to you, as councillors, to support us in.”
Farr argued planning policy that allows families to live in the inner-city will also help combat the problem of declining enrolment in schools. He also noted several local neighbourhood associations pointed to a lack of familyoriented provisions to ensure larger units aren’t left out of the mix.
Coun. Matthew Green said builders should be forced to recognize the “social shareholders” of their plans in the community.
Farr plans to issue a motion at a future planning meeting to ask staff to explore the possibility of a family-friendly housing policy.