Appeal against 45-storey waterfront tower dropped
Plan for lakeside skyscraper is part of 1,645-unit residential development at west harbour
A resident has dropped his tribunal appeal over a plan for a 45-storey tower at Hamilton’s west harbour.
Scott Patterson launched his Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) challenge after council backed the long-anticipated, contested tower at Pier 8 in November.
The lakeside tower “ignores and abandons” a previous community-informed vision from mostly modest “gentle-density” development in the area, Patterson wrote in his OLT application.
The tower plan is a “classic ‘bait and switch’ without any regard” for the city’s years-long Setting Sail planning exercise for the North End, he contended.
But earlier this month, Patterson withdrew his appeal, telling the OLT via email he had “received and considered all information submitted” to him.
The 45-storey tower is part of development consortium Waterfront Shores’ overall plan for 1,645 units split between the skyscraper and shorter condo and townhouses on the site, which is otherwise zoned for up to eight storeys.
The project is a partnership with the city, which owns the parcels and is doing an extensive overhaul of the west harbour, including new stretches of boardwalk, park space and other amenities.
The tower proposal is the result of a provincial tribunal settlement of previous appeals by North End residents that obliged council to “consider” a taller building that allowed for less density throughout the rest of the site and more family units.
Bruce Kuwabara, the worldrenowned, Hamilton-raised architect who designed the tower, has described it as a “flagship” for Hamilton that would be visible from across the bay.
The proposal cleared council but not without objections from some, including Coun. Tom Jackson, who has called it a “monstrosity” and example of vertical intensification “run amok” on the waterfront.