You win some, you lose some: Stinson projects in Hamilton

Royal Connaught skyscraper

Then-Hamilton newcomer Harry Stinson offered

$9.5 million in 2008 for the circa-1916 Royal Connaught with plans for a 100-storey, 1,000-foot-tall “spire” behind the historic hotel. His financing for the purchase fell through — as did plans for Canada’s tallest habitable building.

Stinson School Lofts (200 Stinson St.)

Stinson bought the historic Stinson School in 2009 and completed a heritage-awardwinning redevelopment into 66 luxury loft condo suites in late 2013.

Hamilton Grand (John and Main streets)

An on-again, off-again plan for a boutique hotel and condo project first envisioned in 2009 at the site of the old Crazy Horse Saloon on John Street was later pitched atop a former gas bar at John and Main. Financing woes and red tape saw various iterations of the $20-million project killed, resurrected and abandoned.

Gibson School Lofts (601 Barton St. E)

Stinson announced plans for a 80-unit condo conversion of the former Gibson public school in 2013. Today, the building is being marketed as upscale loft rentals between $1,595 and $2,995 per month. A window installer placed a $478,000 lien on the property in February, but Stinson said in general work on the project is going well and tenants could start moving in later this year.

Cannon Knitting Mills (Mary and Cannon streets)

Stinson bought the historic mill complex in 2016 for $3 million and pitched a six-storey hotel and condo redevelopment that climbed to 20 storeys in 2018. He is negotiating the potential for a taller building with the city now, he says.