[BCTed]

This is true, I think.

And it's often the people living in the suburban areas who are oblivious to it. Some will complain about congestion (supposedly due to removal of many of the out-dated one-way streets, though in my opinion it's more about evolving transportation demand and travel patterns as the city slowly continues to transition from being a hub for heavy manufacturing), the LRT plan, and the social issues that pervade the central city. But I have to wonder how many have actually experienced any of it.

My parents are a case in point. They're now around 80 and doing well but their trips largely involve medical appointments and groceries, and that's all generally close to home in East Hamilton and Stoney Creek. But they'll read an opinion story or letter in the Spec about the downtown area and believe it word for word. I doubt they've been downtown in years, and the last visit was probably to a restaurant with me as driver and maker of arrangements.

Someone posted a photo of the interior of the "Hamilton City Centre Mall" on Facebook recently and like 50% of the comments said things like "I remember the Centre Mall and this is not the Centre Mall" and "This must be at Lime Ridge Mall because I know what the Centre Mall looked like". They didn't even have any concept of the Eaton Centre / City Centre after it existed for 30+ years. I think it says something about your average Hamiltonian and/or your average Facebook user and/or your average Hamiltonian Facebook user.

 

[Wigs]

There's probably a sizeable percentage of residents on "the mountain" that haven't driven let alone stepped foot downtown for years, unless it's for hospital appointments, Doctor/specialist visits.

 

[Wigs]

Even with the height limits, the total of all units constructed in downtown Hamilton starting from the curving Marquee Residence/20 George St. is impressive.

Does anyone have an ongoing tally? 75 James is 600+ units alone

 

[innsertnamehere]

Even with the height limits, the total of all units constructed in downtown Hamilton starting from the curving Marquee Residence/20 George St. is impressive.

Does anyone have an ongoing tally? 75 James is 600+ units alone

By my count we are at around 3,300 units under construction right now:

Recently completed (last 5 years or so, Marquee isn't on the list):

 

[Stec]

There's probably a sizeable percentage of residents on "the mountain" that haven't driven let alone stepped foot downtown for years, unless it's for hospital appointments, Doctor/specialist visits.

And those people are sadly missing out on the best restaurant scene around and some of the coolest little shops!

 

[BCTed]

By my count we are at around 3,300 units under construction right now:

View attachment 676493

Recently completed (last 5 years or so, Marquee isn't on the list):

View attachment 676494

Interesting. So more than half the units have yet to be completed. And assuming that not all of the already-completed units have been populated, that means that there is still a pretty sizeable number of people still to come downtown.

 

[berklon]

5,000+ increase residence downtown will make a noticeable difference. I've already noticed a big difference with foot traffic downtown over the last few years.

Also, what's the occupancy currently at King William?

 

[Wigs]

Interesting that when you add recently completed with u/c units that downtown Hamilton will have added 10,000 residents in a relatively short amount of time. Many mid sized cities in Canada and USA would love to have be experiencing that amount of population growth... in the core of their respective cities

 

[TransportEnthusiast]

Once the LRT is completed and running for a decade, I predict ward 2 population to reach 60,000. 2021 stats say 37,080.

 

[Wigs]

Any major updates on what's going on with the LRT?
This project seems to be slow as molasses

 

[Stec]

5,000+ increase residence downtown will make a noticeable difference. I've already noticed a big difference with foot traffic downtown over the last few years.

Also, what's the occupancy currently at King William?

I'm in Tower A the first tower to rent out it's full capacity and I believe Tower B is currently around 60% last I heard. I have seen huge increase of foot traffic downtown and all hours of the day and later into the evening and it's foot traffic with money to spend which is key for the local businesses and it seems to be working because things are opening faster than I can keep track of which is fantastic news for downtown!

 

[rdaner]

^Thanks. My sister lives outside Pittsburgh and comparing the two makes Hamilton look like Dubai!

 

[berklon]

I'm in Tower A the first tower to rent out it's full capacity and I believe Tower B is currently around 60% last I heard. I have seen huge increase of foot traffic downtown and all hours of the day and later into the evening and it's foot traffic with money to spend which is key for the local businesses and it seems to be working because things are opening faster than I can keep track of which is fantastic news for downtown!

Nice. When the rest of Tower B is occupied, that could bring another 100+ people downtown.

Retail follows the people, so there are good opportunities for retail to set up shop downtown with the built-in potential customers.

 

[TransportEnthusiast]

I was curious:

Welland, Ontario (City)

≈ 81.16 km²

Ward 2, Hamilton

≈ 6.14 km²

Once the LRT is completed and running for a decade, I predict ward 2 population to reach 60,000. 2021 stats say 37,080.

That would be 9,771 people per sq km. For comparison:

Vancouver (Downtown)

18,837

Toronto (Downtown)

16,608

Montréal (Downtown)

8,367

Calgary (Downtown)

7,778

 

[Stec]

Nice. When the rest of Tower B is occupied, that could bring another 100+ people downtown.

Retail follows the people, so there are good opportunities for retail to set up shop downtown with the built-in potential customers.

Do we know how many units are in 75 James? I know in King William I believe it's 328 units total between the two towers and podium levels. I'd love to know how many people in total would be living in these when fully occupied. I understand there are a lot of singles but I wonder how many units have 2 or more people living in them per unit. For instance King William could potentially house 700 or more people once averaged out considering some of the 3 bed units may have 5 or 6 people living in them which is the case on my floor alone in 2 units lol. I'd love to know how much 75 James could potentially house once fully occupied as well?