TheHonestMaple said:
I didn't say there was anything wrong with it. I'm saying it won't be a problem filling this up, come September.
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Sure there's a problem with it - it means these places are like the william thomas and just filled with transitory students whose rich parents pay for them to be there - it's not native-born people settling in the core and forming communities and neighbourhoods. (and don't twist that into a racist thing please those "native born" people can be of any nationality)

The question should be what and with whom is filling the downtown core? Is it long lasting? Will it promote long lasting cultural change? Or will these places be revolving doors of people? They say we have a housing crisis but these places are NOT aimed at the average joe who is from here looking for places to live - they are aimed at people from toronto or as was said foriegn people with rich parents, or in some cases retirees looking to downsize..

but where is the local hamilton youth going to live? Affordable housing is basically for the poor, and these are basically for the rich.. so they're still not making places the average person can afford to live in in hamilton. Not that in any market the average joe would most likely be able to afford to live right in the core - it's not the 1930s or 40s anymore..
 
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I mean... it's a luxury rental. It's not intended for lower income folks. It has multiple gyms, activity rooms, pool, spas, etc. Only people with money are going to be able to live here. High earning professionals, and foreign students or domestic students using big lines of credit.

My hope is buildings like this one, 75 James, Design District, etc, will attract high earning professionals that will then slowly attract professional service firms to set up offices in downtown Hamilton. High paying engineering, accounting, other financial service firms. Then Hamilton might finally snowball.
 
TheHonestMaple said:
I mean... it's a luxury rental. It's not intended for lower income folks. It has multiple gyms, activity rooms, pool, spas, etc. Only people with money are going to be able to live here. High earning professionals, and foreign students or domestic students using big lines of credit.

My hope is buildings like this one, 75 James, Design District, etc, will attract high earning professionals that will then slowly attract professional service firms to set up offices in downtown Hamilton. High paying engineering, accounting, other financial service firms. Then Hamilton might finally snowball.
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There are literally people walking around screaming and begging just around the corner from this building, using needles and pooping in the alleyways - you gotta deal with THAT problem FIRST - they might have a nice fancy new place - but theyre still across from a core thats half boarded up and falling apart with people who should be in mental institutions wandering around harassing people or sitting on the corner of king and james on mats begging (or telling everyone the world is gonna end in front of jackson lol)

we are kinda in a weird spot where we think if we just fill the core with rich people the problem will magically fix itself - but it won't - WE know what the vibe is in that area, and I am pretty sure anyone that wanders around there will too. Decades worth of that isn't just going to evaporate overnight. So rich professionals see that and go "eesh.. no thanks, I'll find somewhere else if I am going to be spending this much on a place".

I remember I had a friend that worked in one of the hotels downtown and the amt of scary stories he had of people just wandering in and being destructive in some way was just insane.

It is like someone cut a knife between king street and king william street - king william street is what gore park on king street is supposed to be - but it's had several layers of corruption and rot and it still shows. We're slowly trying to turn things around but it's like redirecting a river, it takes time, with lot of resistance.
 
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Chronamut said:
There are literally people walking around screaming and begging just around the corner from this building, using needles and pooping in the alleyways - you gotta deal with THAT problem FIRST - they might have a nice fancy new place - but theyre still across from a core thats half boarded up and falling apart with people who should be in mental institutions wandering around harassing people or sitting on the corner of king and james on mats begging (or telling everyone the world is gonna end in front of jackson lol)

we are kinda in a weird spot where we think if we just fill the core with rich people the problem will magically fix itself - but it won't - WE know what the vibe is in that area, and I am pretty sure anyone that wanders around there will too. Decades worth of that isn't just going to evaporate overnight. So rich professionals see that and go "eesh.. no thanks, I'll find somewhere else if I am going to be spending this much on a place".

I remember I had a friend that worked in one of the hotels downtown and the amt of scary stories he had of people just wandering in and being destructive in some way was just insane.

It is like someone cut a knife between king street and king william street - king william street is what gore park on king street is supposed to be - but it's had several layers of corruption and rot and it still shows. We're slowly trying to turn things around but it's like redirecting a river, it takes time, with lot of resistance.
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I actually disagree on this point. I actually think it will.
 
TheHonestMaple said:
From what I understand, one of the towers is completely empty. The other has a number of units rented out.
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Tower A is the one that is currently being rented out. It might not be up to date, but the Web site as it reads now suggests that literally 289 out of 290 units from floors 2 through 30 are available for rent in that tower.
 
BCTed said:
Tower A is the one that is currently being rented out. It might not be up to date, but the Web site as it reads now suggests that literally 289 out of 290 units from floors 2 through 30 are available for rent in that tower.
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I don’t think that’s accurate. I’ve been in the buildings. There are way more than 1 unit occupied in the one tower. Must not be up to date.
 
TheHonestMaple said:
This thing will fill up with rich foreign students.
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Students vary significantly. When I was in uni around the time the province started pumping students into the system, there were many rich east Asians popping up on campus.

Then there were also stories from other campuses where rich Gulf students allegedly paid to have their assignments done by other students.

But the Indians received much less parental support and were mostly paying their own way (scarping by).

rdaner said:
And the problem with that is? You Hamilton people are so funny! 🤣
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It's a self evident problem when foreign money displaces people already here, duh?
 
Stec said:
I'm a little upset at this. We got the 1 month free rent and signed quicker than we wanted to because the offer expired June 30 we didn't want to miss out. We're not even moved in yet and now they are offering two months free but only for new applicants??? Ouch....
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Always something that could be better! I wouldn't stress about it, seems like even just a month off is a good deal!
 
TheHonestMaple said:
I actually disagree on this point. I actually think it will.
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rich people don't wanna live in places that reflect badly on their richness, aka around crazy people - hence why many live in ancaster and dundas or on the plateau - so good luck with that. What are you gonna do, lie to them and tell them the place is a wonderful area full of sane people? They will discover the truth eventually. They'll find the needles, they'll be harassed by the people.. someone will poop in front of their building lol.. they may move in, but that's not gonna mean they are gonna stay.

so its a bit of a chicken and egg situation - which improves first - the crazies go away and rich people fill in, or the rich people fill in and magically the crazies disappear? Which would you like to bet on? Where are the crazies gonna magically go? Sure we can move that methadone clinic but you're simply causing misery to wherever you move it to, as we noted with the ywca.. although that DOES seem to be the cities solution is to simply move it all out of the core, and perhaps that IS the only solution, since the mental hospitals no longer hold these people due to ethical reasons.

hell if hamilton was still "as" mafia run as it was in the past a lot of those people WOULD just magically disappear.. and end up .. somewhere else.. like the bottom of the lake..

hamilton is largely a mental health problem, not a money problem.
 
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BCTed said:
If you go on the Web site, it looks like every suite from floors 2 through 30 is available for rent except for suite 507. Is that what Stec rented?

(I don't know if there are first floor rental suites)

https://www.thekingwilliamrentals.com/suites
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Not my unit hehe and that is definitely not accurate on the website. I do believe the building may be filling up slower than anticipated hence why they may be offering two months free rent now but my best guess is at least 15 units are now rented in Tower A. Tower B will remain empty until Tower A is nearly full. I was there yesterday and there was a stream of people coming in to tour units.
 
Stec said:
Not my unit hehe and that is definitely not accurate on the website. I do believe the building may be filling up slower than anticipated hence why they may be offering two months free rent now but my best guess is at least 15 units are now rented in Tower A. Tower B will remain empty until Tower A is nearly full. I was there yesterday and there was a stream of people coming in to tour units.
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Good to hear and I am glad that your neighbour count is increasing.

Re: the state of downtown, I agree on the chicken-and-egg thing. Yes, there are some decent restaurants and bars, but otherwise there is not a ton of attraction to living there. It needs to have jobs and entertainment and shopping and cleanliness to attract people with decent incomes. And it needs people with decent incomes to attract people with decent incomes --- Catch 22. Hopefully some of these new buildings and the renovated arena will help. I am not so convinced that the LRT will be a magical cure-all if it happens.

There have been a few times where I have come there on weekends and struggled to see any "normal" people on most blocks (Jackson Square is rough; the GO Centre is really rough; the area around the arena is really rough; even the public library can be rough) and it is a big bummer.
 
I also think people misunderstand what "rich" is. People that can afford these units (ie. Myself, STEC and others here) aren't too good for being around those with mental health issues and poverty seeing as how we live downtown now. I don't think that "solves" the issues downtown, but it will surely change the perception. Even now it's pretty common to see groups of nicely dressed people walking around, more similar to what you'd see in Toronto despite it's large population of individuals with mental health issues and drug addiction.

OhTheUrbanity discussed this interaction with having a mix of people in urban areas improving the safety and perception of it for those who are coming to visit. So to me, these buildings filling with hundreds or thousands of middle income people will surely improve downtown though if won't be the silver bullet that solves the issues of homelessness and drug addiction health issues.

People not from Hamilton moving into these is also great because it means they're not displacing an existing resident, which is another reason why housing supply is so important.
 
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