Firstly, I would like to advise the community of some FACTS:

1. Deanlee is paying 5 millions for this property…I think that’s a steal

and a profit margin would be easily obtainable.

2. We have submitted a pettition to the City with approximately 600

names against this type of development. (note that these are

voting individuals in the community).

3. The community voted for the type of development they could live with,

The vote overwhelmingly opted for the single family homes. The

stats are posted on our site for your information.

In my opinion, the above outweighs the 14 individuals that have

expressed their interest in the type of units Deanlee is proposing.

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Brow lands development proposal not carved in stone

Developer willing to look at fewer units if return on investment not compromised

By Mark Newman

News

Feb 01, 2008

Deanlee Management is willing to look at fewer then the 750 units it has proposed for the Chedoke brow lands.

“It’s not carved in stone,” said Ron Starr, president of development at the Mississauga firm. “There’s flexibility in this process.”

Possible ways of reducing the number of units Mr. Starr offered, could include increasing the size of the single family homes, townhouses and condominium units proposed for the the site thereby requiring fewer of them or by adding luxury penthouse condos to the top of some of the proposed buildings, which would also reduce the total number of units.

Mr. Starr said Deanlee is willing to look at fewer units on the site if they can be shown to be financially viable for the company and there is planning support and justification for the change.

“Show us a solution,” Mr. Starr said. “We still haven’t seen any (alternative), we’re either had no development or limited development and we knew that from day one.”

In December, as part of the secondary planning process for the brow lands along Sanatorium Road, north of Scenic Drive, the majority of residents living near the site voted for either limited development that would see 25 single family homes on the brow lands or no development at all.

Mr. Starr said those two options are non-starters.

“It’s not even reasonable,” said Mr. Starr, who added Deanlee has been prepared since “day one” to go to the Ontario Municipal Board to seek approval for the project if a development agreement with the city and the neighbours cannot be worked out.

“I think the residents truly believe what they’re doing is the right thing, but I think they’re missing the opportunity to really come back to the owners (and) developers of the land to say this is what we’ll live with,” Mr. Starr said. “If somebody can give us some good ideas and there’s the ability to compromise and utilize the lands as we as builders think is a good compromise, we’re quite willing to listen.”

Mr. Starr estimated Deanlee will spend as much as $250 million on labour, materials and other costs to develop the brow lands. He expects most of builders and sub contractors they use will be from the Hamilton area.

“You utilize as many local people as you can because it’s cost-efficient,” Mr. Starr said.

In addition, Mr. Starr said the company expects to pay as much as $20 million in development charges and about $3 million a year in property taxes.

Mr. Starr said not all of the neighbours in the area oppose the development plans, noting Deanlee has received requests from as many as 14 people who live within “walking distance” of the brow lands to be put on a reservation list for the condos.

City planning staff are reviewing Deanlee’s proposal as well as information gathered from the residents during the secondary planning process and are expected to make their recommendation to the economic and planning committee in March or April.

On Jan. 17, Deanlee officials took a group of city planning staff and brow lands area residents on a bus tour of some developments in Toronto, Oakville and Burlington to give them an idea of the kind of buildings and surrounding landscaping they hope to construct and how some residential development has been merged with open space.

“I think some of the examples they showed us were very positive,” said John Norris, a brow land area resident and member of the group Mountainview Residents for Recreation of Hamilton.

Mr. Norris said the non-profit group is pushing Deanlee and the city to maintain as much open space on the brow lands as possible.

Their proposals include: preserving the east side of the development at Scenic Drive and Sanatorium Road (a former baseball field) as parkland; installing a set of stairs from in front of the Long and Bisby building to the rail trail below and improving pathways around the water retention pond area in the centre of the brow lands to make it a more scenic walking corridor.

Here is what the story had to say -

“Windows started going in on the 22-unit condo tower, which is perched on the Mountain brow on Mountain Park Avenue, tucked under quaint Concession Street quite near Henderson General Hospital.

“This is a growing trend, and many believe this is long overdue,” said Dana Senagama, market analyst for Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp.

“Even in the downtown core, we should see some. They might be conversions (of old condos) or complete new builds.”

The reason, said Senagama, is a growing number of aging boomers who want to downsize but still want space and want to stay in their hometown.

“It’s a niche market, and it’s catering to affluent … empty nesters who don’t want the upkeep of a single detached home.”

A niche market? This is much more then a ?niche?!

Boomers are 30% of the population and given their herding instinct, whatever they do will have a profound affect on our city. The lower city will be subjected to gazing up at monuments to boomer comfort and the mountain brow will lose all its perfect lands to glass and concrete monoliths.

Another article in The Spec drives the point home, entitled; Hamilton has all that boomers want by Ian Taylor

?We moved here May 1, 2006, and we love it.

We’re examples of what urban economist Richard Florida calls “the flight of the creative class” and Hamilton serves our needs to a T. We sold our Toronto home, invested most of the proceeds and we’re currently renting a luxury penthouse apartment five blocks from the Hamilton Go Centre.?

A classic ‘incentive trap’ – if the market decides how this trend will playout, what is best about Hamilton will be consumed and what attracted Ian will be lost.

Glass and concrete mausoleums are to the boomers, what the Hula Hoops were in the late 1950s – just another fad.

And….Sacrificing Hamilton’s crown jewels to a trend is unconscionable, no matter what the CHC officials have to say on the matter.