[thomax]

thespec.com: LIUNA planning 20-storey student highrise next to Lister Block

By Matthew Van Dongen

A long-promised residential tower near the restored Lister Block is back on track — now as a home for hundreds of students.

Laborers' International Union of North America hopes to begin construction by the fall on a 20-storey tower for students behind and beside the Lister Block, with the preserved façade from the 1855 Thomas building incorporated into the James Street frontage.

The L-shaped building will have ground-floor retail facing James Street, said secretary-treasurer Riccardo Persi, with an entrance for up to 380 students on Rebecca Street.

Persi said the union initially planned for an 11-to-15 level condominium, but switched gears to look at student housing based partly on McMaster University's growing downtown presence and the attraction of a "steady cash flow."

"We've done the demand study and we think it's the perfect time to do something like this," he said, pointing to tight rental rates, the James Street GO Station and soon-to-open McMaster health campus, which should serve more than 4,000 students.

The proposal doesn't have a public price tag attached yet and still needs to go through the committee of adjustment for a hoped-for zoning amendment to allow greater height.

More to come.