City extends permit for stalled James Street Baptist condo project
What remains of partially razed church shows ‘no significant signs of structural distress,’ report says
Teviah Moro Spectator Reporter, May 3, 2023
The saga of a partially demolished downtown Hamilton church and a 30-storey condo tower long expected to rise from the rubble behind it has reached yet another milestone without shovels in the ground.
The city has extended the project’s heritage permit by a year with the expectation of regular condition updates from the property’s new owner on what remains of James Street Baptist during the continued preamble to construction.
“At this point in time, I’m anxious to see something go there,” says Janice Brown, a member of the municipal heritage committee.
In the meantime, an engineering report advises the church’s remaining facade and tower aren’t about to crumble but will need more attention as time marches on.
The masonry is in “poor condition,” but it “does not present an immediate risk to the public” and the stability of the structure, the analysis found.
Since it was knocked down nearly a decade ago, the 145-year-old semi-razed church still cuts a dramatic and forlorn profile on its weedy, debris-strewn lot at the corner of James and Jackson streets.
“Let’s get that cleaned up and let’s see something happen, especially when you look at our downtown core,” said Brown, who pointed to a host of other condo projects underway.
Like Brown, Coun. Cameron Kroetsch lamented the state of the partial church’s “backyard” and asked city staff if the developer could be urged to clean it up.
“I think it’s a potential opportunity to have some temporary green space until and whenever, if ever, this development gets built,” said Kroetsch, the downtown area’s new councillor.
The Connolly project has had more than one false start since a Toronto developer knocked the old church down in 2014.
Louie Santaguida had aspired to incorporate the facade into a future condo building, but in 2017, amid financial troubles, those efforts fizzled.
In 2019, Hue Developments bought the property and announced plans to resurrect the project with an infusion of capital.
Then in September 2022, Allen Le Nam said his firm, a subsidiary of a larger Vietnam-based corporation, had to pull the plug due to pandemic-related woes.
That’s around when 98 James South (2022) Inc. bought the parcel, according to property records.
Michael Budovitch, vice-president of special projects and business development with Milborne Group and listed as the ownership group’s director, didn’t respond to The Spectator’s request for a project update.
In a previous email, Budovitch noted his firm doesn’t own the property but is a consultant for the investor group.
Brown calls it a “good sign” the new proponents plan to monitor the condition of the church remnant amid the stalled development plans.
Recent “crack monitor” reviews commissioned by the property owner showed “no significant signs of structural distress,” city staff noted in a report before the heritage committee.
But the facade needs restoration, and the longer that’s delayed, the more its “cost and scope” are expected to escalate.
Gillam Group, the Connolly’s construction manager, didn’t respond to a request for comment but offers a project overview on its website.
Among its “key challenges” is the logistics of building a tower on a “very tight” piece of land.
“The site does not easily accommodate an efficient layout, thereby requiring close integration between the design and construction team to optimize the design.”
Teviah Moro is a reporter at The Spectator. tmoro@thespec.com
https://www.thespec.com/news/hamilto...velopment.html
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