Hamilton looking at West Harbour plans

The property that was once slated to house Tim Horton’s Field could soon be transformed into a major development. The city of Hamilton’s planning committee unanimously approved a design proposal for the Barton-Tiffany neighbourhood.

This has been a long time in the making. In 2012, staff started studying the area north of Barton Street between Bay and Crook. And they’ve come up with a detailed plan for completely redeveloping it.

Most people remember this vacant site as the potential home to Tim Hortons Field. In 2009, the city bought it. The former Rheem factory was demolished along with several homes and businesses in 2011. But it has sat empty ever since Tim Hortons Field ended up on the Ivor Wynne footprint.

Now, the city is envisioning a complete redevelopment. Several public meetings resulted in these drawings that show dozens of residential and commercial buildings. The design includes two highrises bordering Caroline Street and a parkette butting up against the CN Rail line. The plan also includes tweaking Central Park to make it a bit larger.

And that’s where we run into some of the concerns about this project. A study is underway to find out what needs to be done to make sure the parkland is safe. Several properties in the area used to house factories. Another damper is the CN shunting yard that sits between the development site and the water. The city has been trying for decades to have it moved. But Councillor Jason Farr says it shouldn’t be a deterrent from moving forward: “The time is now to get moving on what we can control and I think that’s what we did here today. And certainly that doesn’t mean we keep our eyes off the prize which is those shunting yards. And certainly help, at least I would, CN relocate to a place that is contiguous and keep them in the area and keep their operations moving the way they do now at their current location.”

Today’s approval will allow staff to start the process of seeking out developers who are interested in purchasing these lands. Because of the scope of the proposal, it could be several years before we see drastic progress, but the consensus today was people are happy to get the ball rolling.