Beasley Lofts | ? | 12 fl | Proposed

[thistleclub]

Four years later...


Abandoned Hamilton knitting mill reveals potential for new chapters
(The Globe & Mail, Dave Leblanc, June 26 2015)

It’s a weekend morning in Hamilton. Hard sunlight bounces off a few slow-moving automobiles – even boom-boom stereos are dialled down – and pedestrians are sparse. Most are still inside making plans for errands, relaxation, or just going with the flow.

Morning is, after all, a wonderful time that’s pregnant with possibility.

It’s true also for a tired, five-building complex on Cannon Street East in Beasley, a working-class neighbourhood named after Richard Beasley (1761-1842), and one of the places from which this steel-proud city grew. Because, today, while the former Chipman-Holton Knitting Co. sits trapped in amber – although much equipment is gone, it’s easy to feel the presence of the generations that worked here – it readies itself for a wonderful new future.

And while it’s known that that future will be a residential one, exactly what form it will take remains unknown.

Affordable housing is currently on the table, with spacious three- and four-bedroom units that could open onto Beasley Park, but that scheme could fall through, says Glen Norton, Hamilton’s manager of urban renewal. “We can get between 70 and 80 units in here and some retail as well,” he says of the 110,000 square feet. he currently safeguards, but will help develop with the building’s private owner. “There’s a big internal space which is like an internal community space – it could be the centre of the building where everybody could go.”

Artist live-work spaces, with a vibe much like Artscape’s Wychwood Barns in Toronto, are a possibility also; after all, concrete floors and high ceilings make for wonderful places to create big honking sculpture. Maybe the Cannon Knitting Mills (as the complex is now called) could pay homage to its past by becoming a fashion incubator where young designers could live, conceive and construct.

As for the retail component, what about a farmer’s market in the community space? A hip café or restaurant is a natural for the oldest of the five buildings at 122 Mary St.; it dates to 1856 and might have been a hotel originally, since it features “domestic” decorative elements, such as a rounded corner, ornate carvings and a hip roof.

Although architect David Premi has prepared many schemes, he seems sure of only two things: the five buildings – some with concrete frames, others with thick timber posts and beams – are all “solid as a rock”; and the “church” portion, which faces onto Cannon Street. and has a somewhat ecclesiastical look with a peaked roof and rounded window-tops, would make for a wonderful main entrance. The rest, “could be a mix of housing,” he suggests

“Maybe if the affordable housing can’t stomach the whole thing – it’s such a big project – they’d take a piece of it, maybe some of it’s market housing, maybe some of it is office.”

Read it in full here.

[interr0bangr]

I will do backflips the day something concrete gets announced for this. Crazy amounts of potential.

[Beedok]

So, this is still going on right? This plus that Vranich build should really help the area.

[interr0bangr]

I know it's not part of the Knitting Mills, but does anyone know what's happening with the old Good Sheppard Food Bank building on the other side of Mary? In the summer they removed windows, reinforced the window framing, dug a huge hole around the perimeter and now it looks like they gutted the inside and are doing some sort of renos. Is it still owned by The Good Sheppard?

Building in question: https://www.google.ca/maps/@43.25959...7i13312!8i6656

[interr0bangr]

Might have found the answer to my own question.

Good Shepherd Non-Profit Homes Project, 120 Cannon Street East

As part of ongoing downtown revitalization efforts, in November 2014, the City of Hamilton
confirmed that $5.25 million from the Investment in Affordable Housing – Extension program
(IAH-E) will be provided to Good Shepherd Non-Profit Homes for capital construction costs
to renovate the former food bank/warehouse at 120 Cannon Street East at Mary Street.

Good Shepherd Non-Profit Homes and David Premi of dp.Ai architects are currently working on
designs to rejuvenate the early 1900’s four-storey brick warehouse, which will offer 35 modern,
affordable, one-bedroom units, four of which will be wheelchair accessible and barrier-free.

There are also plans to add a fifth storey to the building.

The total project cost is $7.63 million. Interior demolition will start in spring 2015, with building
completion scheduled for fall 2016.

https://www.hamilton.ca/sites/defaul...r_2014-web.pdf

Perhaps a new thread is in order.

[thomax]

Originally Posted by interr0bangr

Perhaps a new thread is in order.

I just made one ---> 120 Cannon Street East | ? | 5 fl | Under Construction

[Dr Awesomesauce]

^That's a great building. Good news!

[coalminecanary]

premi is involved in this I think.

good shepherd is becoming a bit of a real estate mogul. i find that aspect a bit sketchy but as long as they use their power for good...

[palace1]

"The total project cost is $7.63 million"

For 35 one-bedroom units that works out to $218,000 per unit.

I'm not sure how the Affordable Housing grant works (I believe they have to offer rents below market value for so many years) but this sounds very expensive to me.

[thistleclub]

Originally Posted by palace1

"The total project cost is $7.63 million"

For 35 one-bedroom units that works out to $218,000 per unit.

I'm not sure how the Affordable Housing grant works (I believe they have to offer rents below market value for so many years) but this sounds very expensive to me.

I believe the developers are obligated to maintain the property as affordable housing for a 20-year term, after which they can sell it or refurb it into condos.

In the case of 2007's Terraces on King, 77% of the project cost was covered by the government, and on a per-unit basis, it came out to around $140K per unit… but then Terraces was a high-density new build whereas the food bank is lower-density adaptive reuse, so the efficiencies might not be there.

The Good Shepherd will inevitably encounter optics issues as it ventures into property development. Take today’s Spec, for example:

The Good Shepherd is mulling the closure of its Notre Dame resource centre for vulnerable youth as it scrambles to fill a $230,000 operating gap.

The city has turned down its funding request, citing scant dollars to support other cash-strapped agencies.

The city is "simply broke," Coun. Sam Merulla said Tuesday, arguing provincial and federal governments are "missing in action" when it comes to social service funding.

...The $230,000 request comes on top of $200,000 in yearly funding the city already provides Good Shepherd for the resource centre. The city gave the program an extra $230,000 last year, but can't afford it this year.

Good Shepherd also receives $750,000 in yearly block funding for Notre Dame House's youth shelter at 14 Cannon St. W., which it doesn't plan to close.

MacPhee says he has pushed both the provincial and federal governments for more funding. But Ottawa's move toward a Housing First strategy has left some programs out in the cold, he said.

Another problem is that at-risk youth fall through the cracks, with the city tackling homelessness and the province responsible for mental health issues, MacPhee noted.

[LikeHamilton]

Cannon Knitting Mills goes up for sale

Hamilton Spectator By Teviah Moro, January 23, 2016

The owners of the Cannon Knitting Mills are looking for buyers after years of failed attempts to land tenants in the vacant factory through a city partnership.

"He's testing the market waters right now," Coun. Jason Farr says.

A sign for Derek Doyle of Ambitious Realty went up on the historic, sprawling 134 Mary St. building Saturday.

Forum Equity Partners, through a subsidiary, bought the knitting mills in 2011, under a public-private partnership called the Hamilton Realty Capital Corporation (HRCC).

The city split the $200,000 purchase price with Forum, but doesn't hold title of the property. The city, however, pays half of its property taxes.

The municipality's 10-year agreement for Forum for the HRCC, a public-private venture meant to spur investment in the downtown area, expires in July.

The HRCC has touted the Cannon Knitting Mills for its adaptive reuse potential, with tours for potential tenants held there over the years.

Farr says a potential sale is a positive development.

"There's definitely interest right in that building," the Ward 2 councillor said.

On Twitter, Doyle said "details will be avail Monday," but didn't immediately return a call for comment Saturday.

Farr said the 110,000 square-foot building has stuck out "like a sore thumb" in Beasley, where a $2.5-million neighbourhood park revamp is in the works.

"It's a blight right now."

John Neary, who lives across Mary Street from the plant, welcomes new ownership, given the lack of progress so far on the contaminated property.

"The new owner could only be better."

Neary would like to see some kind of mixed use for the space.

Tearing it down would be a "wasted opportunity."

The plant, which is made of five buildings built between 1854 and 1950, has heritage and architectural value, Farr said.

The Ward 2 councillor said he'd be "very surprised" if a buyer purchases the building only to tear it down.

The city spent nearly $300,000 to create the HRCC, a cost that included a business plan and analysis of potential properties for redevelopment.

Council will have to decide whether to renew the HRCC partnership but suggested if the knitting mills its sole asset, there's nothing much to work with, Farr said.

"It's certainly something we'll debate, for sure."

Neary says the partnership should end, arguing public dollars shouldn't be wasted subsidizing such a private enterprise.

"I think it was a very bad piece of municipal governance."

Farr, however, said the HRCC was a "prudent" move at the time of its creation.

"Let's put it this way: it was also good intentions. It just didn't come to fruition."

More to come.


tmoro@thespec.com

905-526-3264 | @TeviahMoro

http://www.thespec.com/news-story/62...s-up-for-sale/

[realcity]

It's a firepit waiting to happen. It's made of 100 year old wood, imbedded with 100 years of cotton fibres and dust. I'd stay far away from it. The only time something will happen on that land is when it burns to the ground.

I know this because I worked there in the 90s for the last occupant making curtains for hospitals and drapes for schools.

[matt602]

There was a fire there about a year ago and I thought the place was gonna burn to the ground that night because of what you just pointed out. Thankfully it was just some idiots who burned a couch on the 3rd floor and the fire department got it out quickly. If it were given 10 or 20 more minutes to burn, the place wouldn't be there now I bet.

[king10]

no idea how they think this is going to sell for over $2 million when just a few years ago it didn't sell for $800,000.

A little too much greed and speculation IMO

[eatboots]

It doesn't need to sell for 2 million, when it burns down "by accident" they can get the money for it that way.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by king10

A little too much greed and speculation IMO

And there you have it. The actual impetus for the HRCC.

[oldcoote]

Rumour has it that it sold.

[interr0bangr]

Originally Posted by oldcoote

Rumour has it that it sold.

I saw what I assume were potential buyers walking through/around the property last night

[SteelTown]

The owner of the Cannon Knitting Mills has a "firm deal" to sell the old plant.

Hamilton Spectator
By Teviah Moro
http://www.thespec.com/news-story/63...as-firm-deal-/

The owner of the Cannon Knitting Mills has a "firm deal" to sell the vacant old Hamilton plant.

"The deal is firm but has not closed yet, so both the buyer and seller have asked that no details be released until such time as the ownership changes hands," Glen Norton, the City of Hamilton's manager of urban renewal, said Friday.

The pending transaction is mentioned in a city report that recommends discontinuing the Hamilton Realty Capital Corporation (HRCC).

The HRCC is a partnership between the city and Toronto-based Forum Equity Partners was formed in 2006 to encourage development in the core.

Under the 10-year agreement, the city acts as a lender to Forum, which in turn, invests in properties eyed for redevelopment. The knitting mills at Cannon and May streets are Forum's sole asset under the HRCC.

The HRCC had aimed to land tenants for the 110,000-square-foot property but wasn't able.

That has dashed hopes for a rejuvenated block in the Beasley neighbourhood while the brownfield property continues to deteriorate.

Forum put the knitting mills up for sale late last month, listing it with Ambitious Realty for $2.4 million.

The developer bought the property for $200,000 in 2011, with the city lending it half the purchase price.

Forum didn't respond to request for comment Friday but has previously said it "priced it accordingly, based on recommendations from our real estate broker."

As sole owner of the property, Forum receives all proceeds from the sale.

Coun. Jason Farr, who represents the area, says he "feels good" about the pending deal.

Farr said he doesn't know who is purchasing the knitting mills but has his fingers crossed the buyer will spur a positive redevelopment of the derelict building.

"I'm hopeful and want to be confident that's going to be the case."

The plant is a series of five buildings constructed between 1854 and 1950.

The city report, to be discussed by councillors Wednesday, recommends the immediate termination of the HRCC agreement, if all parties agree.

It also recommends $1.85 million loaned from the Hamilton Future Fund, which was committed to HRCC projects, be cancelled.

The report notes that staff and Forum "mutually agreed" it was best to wind down the agreement, which expires in July, and sell the knitting mills.

Forum has already returned the loaned funds of $261,266.92 to the city, it adds.

[king10]

Apparently Vranich is the buyer.