Life Savers condo ignites a bittersweet feud between neighbours
Some residents worry repurposing old factory will ruin their view of escarpment and worsen parking woes in area
https://www.thespec.com/news-story/8...en-neighbours/
A proposed condo development at Hamilton's old Life Savers candy factory has unwrapped a bittersweet divide among neighbours.
The Toronto developers behind The Life Saver Lofts Condominium Development at 100 Cumberland Ave. near Sanford Avenue — in the works for at least five years — are asking the city Tuesday to rezone the property from light industrial to a multiple dwellings district.
But several neighbours have expressed written and verbal concerns, including nine submissions from the public and a petition with 31 signatures.
Complaints include the obstruction of escarpment views, the length of the construction process and more parking wars in the area — to name a few.
Archer Development Corp. is looking to renovate and repurpose the vacant and dilapidated two-floor factory that closed down in 2004. It opened in 1922.
Three floors will be added to the existing structure to create a total of 65 units. The nearby city-owned Lifesavers Park will not be affected by the construction.
"People need to get a life," says Gloria Leclair. She's lived in a two-storey house on Burris Street, directly across from the east-side entrance to the factory for the last year.
She didn't want to sign a community petition to stop the project. She wants the developers to go ahead.
"Change is change and it's better for people to have places to live than let it be an old eyesore."
The old red brick walls are marked by graffiti and plywood covers the busted windows. It's set against the greenery of the sprawling escarpment behind it.
Casey Irvin has owned his home just north of Cumberland and a few houses down from the factory for three years now.
He's not keen on a looming obstructed view of the escarpment with several new floors being proposed. But he's still in favour of the development.
"Right now, we just see broken windows."
He understands his neighbours' concerns and has attended previous public meetings about the development. Keeping the factory zoned as industrial means another manufacturer could move in, and perhaps it's production won't be as sweet smelling as candy, he says.
For now, Kitchens & Bath Factory Direct uses the space.
Irvin agrees a condo development will bring increased traffic to the area as well as add to the race for already coveted parking spots. But it's what needs to happen, he believes.
"It will add value to the neighbourhood — and not just property value," he says. "More people will be interested in the area and it will have a positive impact on the neighbourhood."
David Speagle has lived on the northeast corner lot across from the Life Savers factory for 37 years.
"When we moved in, it was a beautiful piece of property," he says, recalling the cut grass and efficient maintenance. He shakes his head at those protesting the development.
"Parking is tight but that's a weak excuse," he says. "Anything to clean up that mess. It would be welcome."
Attempts to reach Archer Development Corp. over the weekend were unsuccessful.