The Connolly (98 James St S.) | 105.1 m | 31 fl | Planning - Page 17

lachlanholmes · #**321** Posted **Aug 9, 2017, 11:01 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chronamut

having a church facade for a condo made me feel a bit uneasy anyways.. feel sacreligious somehow.. I mean I know that people make houses out of churches but still..

Hopefully something good comes from this lot! They will probably demolish the remnants of the church and put something modern up. I don't care as long as something is done with this space..

I'm not a religious person but I sorta agree. I am sad to see it fail because I didn't think the design was too bad, certainly better than the Tivoli to my eye.

GeneralLeeTPHLS · #**322** Posted **Oct 7, 2017, 4:15 AM**

Welp, this site looks rather dumb now:
[IMG]

TJ064686 by Josh Kenn Photographics, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]

TJ064688 by Josh Kenn Photographics, on Flickr[/IMG]

hamilton23 · #**323** Posted **Oct 26, 2017, 7:17 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chronamut

having a church facade for a condo made me feel a bit uneasy anyways.. feel sacreligious somehow.. I mean I know that people make houses out of churches but still..

Hopefully something good comes from this lot! They will probably demolish the remnants of the church and put something modern up. I don't care as long as something is done with this space..

In other parts of Ontario and in the World for that matter, buildings that have church facades have no problem selling. In Toronto, i've seen countless buildings that have churches as their facades, and I know that they sell or rent really well.

It's not so much a religious thing for most people that dig these buildings. It's the architecture style that intrigues people.

It will be interesting to see what happens with this parcel of land going forward.

SteelTown · #**324** Posted **Dec 27, 2017, 8:43 PM**

Potential purchase of The Connolly didn't go through, condo project still in limbo
Spergel Inc., the receiver of the project, says in a letter they will continue marketing efforts

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilt...urch-1.4465309

The Connolly, the 30-storey residential condo tower planned for the site of the partially-demolished James Street Baptist Church, almost had a new owner in the fall.

The Ontario Superior Court of Justice appointed Spergel Inc., an insolvency firm, in June to be the receiver of the project headed by Stanton Renaissance, a company owned by Louie Santaguida.

In a Dec. 20 letter to condo unit purchasers, Spergel says there was "a conditional agreement of purchase and sale," but it "will not be completed."

Neither Santaguida nor Spergel were immediately available for comment Wednesday.

Spergel said in the letter that it will resume marketing the property for sale. Senior principal Deborah Hornbostel reassured unit buyers that their deposits are held in trust by a law firm.

Once the land is sold, Spergel will determine "whether or not the purchaser of the lands will require an assignment of the existing prebuild agreements."

"We appreciate the difficulty that this uncertainty may cause you," the letter says, "and we will keep you updated with further information as it arises."

This project was the subject of controversy when Santaguida said he would tear down two-thirds of the church built in 1878. Parts of the building have been demolished since 2014, but no development has occurred. Now the area is fenced off to visitors.

SteelTown · #**325** Posted **Mar 13, 2018, 10:48 PM**

The Connolly condo project is dead: buyer is interested only in the land
Condo buyers, says a letter from the receiver, will be relieved of their agreeements

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilt...sold-1.4574956

The much-delayed and controversial Connolly condo tower project is dead.

The project's developer has found a buyer — but that buyer is only interested in the land, not the condo tower.

The developer, Spergel, sent a letter last week to buyers who purchased units in the planned 30-storey downtown development.

The letter says Hue Developments and Investments Canada Inc. has bought the land at the corner of Jackson Street and James Street South. But all the prebuild agreements will be terminated.

The sale would mark the end of a long saga for condo buyers who wondered what would happen to their money — not to mention their would-be condos.

"We're feeling mixed emotions," said Gordon Green, who purchased one of the units.

He's disappointed because the project would have been great for downtown Hamilton, he said.

On the other hand, "we are relieved that there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. Our money has been tied up for a long time with a great deal of uncertainty. At least now we know where we stand, and can plan accordingly."

Hue still has to go to court to get approval, the letter says. It expects the transaction to finish by the end of May.

The Connolly project as a whole dates back to 2014. That's when Louie Santaguida and his company Stanton Renaissance demolished two-thirds the James Street Baptist Church, which was built in 1878. Many heritage advocates opposed that. Santaguida said the building was crumbling and had to come down.

Santaguida planned a 30-storey condo tower aimed in part at commuters who would use the nearby Hamilton Centre GO station.

His other Stanton Renaissance project, On the Go Mimico, went into receivership. Then last June, The Connolly did too. A judge appointed Spergel Inc., an insolvency firm, to be the receiver.

The Spergel letter dated March 6 urges existing purchasers to contact St. Jean Realty, which oversaw the sales.

If the Hue sale goes through, the letter says, "the receiver will forthwith commence a claims procedure process ot address the recovery of deposits paid by purchasers to the debtor."

lachlanholmes · #**326** Posted **Mar 14, 2018, 12:30 AM**

Wonder what will go in now...

ScreamingViking · #**327** Posted **Mar 14, 2018, 1:32 AM**

The Spec story notes the plan is being revised, and Hue wanted to start with a clean slate in terms of purchase agreements.

https://www.thespec.com/news-story/8...ap-agreements/

...

Michael St. Jean of St. Jean Realty, which has been the selling agency for the project, said this is a procedural step as the buyer expects to revise plans for the condominium project.

The builder's intention is to offer all buyers their exact unit or another one in the building at the original price per square foot, he said.

"Because the project is being altered, they decided it was better to terminate the agreements," he said. "The plan is to move ahead with basically version 2.0 of the project."

Some of the proposed changes will include rejigging parking, and adding and altering some suites, St. Jean said.

The builder still plans to include the stone facade of the former James Street South church in the development, he added. "They plan on keeping the nuts and bolts of the former project."

...

St. Jean said the buyer is eager to get going on the project once the deal closes.

"They do fully plan to move ahead in the next few months and put a new project out there," he said. "They don't intend on dragging this on."

GeneralLeeTPHLS · #**328** Posted **Mar 14, 2018, 1:35 AM**

Interesting to here....it's definitely good news, but not something to really feel great about just yet.

ScreamingViking · #**329** Posted **Mar 14, 2018, 1:51 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by GeneralLeeTPHLS

Interesting to here....it's definitely good news, but not something to really feel great about just yet.

Yes. "Plan to move ahead" and "don't intend on dragging this on" are song lyrics this city has heard all too often in the past, followed by developers playing the blues.

NortheastWind · #**330** Posted **Mar 14, 2018, 5:15 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

Yes. "Plan to move ahead" and "don't intend on dragging this on" are song lyrics this city has heard all too often in the past, followed by developers playing the blues.

Unlike the past though, there are willing buyers to save the project (we hope)

Chronamut · #**331** Posted **Mar 15, 2018, 5:22 AM**

How 'bout they do a proper background check on this new buyer so we don't have a repeat performance..

Imagine if it was Stinton.. (Stinson?) can never remember how to spell his name..

ScreamingViking · #**332** Posted **Jun 19, 2018, 11:11 PM**

Still on life support... "significant changes" noted in the story but not much in the way of details.

Approval extended for James Street South condo project
The city has granted the new buyers of a downtown highrise development a one-year extension to the conditional site plan approval

by Natalie Paddon
The Hamilton Spectator -- June 19, 2018

The city has granted the new owners of a downtown highrise condominium project a one-year extension to the conditional site plan approval for the James Street South development.

After being placed in receivership last summer, The Connolly — located at the site of the former James Street Baptist Church — was sold to Hue Developments and Investments Canada Inc. in February.

The sale was approved in court last month.

The conditional site plan approval had been set to expire May 25, 2018, according to court documents. But the city extended it for a year, city spokesperson Marie Fitzpatrick said in an email last week.

Michael St. Jean, of St. Jean Realty, which has been the selling agency for the development, recently told The Spectator the closing date for the transaction is in a couple of weeks.

Once that happens, receiver Spergel Inc. will start a claims process so those who bought units under the former owner Louie Santaguida can get their deposits back because existing agreements are being torn up as part of the new deal.

...

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