Developer who transformed Pigott building proposes 2 condo projects
Vernon Shaw wants to build condos on King Street West and near Stuart and MacNab streets
The developer who transformed the Pigott building in downtown Hamilton into condos is back in town with plans for two new projects.
One is along the LRT corridor, on the corner of King Street West and Caroline Street North. The other is kitty-corner from the city's new GO station in the North End.
Neither project has yet been approved by council, but Shaw expects to be submitting rezoning and building scope applications to the city in the next fe weeks.
Shaw developed the Pigott building in the mid-1990s and said the refrain he often heard was that small, one-bedroom condos would never sell in Hamilton.
Twenty years later, the building is seen as one of the first signs that there was a market for condos in downtown Hamilton. "I think it's really an issue about affordability," Shaw said.
Here's what Shaw and his partners are proposing for the two projects:
King/Caroline
- 15-storey building with brick-and-beam offices and retail in front
- Site that now houses the Hamilton Store Fixtures company
- 117 units ranging between 450 square feet and 550 square feet
- Anticipated prices ranging from $240,000 to $290,000
"They're designed really for a younger, more city centre young professional, post-graduate student," Shaw said.
On King and Caroline, Shaw said he's got his fingers crossed for the condition of the brick underneath the brown cladding.
Underneath this steel cladding is brick façade of 1908 Radio Arts building = soon 2B new mixed use <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OPPI16?src=hash">#OPPI16</a> <a href="https://t.co/DfM9zNWZvf">pic.twitter.com/DfM9zNWZvf</a>
—@JasonThorne_RPPThe century-old building used to house a radio station, and so Shaw is hoping to name the project the "Radio Arts Building."
"When the siding comes off and we can really inspect the brick underneath, I hope that we can do it," he said.
Stuart/MacNab
- 11-storey building
- 77 units ranging from approximately 550 square feet to 1,100 square feet
- Anticipated prices ranging from $259,000 to $600,000
The site caught Shaw's eye "obviously because of the vicinity of the GO Station," he said.
"It's an excellent site for anyone who has to commute," he said.
Shaw said the views to the north over the lake, the park and the marina are "spectacular." The one drawback factor was how much of an impact the nearby shunting railyards have on the amount of outdoor space (think balconies) that can be proposed.