Master agreement for Hamilton's downtown entertainment facilities will be revealed next week

Hamilton city councillors have approved the master agreement setting out a multi-million dollar renovation to downtown entertainment facilities, and final details will be available next week.

The winning proposal, announced in 2020, proposed huge changes to FirstOntario Centre, FirstOntario Concert Hall and the Hamilton Convention Centre. It also suggested a series of high-rises, with three hosting the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the convention centre, condos and commercial space.

Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG) — which includes Carmen's Group, LiUNA, dpai architects, Fengate Capital, Meridian Credit Union, Paletta International and Jetport Inc. — were behind the $500-million plan.

"We are eager to making the City of Hamilton proud as we execute on our vision to redevelop the downtown entertainment precinct," said PJ Mercanti, the president of the group and Carmen's Group CEO, in a statement. 

Mercanti said HUPEG thanks councillors for the vote of confidence, and that further details would be available upon council approval. The agreement is expected to be ratified at city council on June 9.

There were 11 votes in favour of the agreement at the general issues committee Wednesday, with the lone abstention being Ward 1 (Chedoke-Cootes) councillor Maureen Wilson. She said her spouse — though not involved in any part of the discussion — serves as a director and shareholder. 

Ward 4 (east Hamilton) councillor Sam Merulla said in a statement that the "long-term leasing arrangement" will save the city "perpetually tens of millions of dollars."

The city initially said they expected the master agreement to be finalized in late 2020, which would allow arena renovations to start in the fall of 2021.

A refresh on proposed changes

Here were some of the plans that HUPEG envisioned with their proposal:

FirstOntario Centre renovations would include a new building exterior, a "transformation" of the lower bowl, expanded concourse level and a new curtaining system for the upper bowl balcony.

They group also suggested keeping its seating capacity and relocating the convention centre to Hamilton City Centre. 

A microbrewery, suites and hospitality clubs were part of the picture, with the York Boulevard side of the building potentially being developed to be accessible at street level, with food or retail available outside. 

Three high-rises would include the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the convention centre, condos and commercial space, but two more towers at Bay Street and King Street East were possible. 

The group said more than $16 million in upgrades were planned to the convention centre, concert hall, and art gallery. For any residential developments, there would be  $340.5 million in "auxiliary mixed-use development, including affordable housing."

Vrancor Group —  the prolific development company owned by Darko Vranich —  also pitched a $200-million plan, but wasn't selected. It proposed limiting the arena's capacity to around 15,400 seats, with the possibility to expand to 17,000 if needed.