A Rough Introduction to the Ambitious City

You are a new visitor to Hamilton. As you drive along York Boulevard toward the heart of the city, you’re greeted by the grandeur of Dundurn Castle—a stately 40-room neoclassical mansion built between 1832 and 1835 by Sir Allan Napier MacNab. The sun is shining, and as Bryan Adams’ Summer of ’69 plays in your car, you feel hopeful and intrigued by what “The Ambitious City” might offer.

But just moments later, that optimism is abruptly interrupted. What confronts you next is an  unsightly sign for the Hamilton City Centre. Rough in appearance, with green and white lettering that looks beaten and a facade marred by graffiti and splotched paint, the building projects anything but ambition. It feels abandoned by both its owners and the city.

The Hamilton City Centre building is owned by in8developments. The Hamiltonian reached out to Darryl Firsten of in8developmemnts. Here is our Q/A:

Dear Mr. Firsten

We are reaching out with respect to  the condition of the Hamilton City Centre property, located at the corner of Wilson Street and James Street North—an area of high visibility and significance as a major gateway into downtown Hamilton via York Boulevard.

We are particularly concerned about the deteriorated condition of the "Hamilton City Centre" sign, which is stained, visibly damaged, and presents an unkept appearance. As this signage is one of the first impressions for those entering the downtown core, its current state sends an unfortunate and misleading message about our city.

While there are additional areas of concern on the property—such as visible graffiti and signs of general neglect—we believe that restoring the sign and addressing other visible blights would represent a meaningful step toward responsible stewardship  We have attached a photograph to help illustrate the issue.

Our questions are as follows: 

Will IN8 Developments undertake the necessary steps to restore or replace the deteriorated Hamilton City Centre signage to ensure it presents a clean and well-maintained appearance? 

Additionally, are there other measures your organization is prepared to implement to address issues such as graffiti and other visible signs of neglect on the building’s exterior?

Mr. Firsten responded as follows:

As soon as market conditions improve, we intend to knock the building down and put up some spectacular towers. In the meantime, we are doing our best to deal with the graffiti that is occurring on the building.

The Hamiltonian posed the following follow up questions:

Could you please provide a more specific timeline or market conditions you are monitoring that would signal when demolition and redevelopment could realistically begin?

In the interim, can you outline any immediate steps IN8 Developments plans to take this summer to improve the public-facing condition of the site—including the damaged “Hamilton City Centre” signage?

Is IN8 Developments currently working with the City of Hamilton or any local organizations to ensure that the property does not become an ongoing source of concern or blight for the downtown ?

Mr. Firsten responded as follows:

We need a viable condo market strong enough to sell enough units to meet a bank's pre-sale test. This provides us with the bank financing required to build the first tower. Regretfully, the market is not there right now, and it could be a little while till it gets there.

We have actually contracted with a local art exhibition to do a massive installation on the exterior walls of the building. They should be starting their work very very soon. This will clean up much of the facade.

While The Hamiltonian understands that In8developments cannot control the market, what is less understandable is how such a prominent site has been allowed to stand in disrepair. Given its high visibility in a central location, surely the city and property owners could work together to at least maintain a presentable facade in the interim. To the City and In8developments- you need to do better. The Hamiltonian will monitor these efforts and we wish Mr. Firsten all the best in getting this done. 

Respectfully,
The Hamiltonian