With Slate Asset Management- On A.I. Data Centres in Hamilton

The following is an interview conducted by The Hamiltonian with Slate Asset Management on the topic of A.I. data centres.

Before reading the interview, it is important to understand the context in which our questions were posed. That context was communicated to Slate Asset Management in advance and is encapsulated in the following statement we provided to them:

 

Before presenting our questions, we wish to acknowledge that we understand you cannot make legally binding or contractual commitments through a media interview, nor is that our expectation. Instead, we are seeking to better understand whether there are principles, commitments, or approaches that Steelport would be prepared to explore in order to build public confidence and identify common ground.

Here is the interview: 

 

You have stated that data centres are only one possible use for Steelport. If a data centre were ultimately approved, would Steelport support a model whereby at least 75% of the commercial services provided by that facility—including cloud hosting, AI processing, colocation, and enterprise services—are delivered from the Hamilton facility, rather than the site functioning primarily as infrastructure supporting operations elsewhere?

Our role as landowner is to prepare this site for world-class tenants, not to operate individual facilities ourselves. The commercial and operational decisions about how services are delivered from any future facility will be made by the companies and organizations who ultimately locate here, and we are not in a position to make commitments on their behalf through a planning process.

What we can say is that Steelport's vision has always been about building genuine economic activity in Hamilton, not creating pass-through infrastructure. The scale of investment we are making in this site, from remediation to servicing to long-term community engagement, reflects a long-term commitment to Hamilton as a place. We will continue to seek tenants whose operations match that vision.

Data centres require significant municipal infrastructure and electrical capacity. Would Steelport be prepared to explore a Community Benefits Agreement or similar mechanism that would ensure Hamilton receives municipal revenues and community investments beyond those normally associated with commercial property taxation?

We are always open to exploring how Steelport can deliver the broadest possible benefit to the Hamilton community, and we take that obligation seriously. We have been in discussion with the Hamilton Community Benefits Network over the last few years about how a Community Benefits Agreement could be implemented at Steelport at the right time. The development of Steelport will bring meaningful investment and support to the community, and there are various ways in which community benefits can be implemented.

The economic case for this site is substantial. Once it’s operational, Steelport has the potential to generate up to 30,000 new local jobs. More recent projections put the construction-phase impact alone at 102,000 jobs and $12.5 billion in GDP. Steelport will also reactivate 3,400 metres of Lake Ontario waterfront, returning access to Hamiltonians for the first time in a century, and providing multimodal access throughout the site. These are examples of the benefits that can flow from this project's realization, and we think they are significant.

We are genuinely committed to Hamilton's long-term prosperity and will continue to engage with the City and community about how Steelport's development can best deliver for residents.

Data centres are frequently associated with substantial capital investment but comparatively few permanent jobs. Would Steelport support establishing publicly reported employment targets, including a minimum number of permanent, Hamilton-based positions associated with any future data centre development?

Steelport is an 800-acre site – double the size of Hamilton’s downtown core – that is expected to have a very wide range of uses on site upon completion. Digital infrastructure is just one use and would make up a minority portion of the Steelport site. The vast majority of the site is planned for uses like manufacturing facilities that produce vehicles, solar panels, or medical devices; logistics and distribution centres that move food and other goods; and office, educational, and research spaces that can support training, innovation, and partnerships with colleges and universities.

According to recent economic impact studies, Steelport is expected to generate up to 30,000 new jobs once the site is fully built out. The construction-phase alone is estimated to generate 102,000 jobs and $12.5 billion in GDP.

Specific employment requirements and mandates for the facilities that one-day operate at Steelport will be the responsibility of the companies and organizations that ultimately lease of buy land at the site, and it would not be appropriate for us to make commitments on behalf of a future operator who has not yet been identified through any approvals process.

You have stated publicly that "there are many other controls that the city will continue to have." Would Steelport support key community protections ultimately being incorporated into legally enforceable planning conditions, rather than relying solely on voluntary commitments?

The controls that apply to development at Steelport are not voluntary. The City of Hamilton has a robust set of planning tools, including zoning conditions, site plan agreements, official plan policies, and development approvals, all of which are legally enforceable. Any future development at Steelport, including any data centre facility, will be subject to those mechanisms.

We have consistently said there are many controls the City will continue to have over this site. What we want Hamilton residents to understand is that those controls already exist and carry legal force. We are committed to working transparently within that framework.

Slate has stated that the current appeal is "not an attempt to fast-track data centre development." If that is indeed the case, would Steelport publicly support deferring any formal data centre development applications until Hamilton has completed its current review of land-use policies and established its permanent regulatory framework?

To give important context: the only facility currently proposed at Steelport through any formal process is a Digital Research Alliance of Canada (DRAC) facility on about 6 acres of the 800 total acres, which is part of a competitive federal government process. There are no other private sector data centre facilities currently proposed for this site. Any future facility, from any proponent, would be required to go through standard review and approval processes.

We support Hamilton having a clear, thoughtful land-use policy for data centre development. That clarity is good for the City, good for residents, and good for investors who want predictability. We will engage constructively with that process as it unfolds.

The Hamiltonian thanks Slate Asset Management for engaging with Hamiltonians on The Hamiltonian!