Our William Thomas building is replacing the historic building of the same name, which has been a core part of James Street in Downtown Hamilton since the 1850s. We’re committed to maintaining the integrity and history of this building, so we’ve kept parts of its gorgeous exterior, which will be carefully reconstructed stone by stone on these stunning new student apartments.
This is what the website says about the New William Thomas building which is dedicated to luxury student housing. Does anyone see an issue with this? And has anyone really looked at how this hideous building looks on the street beside the beautiful and restore Lister Block Building? It’s a monstrosity!
Hamilton over the past several years is becoming the place for artists to place their roots and build something here because of the outrageous housing and renting prices of Toronto. As a result, the housing marketing has gone up but new restaurants, artist-run-centers, and new cultural events have started to spring up. Within the downtown core, there has been a lot of restoration projects, such as the Lister Block and the Empire Building, just to name a few.
But amongst the growing population, I feel that developers are trying to create an atmosphere of properties that just don’t fit the vernacular of the city and the William Thomas building is a perfect example. Despite the original being designated under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act, they were still able to construct a 21-storey mixed-use development that includes ground floor retail with access on James Street North and 146 multiple dwelling units geared toward students in the balance of the building with access from Rebecca Street. This just doesn’t fit with what is currently located in the downtown core.
And have you looked on the website to see how “luxurious” these residents are? They look exactly like what I had back at Pitman hall at Ryerson University. There is nothing luxury about them other than the hefty price tag.
Architects, urban planners, and developers, when will culture and heritage come before the price tag for opportunity? Why do we have to be subjected to just grossly and ugly architecture in a city drenched with history? When will we stand up for beauty than being bullied into nonsense developments? This is my rallying cry! No more ugly developments in the city.
Richelle Sibolboro 