154 vacant apartments in CityHousing Hamilton building amid housing crisis

CHCH News has learned more than 100 units are vacant in a downtown CityHousing Hamilton apartment block at Jackson and Hess Streets.

City officials are exploring solutions to homelessness, following Tuesday’s town hall on proposed encampment zones. Geared-to-income tenants in the building say there are plenty of units sitting idle and in disarray.

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CityHousing Hamilton say two of its apartment buildings at the corner of Jackson and Hess Street have 154 units that are currently vacant and uninhabitable. They say the empty homes are slated for repairs and are in the process of being turned over.

CityHousing adds, “All of these units are included in the overall vacancy management plan with a goal to have our vacancy rate down to 2% by the end of 2024. These 154 will be worked on over the course of that time with them being renovated and rented…”

The scheduled renos fall in line with Hamilton’s commitment to fix up and clear a backlog of nearly 500 units across Hamilton. Many people who attended a town hall meeting on encampments and homelessness on Tuesday say they can’t wait for affordable housing.

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Hamilton’s housing director Michelle Baird said roughly 165 people are unhoused and living in tents.

“We need not only affordable housing we need affordable housing that has supports that come with it to support individuals to be successful and maintain their tenancy, so we absolutely have longterm plans…” Baird said.

In the meantime, there are calls for the city to make more solutions, like the use of Sir John A Macdonald school site. City officials say the former high school belongs to the Hamilton-Wentworth District School Board (HWDSB).

Board Chair Dawn Danko issued a letter saying a community space was explored but rejected. She said, “After being denied Ministry of Education funding on four separate occasions, with the most recent rejection coming in May 2022, developing the SJAM site has proven to be difficult.”

Residents also inquired about the boarded-up Jamesville housing project in the north end, but Hamilton’s planning staff says development had frozen due to an Ontario Land Tribunal appeal.

The Canadian National Railway filed an appeal over concerns of odour, dust, vibration and noise, which could lead to conflict between the company and developers. Both parties are scheduled to reconvene with the Ontario Land Tribunal Thursday morning.

READ MORE: Public weighs in on Hamilton’s encampment strategy