Hamilton making plans for former City Motor Hotel property

(Update)

The city of Hamilton has some big plans to revitalize the land that used to be home to the City Motor Hotel. The city’s planning committee approved a proposal today to rezone the land and put two buildings on the site.

The proposal passed unanimously. It rezones the land from commercial to mixed use. That would allow a developer to put both a residential and commercial building on the property — a big change that residents are looking forward to.

It’s been a year since the degenerate, but iconic, city motor hotel was torn down after being expropriated by the city.

And finally, residents are getting to see what their new neighbours may look like.

“I’m very happy about it.”

The planning committee approved a mixed use design for the land. It would allow developers to put up an eight-storey housing complex facing Main Street and a building for commercial and community use facing Queenston Road.

Councillor Sam Merulla: “Based on the specifications that have been set, it will go out for public tender and then we will await a response accordingly.”

Any developers that bid on the property would have to build to the city’s specifications.

What exactly will fill the space is still up in the air, but neighbouring residents and business owners already have their wish lists.

“I think a nice high-rise would be nice there. It would bring more business to us here anyway.”

“I think more recreational stuff for kids, teenagers to keep them off the street, you know?”

“And they should have food places here so when we want to get our lunch, we don’t have to go all the way down to the Centre Mall.”

The plan would also eliminate the Queenston traffic circle and create a two-way intersection — a move Sam Merulla says would make it more pedestrian friendly: “It’s a very dangerous intersection and one that I wouldn’t recommend anyone crossing and hence we need to take action to ensure it’s a complete street and one that is far more focused on public safety.”

By creating a more pedestrian friendly hub, Merulla hopes the history of the City Motor Hotel won’t repeat itself.

Sam Merulla says the rezoning of the property also makes it more valuable. The city paid 1.9 million for it and he expects to turn a profit on that. Any surplus money would be injected back into ward 4.