City of Hamilton, Niagara Escarpment Commission, and Spallacci Reach Deal for John/Charlton Towers Development – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

April 28, 2023
Pending rubber-stamp approval by the Ontario Land Tribunal, the southeast corner of John Street South and Charlton Avenue East will see three buildings of 20-storeys each constructed in the coming years.
The Niagara Escarpment Commissioner and Spallacci Contracting Ltd. reached a settlement regarding the building’s visual impact upon the Niagara Escarpment.
City Council recently approved a separate settlement of the City’s issue. The City’s agreement is not yet available to the public.
In the agreement with the NEC, Spallacci agrees to:
– “[M]itigate visual impacts on the scenic resources of the Niagara Escarpment by reducing the maximum building height of the proposed towers and changing the colours of the parapet, roof deck and mechanical suites”; and
– “Dark colours will be used for the parapet, roof deck and mechanical suites on top of the buildings to mitigate visual impacts on the Niagara Escarpment.”
The agreement between Spallacci and the NEC explicitly states the NEC is taking no position on the City of Hamilton’s use of the escarpment height as the maximum building height in the Downtown Secondary Plan and other planning uses of this measure.
“The parties acknowledge that the agreement to the height of the buildings in this proposal is not an endorsement that similar heights should be approved on other nearby urban sites. Visual impacts including skylining and cumulative impacts of development on the scenic resources of the Niagara Escarpment need to be considered on a site by site basis,” reads the Minutes of Settlement.
The 2020 proposal had Tower A at 25 storeys, Tower B at 24 storeys, and Tower C at 22 storeys.
St. Joseph’s Hospital is a party in the hearing. They have not officially commented upon the settlement in the records provided by the Ontario Land Tribunal.
In June 2022, the hospital stated the proximity of a large number of residential units could cause neighbour complaints regarding noise from the hospital’s mechanical systems, that changes to wind conditions could impact the hospital’s air intakes and exhaust vents, and that the hospital has future expansion plans to increase its density along John Street.
These concerns may be address by the City’s agreement with Spallacci.
Spallacci appealed directly to the OLT for non-decision. With no Council meeting to discuss issues, the hospital’s interests were not able to be considered in that venue.
The OLT will conduct a settlement hearing over two days beginning Thursday, May 4, at 10:00 a.m.