Jamesville redevelopment revisions cause further delays

On Wednesday, the city moved to support a new proposal for the site from its developer after the project was snarled by concerns raised by CN Rail over its shunting operations in the nearby train yard.

The city says that the "new revised plan captures many of the concerns raised by the community and is also intended to address CN's concerns with respect to noise."

Still, the new plan means that the original Ontario Land Tribunal hearing, which was scheduled for May, will have to be postponed until Feb. 2025.

Onus on CN Rail to support new proposal

In a statement issued by Hamilton's mayor, Andrea Horwath said the city is doing everything it can to move the project forward.

"Once again, CN Rail is continuing to obstruct progress on this desperately needed housing project. It is high time for CN Rail to step up and resolve this. I will continue to do everything in my power to get a resolution," she said.

Ward 2 councillor Cameron Kroetsch makes it clear in an open letter that nothing about this situation is set in stone.

READ MORE: Update on Jamesville Redevelopment plan

"It's a proposal to CN to settle their appeal, but there will likely be some further negotiations," he writes. "I hope they consider it seriously."

"Now, the ball is in CN's court. I hope that CN is supportive of this new proposal and does everything in its power to prevent further delays so that the project can get going."

The city hopes revitalizing the 5.4 acre parcel in the north end will help address Hamilton's housing shortage.

In a statement to CHCH News a CN spokesperson wrote, "we have a duty to the future occupants to ensure that all developments near our active industrial transportation infrastructure respect modern proximity standards with regards to health and safety."

However, the City of Hamilton is arguing there are more than 90 townhomes in the surrounding neighbourhood that have been there since the 1970s.

A hearing scheduled for next month has been postponed to Feb. 2025 so a new proposal put forward by developers can be considered.

READ MORE: Jamesville Redevelopment plans postposed further

Councillor Kroetsch said the revised blueprint is designed to address community concerns and appease CN.

"They're worried the sounds from their railroads are going to impact the people living there and so this proposal attempts to address that by moving some of the housing around a bit," Kroetsch said.

The goal for the area is to redevelop the aging residential complex at 405 James Street North into a high-density, mixed-income community, composed of social housing, non-profit affordable housing and market-rate units.

The revised proposal introduces a 20-storey building with around 300 units of market-rate housing while hiking social and non-profit buildings to 12-storeys, potentially adding more than 200 affordable units.