Committee votes down housing project on site of Glen Echo school in East Hamilton – Hamilton

A Hamilton committee has rejected a proposal for a housing development seeking to replace a former public school on the city’s east side.

Losani Homes was seeking to construct 264 units on the former Glen Echo public school space through an eight-storey structure and several four-storey dwellings with underground parking.

Members of Hamilton’s planning committee took the advice of a staff report that insisted the project didn’t comply with a provincial growth plan nor the edicts of a similar city mandate.

“The proposed eight-storey multiple dwelling is not compatible with the surrounding area and does not enhance the character of the existing neighbourhood,” the planning and economic development department report said.

The outline characterized the build as “an overdevelopment” that failed to include a mix of unit sizes geared to different incomes and didn’t meet the city’s intensification and urban design policies.

“The proposed built form and massing does have shadow impacts, specifically on Glendale Park to the west,” added Hamilton’s area planning manager Spencer Skidmore.

An overhead view of the neighbourhood around the former Glen Echo Public School in Hamilton, Ont.

A number of area residents have been voicing objections for roughly a year and sought support through a petition suggesting the surrounding “quiet single-family home neighbourhood” wasn’t compatible with such a large development.

Critics submitted the area contains young children, families and elderly people who would endure increased traffic and dwindling parking spaces.

Additionally, there was concern over the potential disappearance of sports fields, a playground, baseball diamond and basketball court in Glendale and Glen Echo parks.

About 100 area residents voiced the thoughts during a public meeting hosted by Ward 5 Coun. Matt Francis last week.

“If you look at where this is located, it’s in the middle of a single-family detached neighborhood. You don’t build an eight-storey building in the middle of a neighborhood,” Francis said.

“Those developments are reserved for our main corridor, such as King, Queenston and Centennial Parkway.”

MHBC planner Stephanie Mirtitsch, who spoke on behalf of Losani, submitted the project does in fact support the city’s growth plan through intensification around major transit stations set for redesign.

Mirtitsch also insisted that there were no plans to remove amenities in the adjacent parks and that the developer is open to discussions on a land transfer and opportunity to rebuild the facilities.

“In summary, we really feel that the proposal supports both provincial and city intensification targets,” she said.

“Including the official plan, and supports the city’s objectives for development within major transit station areas.”

Glen Echo was sold in March 2023 after the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board declared the property to be surplus.

Losani Homes purchased the property for around $6.75 million.

The area is already home to Glendale Secondary and Viola Desmond Elementary School.

Before the no vote, Mirtitsch suggested plan B for her group could potentially involve an appeal.

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