Downtown Hamilton’s dramatic Television City proposal is going ahead

Brad Lamb plans to build 2 32-storey towers in Durand

A Toronto developer’s controversial twin-tower Television City proposal is going forward.

The Local Planning Appeal Tribunal (LPAT) ruled Friday that Brad Lamb’s development, which will see two 32-storey towers at the CHCH-TV property in Durand, can go ahead. 

The city and numerous residents opposed the plan for condos and commercial space, saying it would cause dramatic shadows and privacy issues for nearby residents, as well as block views of the Niagara Escarpment. 

In her decision, vice-chair Susan de Avellar Schiller said the city and residents failed to adequately show that.

“The unshakable evidence … is that there are no unacceptable adverse shadow impacts on the public realm and that the shadow impacts on the private realm are minor,” she wrote of the development at 163 Jackson St. W. “The tribunal agrees.”

Before city council even voted against the development two years ago, Lamb announced his plan to appeal it. That allowed him to file the appeal before the former provincial Liberals replaced the Ontario Municipal Board, and before the city approved a downtown secondary plan limiting new buildings to the height of the Niagara Escarpment. 

Jason Farr, Ward 2 (downtown) councillor, voted against the development. Farr said Friday that he supports the rights of developers to appeal decisions. 

“The reality is we had 100+ residents who were against it and a staff report that said, ‘Don’t support it,'” he said. 

Now, “I will confidently move forward, make a call to Brad Lamb and say, ‘We need to get out and talk to the residents.'”

Lamb was unavailable for comment Friday. 

He initially wanted a 40-storey and a 32-storey tower, but revised the plan to be two 32-storey towers. The plan also incorporates the historic heritage mansion on the property.