A new residential tower along the west harbour, which could become Hamilton’s tallest, is one step closer to reality.
The city’s planning committee has approved a process, including public engagement, that is expected to result in a preferred design being presented to councillors this fall.
Famed architect Bruce Kuwabara’s current vision is of a 45-storey tower, which he says would be built on the pillars of design excellence, quality of life and sustainability.
“Not just another residential building, but something that would be enduring, something that would be a marker,” says Kuwabara.
The proposed tower is part of a larger development planned for Pier 8 that will result in more than 1,600 residential units within a new waterfront community.
Ward 2 Coun. Jason Farr cautions that the city is still early in the approval process for the tower.
“Approving a process for a tall building is one thing,” says Farr, “the actual tall building approval is down the road.”
Landmark Place, a downtown apartment building, is currently Hamilton’s tallest building at 43 storeys.
Kuwabara, born in Hamilton in 1949, is responsible for the 2005 redesign of the city’s art gallery.