The Old Post Office – 104 King St W, Dundas
Tag Archives: #HamOnt
The Hamilton Conservation Authority’s Veldhuis Project is moving forward
In partnership with the City of Hamilton, The Hamilton Conservation Authority is redeveloping a brownfield site along the Desjardins Canal into public green space.
The site is located at the old Veldhuis Greenhouse property that runs along the Desjardins Canal on King Street East in Dundas, just north of Cootes Drive. The area was once home to a greenhouse made famous for it’s variety and quantity of cacti.
The Veldhuis Project will cost an estimated $3 million, with the funds going towards the redevelopment of the one-hectare property, as well as remediation of the canal.
The project is part of the Hamilton Conservation Authority’s plan to create the Dundas Eco-park, which will be a part of the Cootes to Escarpment Park System. The 1300-hectare urban park will provide the only continuous habitat connection from Lake Ontario to the Escarpment.
Designed by landscape architects G. O’Connor Consultants, the redeveloped brownfield site will consist of a meadow, both an asphalt and limestone pathway, boardwalk lookouts, a pavilion, restored woodlands, and public art.
The only remaining piece of the old greenhouse still intact is the two-storey red brick chimney.
Due to Chimney Swifts, a protected at-risk species actively nesting in the chimney, it has been resolved that the chimney will remain as a site element. An eight-by-eight meter shaded structure that will resemble a greenhouse – a tribute to Veldhuis – will be situated along the asphalt walkway and within view of the chimney.
Concept courtesy of The Hamilton Conservation Authority
The green space will also feature a pedestrian boardwalk against the edge of the canal, complete with a fabric sail-style shade structure, interpretive signage, and ‘industrial’ bench seating. The boardwalk’s design is an attempt to bring the canal’s rich history back to the site for those who walk the pathways and canoe the canal.
Concept courtesy of The Hamilton Conservation Authority
Along with the remediation of the Desjardins Canal, floating islands for nesting waterfowl will be implemented, as well as restored riparian edges and an enhanced riparian outlet.
On King Street, the two-meter wide municipal sidewalk will be extended and a new crosswalk with painted markings will be added to connect the Veldhuis green space with Martino Park to the north.
One of the remaining challenges facing this redevelopment is the proposal to close King Street at Olympic Drive. The plan is to remove the existing road to create a turtle nesting area, extend the pathway, and add an additional boardwalk.
Work on the Veldhuis Project is set to begin later this summer.
Filed under Architecture, Development, Economy, Heritage, History
PHOTO OF THE DAY – April 25th
Perkins + Will Architects – 15 Foundry St, Dundas
April 25, 2013 · 10:43 am
Hamilton is working on installing some new public art
By: Katie Stoneman
Hamilton’s Claremont access will soon get an artistic facelift, and it won’t be at the hands of graffiti artists. The plan is to commission a mural for the walls of the Claremont access that faces Carter Park.
“The Carter Park art mural will represent a new beginning for our neighbourhood and we are very excited about it,” said Brian Goodman, president of the Stinson Community Association.
An open call to artists for the Carter Park mural is currently being prepared and should be released this month. The mural will be located on the concrete wall of the Claremont access that is considered quite an eyesore in the area.
A report from the focus group for the project outlines the goals of the mural. The report states that, “The Claremont access does not contribute to the quality of the park and is seen as physically dividing the neighbourhood. Any art work should minimize (the Claremont Access’s) impact on the park.”
“The mural will be an immediate focus point, an attraction and will give life and meaning to that cold impersonal wall. In an underlying way it suggests pride, safety, and announces there is a wonderful community here,” said Goodman.
The city had an open call for artists for the same project last year, but the mural was never completed.
Part of the issue was problems some artists were having with the city’s art procurement process. Complaints were made about having to pay the non-refundable fee of $64.99 online or $45.99 in person for the Request for Proposal documents. The process has since been reviewed and revised.
The review suggested that the fees be waived, and that the responsibility of the administration of the Public Art Acquisition Process be turned over to the Tourism and Culture Divisions city staff.
Another part of the issue was with the submissions made last year.
“The jury didn’t feel they got the propositions they wanted,” said Ken Coit, the City of Hamilton’s Art in Public Places Coordinator.
The jury, which remains confidential, is different for each project. The focus group, or jury, is usually made up of artists, stakeholders, business people and other people with an interest in the project.
“It usually takes three to four months once we actually have the submissions in. We have to leave time for the artists process,” said Coit.
There are currently two other pubic art projects that are in the consultation stage for the city of Hamilton, including the Battlefield Park art competition.
The consultation stage asks the public for their opinion on the proposed art projects. For Battlefield Park there are three propositions under a theme that interprets the outcomes of Battle of Stoney Creek and the War of 1812.
“The importance of a public art project cannot be understated. Besides providing a point of interest, it provides a dialogue that transcends what language you speak, what religion you follow, or what mental state you are in,” said Goodman.
This article is also abbreviated and published at The Bay Observer and in April’s print edition
Filed under Development, Economy, Entertainment, Uncategorized
Architectural Spotlight: MARC
MARC – McMaster University Automotive Resource Centre
Longwood Rd. and Frid St.
Perkins + Will Architects
In development
MARC is McMaster University’s new automotive research centre that is currently being built in the shell of an old industrial building at the north end of the Careport Centre.
The exterior of the building is getting a major facelift. Floor to ceiling windows now surround the new atrium on the eastern end of the building that was originally just loading docks. The old corrugated rusty grey steel has been replaced by darker gunmetal coloured steel, accented with grey panel cladding and celestial windows. The 14 loading docks have been narrowed to four, the ten docks replaced by a red brick wall with ground level windows.
The centre will occupy approximately 70 000 square feet of space, with 50 000 square feet on the first floor and the remaining square footage on the second floor. The space will be comprised of labs, offices, and common areas.
McMaster’s Automotive Resource Centre is the latest addition to the McMaster Innovation Park and will provide a place for the research and development of green automotive technologies. The university received an $11.5 million grant from FedDev Ontario, a federal agency launched in August 2009 to help respond to Ontario’s economic challenges. The project will cost approximately $26 million and 120-150 people from the private, public, and academic sectors will be employed at MARC.
Filed under Architecture, Development, Economy, Uncategorized
Dundas’ Carnegie Gallery in the midst of a revitalization
Carnegie Gallery on King Street W and Ogilvie Street, Dundas
One of the most beloved heritage buildings in Dundas is getting both a facelift and a new addition.
Carnegie Gallery is in the midst of a revitalization project by Dundas-based architects Perkins + Will. The changes being made to the gallery include street level accessibility, a wheelchair accessible washroom, a visitor operable elevator, and some extra gallery wall space, among others.
The street level accessibility will be on Ogilvie Street, via the new addition. This addition will be an atrium, which is superimposed against the southern side of the building. The atrium will feature large floor-to-ceiling windows facing the street and a brick accent that should fit seamlessly with the building’s existing exterior.
The building is a neoclassical (or beaux arts) design, with its tall staircase, portico, doric columns, and half columns.
Originally Carnegie Library, the building first opened its doors on December 8th, 1910. The city was one of 111 cities in Ontario (125 in Canada) to receive a grant of $12 000 USD from the Carnegie Foundation. Pittsburgh steel tycoon Andrew Carnegie created the foundation to promote education. In order to qualify for the grant, a municipality had to be able to provide library maintenance by raising an annual amount of one-tenth the grant, from taxes.
The library stayed open until 1970, when a new municipal library was erected further south on Ogilvie Street. The space was converted into a children’s library that lasted only ten years, after which, it was then leased to the Dundas Art and Craft Association.
Heritage Plaque on the side of Carnegie Gallery
In 1980, Carnegie Library was designated as a heritage building and was converted into Carnegie Gallery in 1981. The building was later purchased by the City of Hamilton in 2006.
Carnegie Gallery currently exhibits bodies of work by local artists and contains a gallery shop that sells art and other goods.
The Province of Ontario has provided the Dundas Arts Community Foundation with a 1.2 million dollar grant for the Carnegie Library Revitalization project.
Filed under Architecture, Heritage
Rebuild Hamilton 