Ontario Construction News
Slate Asset Management has applied for a draft plan for redevelopment of the former Steel Company of Canada site on the Hamilton waterfront.
The application to the City of Hamilton filed in late February unveils further details and renderings for the Steelport industrial park that will connect rail, road, and water in the city’s portlands.
A press release announcing the application says Steelport will revitalize 800-acres of land and generate an estimated $3.8 billion in economic value and 23,000 jobs across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.
Preliminary cost estimates for the multi year redevelopment project are for more than $3 billion with a general contractor to be named later this year. Consultants include Gensler, Stantec, MHBC, Public Work, Pinchin and Baldassarra.
“The submission of this plan is an exciting milestone in Steelport’s development process,” said Slate senior vice president Steven Dejonckheere. “This plan lays out an ambitious vision that will not only re-imagine the lands and contribute to Hamilton’s economy, but also promote connectivity among residents by adding communal public spaces, greenery, and facilitating increased connection to the waterfront. We look forward to collaborating with our private sector partners and all levels of government to realize the full potential of this city-building project.”
“We believe the reach and impact of this project will be monumental,” added Slate founding partner Blair Welch.
The plan says Slate aims to work with the city to create more than 60 acres of integrated trails, pathways and public space and “contemplates the potential” to retain some of the site’s most historic industrial infrastructure.
The plan also details a proposed Lagoonscape, a regenerated biodiverse landscape that doubles as stormwater management infrastructure, along with Steelport’s revitalized waterfront, which will open access to new areas of the harbour, previously inaccessible to the public for over a century. The draft plan submission initiates a more formal community consultation where members of the public are invited to share their feedback and ideas.
As part of the consultation process Toronto-headquartered Slate has launched a new page on its Steelport website where individuals can provide feedback and sign up for updates at thesteelport.com/engagement.
The plan calls for 684 acres of development, 62 acres of public right-of-way, 91 acres of open space and amenity blocks and 23 acres of water bodies. Stelco Steel Mills will retain 78 acres for its remaining operations. Slate in 2022 paid $518 million for 800 acres of industrial land and buildings with plans to redevelop the former Stelco site into an industrial park. Founded in 1910, Stelco fell into bankruptcy in 2007 and went public as a holding company in 2017.
Green hydrogen company GH Power was named last year as the development’s first tenant.