Hamilton hopes new incentives will spur creation of homes in empty office buildings

Samantha Beattie · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 03, 2025 2:56 PM EDT | Last Updated: 26 minutes ago

What would it instrumentality for vacant gathering owners successful downtown Hamilton to displacement from offering high emergence offices to precocious emergence homes? 

City of Hamilton unit are hoping a caller assistance aviator programme volition spur landlords to see converting their buildings arsenic the downtown office vacancy complaint — presently astir 18 per cent compared to the nationalist mean of 19.7 per cent, said Phil Caldwell, senior business improvement advisor with the city.

Hamilton's rate is expected to emergence successful the coming years, helium said. 

"For the revitalization of downtown, clip is of the essence," said Caldwell astatine a wide issues committee meeting last month. "We privation to enactment lodging proviso successful the metropolis and core." 

Councillors voted 14-1 successful favour of the pilot, which volition connection gathering owners grants to screen some conversion costs, according to a staff report. The economic improvement section plans to usage $2.5 million from different programs to wage for the grants. 

The programme besides supports those wanting to person to hotels, of which there's presently a shortage successful downtown, particularly of "luxury" boutique hotels, the study said. 

"Not lone does this hamper the metropolis from attracting larger, large events, but the request and visitant spending spills implicit to neighbouring communities extracurricular of the city," said the report.

Other cities offer incentives

The thought of turning offices into residences has gained traction successful caller years as cities grapple with the lasting impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic erstwhile companies allowed employees to enactment from home. Those policies persist today, with fewer people using downtown cores. 

About 1,600 medication unit with the City of Hamilton, for example, presently enactment 2 days successful person, three days virtually, Lora Fontana, enforcement manager of quality resources, told councillors. 

London, Ont., Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton each connection bureau gathering owners incentives to person to lodging to tackle vacant buildings, and person seen immoderate success, said the report.

WATCH | Transforming an bureau into 94 residential units:

Hamilton's complaint is expected to increase as leases travel to an extremity and businesses reconsider how overmuch abstraction they need, said Caldwell. Landlords whitethorn decide to bent connected to their buildings, adjacent if they're empty, and "wait and see" if the marketplace improves. 

Hamilton Coun. Brad Clark, who voted against the pilot, asked unit wherefore the metropolis has to "bail out" businesses with excessively overmuch bureau space.  

Caldwell said galore landlords are reluctant to instrumentality connected the challenge, leaning toward maintaining the presumption quo. 

"Many are bequest owners who aren't successful the satellite of residential improvement and it's a span excessively acold to a definite extent," helium said. 

Others have told the metropolis "the fiscal viability" of converting "is not rather there." 

"They're funny to spot if this programme comes online. It mightiness beryllium a deciding factor," Caldwell said. 

Grants up to $20K per unit

Converting offices to residence can beryllium costly and complicated, and outgo betwixt $200 and $300 per quadrate foot, unit estimated successful their report.

Work usually includes: 

• Upgrading and expanding electrical and plumbing.
• Reconfiguring level plans. 
• Working wrong older buildings that whitethorn necessitate asbestos removal.

The disposable grants standard up with the fig of bedrooms to promote the instauration of larger units for families, the study said. Landlords would beryllium eligible for up to $10,000 per studio portion oregon edifice country to $20,000 per three-bedroom unit. Grants volition besides assistance wage for feasibility studies. 

"I won't beryllium supporting it," Clark said. "I don't deliberation we person a demonstrated request yet, but I recognize the desire." 

The West End Home Builders' Association (WE HBA) said it welcomes the intent of the grants, noting that landlords are presently facing difficulties uncovering bureau tenants and an "extremely difficult" caller condo market.

However, the advocacy radical for onshore developers successful Hamilton, Burlington and Grimsby is acrophobic that the assistance amounts won't beryllium enough, WE HBA planner Anthony Salemi wrote successful a missive to council. 

Staff said they'll measure the program, and immoderate imaginable metropolis barriers, and study backmost successful the fall.