A proposal to reshape the junction of Highways 5 and 6 in Flamborough, Ont. into an all-encompassing community is now under review by the City of Hamilton.
The iConnect Community, spearheaded by developers the Krpan Group and the Remington Group, proposes a development that will include 2,000 residential units, 1.5 million square feet of commercial space and 3,000 jobs for the land in Waterdown, Ont.
The group currently owns and manages the Flamborough Power Centre and surrounding properties, including the commercial complex at 50 Horseshoe Cres. For the project, they have mapped out the northeast and southeast quadrants of Highways 5 and 6. The live, work, shop, play concept is aimed to contain all needs in one community.
“We have an application in with the City of Hamilton to rezone approximately 60 acres of commercial land, in which there is no demand and has not been since 2008. The rezoning would allow for residential to help build a complete community,” said John A. Krpan, senior investment manager for the Krpan Group.
One of the commercial anchor tenants is the leading medical technology company, Stryker, who moved their Canadian head office to the area in November 2018, occupying 120,000 square feet for 250 employees. The other principal is aerospace and defense giant, L3 WESCAM, who is planning a stand-alone 330,000 square foot building for 1,400 employees in the spring of 2021.
The proposed 3,000 collective employees of these companies is ultimately forecast to occupy 1.5 million square feet of office space. To date, there is 700,000 square feet of retail space and a substantial residential component is to come.
A breakdown chart from Krpan and Remington includes for the north side of Dundas Street/Highway 5, 392 stacked townhouse units, 54 single townhouses, 80 mid-rise units, 630 high-rise units, 165 retirement beds and 192 nursing beds.
On the south side, they allot space for 64 stacked townhouse units, 16 single townhouse units, 388 mid-rise units and 220 high-rise units.
“iConnect Community will help cut down on commuting to work while providing a lifestyle that so many are looking for but many cannot afford. It will be an opportunity to walk to work, run to your gym, bike to get your groceries, and get back home all without the need for a motorized vehicle,” said Krpan.
Located minutes from the QEW/403, 30-minutes from the Tri-City (Cambridge, Kitchener and Waterloo) 40-minutes to downtown Toronto and 45 minutes to the U.S. border, the community is also in close proximity to McMaster University, Mohawk College and the University of Waterloo.
In its outline, Krpan/Remington says the development will bring to the City of Hamilton $65 million in development charges from the growth resulting from the project and approximately $20-million in property taxes per year.
The application for an official plan amendment and changes in zoning were received by the City of Hamilton Planning Division in June and is now under review.
There is a chance to develop this from the ground up Smart Infrastructure-Let’s see if they’re up to it….and get it right, from the start….