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The winning proposal of the multi-million dollar renovation to Hamilton’s downtown entertainment facilities proposes massive changes to FirstOntario Centre, FirstOntario Concert Hall and the Hamilton Convention Centre, as well as a series of high-rises.
The bidder, Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG) — which includes Carmen’s Group, LiUNA, Fengate Capital, Meridian Credit Union, Paletta International and Jetport Inc. — offered a $500-million pitch.
Mayor Fred Eisenberger made the highly anticipated announcement during Friday’s city council meeting, saying that the group had come out “on top.”
“I think it’s going to be a great opportunity for a transformational upgrades to our facilities” he said, calling the investment “historic.”
More details will come when the master agreement is finalized, but here are some of the plans suggested so far:
HUPEG originally proposed keeping FirstOntario’s seating capacity, and suggested relocating the convention centre to a part of Hamilton City Centre.
Three high-rises downtown would include the Art Gallery of Hamilton, the convention centre, condos and commercial space. Two more towers are possible at the corner of Bay Street and King Street East.
The other option considered was a $200-million plan by Vrancor Group, a prolific Hamilton development company owned by Darko Vranich. Among its changes, the project proposed limiting the arena’s capacity to around 15,400 seats, with the possibility to expand to 17,000 if needed.
“The numbers showed that the precinct group was the better proposal, better bid and that’s the direction we’re moving forward on,” Eisenberger said, and added that he think the announcement will get a positive reaction from Hamilton Bulldogs owner, Michael Andlauer.
More to come.
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