SvN, while working with the Hamilton Community Foundation and Evergreen, identified an opportunity to increase public understanding of property values as the Hamilton West Harbour neighbourhood experiences significant change. With the planned introduction of LRT lines, the recently opened West Harbour GO Station, and the investment in improving the waterfront by the City of Hamilton are all contributing factors in stimulating growth within the surrounding residential community.

An area that has historically been in poverty, and home to many working class families, the Hamilton West Harbour guide sets out to provide an informational tool that allows for current residents of the area to not only understand the effect these major changes may have on the value of their property, but also to know what construction possibilities exist for their property, "as-of-right’."This information then can empower residents to choose an appropriate renovation, including adding basement apartments or modest additions, or alternatively, use the provided insight in order to understand what a new owner could do with the property upon sale.

This information is a key tool in encouraging alternate forms of increasing density within the downtown, while simultaneously mitigating gentrification.

This first phase of the project has proposed a print brochure that exemplifies the possibilities that a guide like this could embody. The guide also proposes to evolve into an online platform that can provide accurate information for any address in the West Harbour neighbourhood. This guide also strives to inform community beyond the West Harbour. The intention is that this guide and method of working can be a model for addressing socio-economic and housing needs in other adjacent neighbourhoods that will also experience similar, high intensity change due to city planning.

Overseeing the project from the earliest synthesis and interpretation of existing planning documents through to detailed representation and communication design, the Hamilton West Harbour Investment Guide demonstrates the capacity of our multi-disciplinary firm to provide thoughtful and comprehensive solutions to the complex urban challenges facing Hamilton’s changing urban landscape.