New retail opportunities on the horizon for Hamilton City Centre. IN8 Development is targeting this downtown property to develop multiple mixed-use towers.
Hamilton City Centre Holdings Inc. is in the process of selling the 3.54-acre site to IN8. The process is expected to end this month in December 2019. While the purchase price remains a secret, the experts say that the value of the property is a whopping $24.55 million.
History of Hamilton City Centre Mall and IN8
Hamilton City Centre Mall was built by Cadillac Fairview in 1990. The Mall name was previously called Eaton Centre, and it featured the prominent Eaton’s department store. Eaton was the anchor tenant; however, they vacated their space back in 1999. The following two decades took a toll on the building.
During this time, the building owner has changed on several occasions.
Today Hamilton City Centre has high vacancy; however, it does have some recognizable retailers that occupy the space. Retailers like Fairweather and Hart have a location in the Centre. John Howard, a legal tenant also occupies space; along with Thunder Bowling Alley and Crunch Fitness to name a few tenants.
IN8 has a history of redeveloping mixed-use facilities. The company has several divisions, including property management, development, construction management, and a sales divisions. It focuses on “high-density urban intensification”.
In total, they have completed 16 projects and their latest project worth mentioning is the DTK Condos, a 39-storey tall building that will be the tallest tower in Kitchener, which is about 100km west of Toronto, once the project is completed.
Revitalization Opportunities
Hamilton offers many great opportunities that IN8 recognized. Apart from the convenient GO Transit access to Toronto, the site features many heritage buildings and its nearby waterfront. There is also a light transit line project planned from McMaster University to Eastgate Square.
IN8 president Darryl Firsten recently visited the shopping centre. During his visit, he made IN8’s vision clear: “Our vision here is a live, work, play situation in downtown Hamilton,” and added, “We’d like to pull more people to be living in Hamilton and working in Hamilton, so there will be both residential and commercial elements to this development.”
With the Hamilton City Centre, IN8 is going to create new retail opportunities. By keeping retail in the mixed-use development plans, IN8 also has plans to boost the current retail occupancy and promote its growth.
Summary
IN8 and other investors are taking advantage of commercial real estate projects located in prime areas with high vacancy. This is just one of the many strategies available when investing in retail or mixed-use commercial real estate. If you would like to learn about more opportunities like Hamilton City Centre Mall contact REDEV Properties for more information.