New film studios may be built in Central Hamilton

The neighbourhood of Tiffany and Barton Street has seen plenty of changes in the last few years.

Prior to the 2015 Pan Am Games, neighbourhood residents saw their land expropriated to make way for what was supposed to be the West Harbour football stadium. Unfortunately, the stadium plans never came to fruition — a failure that cost many long-time residents their homes and became a real catalyst for Hamiltonians to flock to social media and have genuine online discussion about the future of the city.

After sitting empty for a few years, unnamed buyers have inquired about purchasing the land to build new film studios.

Currently the 16-acre block is zoned for both residential and commercial properties. That being said, a very strong interest from the unnamed buyers could change the fate of the land. Before any final decisions are made, the city wants to gauge the neighbourhood’s interest in the idea.

Although this potential project is in its very early stages, the neighbourhood would like to at least explore the idea of the film studios. At Monday’s neighbourhood association meeting, 32 residents were in favour of the idea while six were not interested.

So, here's unexpected news: #HamOnt has been approached by three-or more as-yet unidentified film industry types about the prospect of setting up a movie studio on the failed stadium lands at Barton-Tiffany.

— Matthew Van Dongen (@Mattatthespec) June 18, 2018

Residents brought up important pros and cons of having film studios in Central Hamilton. One positive impact it’d have on the city is the influx of new jobs, but at the expense of added traffic congestion.

Additional film studios in Hamilton would certainly do wonders for the economy and for Hamilton’s creative arts scene. While this idea is still only a possibility, it’d be an exciting adventure for Hamilton to take on.

What do you think about Hamilton becoming home to new film studios? Let us know in the comments.

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Tags

• Canadian Film Industry
• Central Hamilton
• Film Industry
• Film Studio
• Hamilton
• HamOnt
• Production Studio