Connaught mixed-housing project rejected

A proposal to turn the Royal Connaught Hotel into mixed-income housing has been turned down. The city was hoping to receive $12.9 million from a government housing program to convert the downtown landmark into mixed-income housing. Yesterday, an email went out to council members and senior staff alerting them the project had been shut out. Council voted in September to name the Connaught project as its top choice of the six local projects seeking funding from the federal-provincial program. The five other housing projects – which, along with the Connaught, would have brought over 300 affordable beds to the city – were also rejected. Sixteen projects with 1,200 units across Ontario did receive funding and will be awarded $141 million in Federal-Provincial cash. In yesterday’s email, the city says it’s “following up with Ministry staff on the locations of these projects and the reasons the six projects submitted by Hamilton City Council were unsuccessful.” The Connaught project spurred debate this summer over whether the downtown landmark should be converted to mixed-use housing.