Next Wednesday's unveiling of the renovated Royal Connaught Hotel as Residences of The Royal Connaught is one of the great downtown renewal stories of the year. The Connaught is a 100-year-old Hamilton icon. The relaunch of the old hotel into residential real estate, plus the renovations going on in Gore Park, all have significant impact on commercial real estate values in the downtown core, says the city's manager of urban renewal Glen Norton. "The building sitting empty for so many years has been a highly visible reminder that the revitalization of our downtown core has not taken off at the speed we all want as citizens," Glen tells Bisnow.

"Retailers are again looking at the downtown as a potential location for new or expanded operations," he says. More and more people are living and working downtown. With expanded "pedestrian-only" areas, as well as seating, landscaping, and interpretive areas in the redeveloped Gore Park, expect "dramatic changes" to this three-block stretch of the downtown over the next two to three years, Glen says. Historical photo: Hamilton Public Library. (That reminds us—Someone take a picture of Hamilton now so in 60 years we have something to be nostalgic about.)