Hamilton Just Said No to a Data Centre on Its Waterfront. Here's What That Means.

Last Thursday, something unusual happened at Hamilton City Hall.

Hundreds of people showed up. Not for a town hall on transit or taxes. They came to fight for the future of 800 acres of waterfront land on Hamilton's north shore that most people in this city have never seen up close.

Over 1,200 letters were submitted opposing a planning application from Slate Asset Management, the company that owns the former Stelco lands, now rebranded as Steelport. They wanted to sever off 76 hectares to build hyperscale AI data centres as part of a federal program. Hamilton's Committee of Adjustment denied the application. The crowd in Council Chambers cheered.

What Is Steelport?

Steelport is the former Stelco steelmaking site on Hamilton's north waterfront. It is roughly 800 acres of harbour-adjacent industrial land that Slate Asset Management purchased in 2022 with a plan to remediate it and redevelop it into a mix of industrial, commercial, and eventually publicly accessible waterfront space.

Hamilton's waterfront has been blocked from public access by industrial use for most of the city's history. The Steelport redevelopment represented the clearest single opportunity to change that and give Hamilton the kind of connected, active waterfront that cities across Ontario have been building for the past 20 years.

What Happened at City Hall

Slate applied to sever 76 hectares off their 324-hectare Steelport property to facilitate a joint venture with the Digital Research Alliance of Canada to build federally funded AI data centres on that land.

The opposition was fast and organized. Residents and community groups submitted 1,209 letters against the application. That is more letters than any application in the history of Hamilton's Committee of Adjustment. Hundreds showed up in person at City Hall on June 4. Concerns centred on water use, energy demand, noise, heat, job loss, and the loss of the waterfront redevelopment vision residents had been expecting.

The committee denied the application. But the story is not finished. The denial was on the land severance only. Slate has said the data centre proposal is still being pursued. And Councillor Nrinder Nann is now pushing for an Interim Control By-Law at the June 16 Planning Committee meeting, which would pause all large-scale AI data centre development in Hamilton while the city builds a proper regulatory framework.

Why This Matters for Hamilton Real Estate

What gets built on those 800 acres will define what Hamilton's north waterfront looks like for the next 50 years. A mixed-use, publicly accessible waterfront development changes the value proposition for every property in the surrounding north end and lower city. A data centre park keeps industrial use as industrial use and leaves the waterfront closed.

This is one of the most consequential land-use decisions Hamilton has faced in a generation. If you own property here, or you are thinking about buying here, it is worth following closely. The Committee of Adjustment said no on June 4. The city's formal policy response is still being developed. The developer has not walked away.

To understand how big development decisions connect to Hamilton's housing market, read Is Hamilton's Housing Market Turning? And for the latest on where prices stand: Hamilton Home Prices Are Now Below 2021.

Doug Muir is a Hamilton-based real estate agent with Muir and Co. Realty. Questions about what's happening in this city? Reach out at doug@muircorealty.ca.