Slate Asset Management has submitted an application for a draft plan of subdivision for its proposed Steelport industrial park to be constructed along the Hamilton waterfront.

Steelport will revitalize 805.8 acres on Hamilton’s waterfront and offer direct access to the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway, the United States, Ontario’s highway system and on-site rail as well as connectivity to international airports in Hamilton and Toronto.

Steelport is expected to generate an estimated $3.8 billion in economic value and 23,000 jobs across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area.

“This plan lays out an ambitious vision that will not only re-imagine the lands and contribute to Hamilton’s economy through job creation and increased industry, but also promote connectivity among residents by adding communal public spaces and greenery, and facilitating increased connection to the waterfront,” Slate Asset Management senior vice-president Steven Dejonckheere said in a media release. 

“We look forward to collaborating with our private sector partners and all levels of government to realize the full potential of this city-building project and make Steelport a place that all Hamiltonians can enjoy.”

History of the Stelco lands

Stelco began operations in 1910 on the lands addressed today as 386 Wilcox St. and continues to operate on-site today. Many of the company’s operations have been relocated, however, resulting in a majority of the site sitting vacant and under-utilized. 

Stelco’s current operations consist of a single remaining coke battery scheduled to be decommissioned in the next few years and a cold rolled steel mill, which is intended to remain on a 75-acre site for the foreseeable future.

Toronto-headquartered Slate Asset Management acquired the former Stelco lands for more than $500 million in June 2022 with the intention of redeveloping the property into a modern, master-planned employment area.

Plans for Steelport

Steelport’s net development area is 529.7 acres over 22 parcels of land. It’s expected to yield between 11 million and 12 million square feet of new industrial uses of varying sizes and types.

There are three components to Steelport’s block plan: public right-of-ways; private industrial blocks; and hybrid partnership blocks that provide a public amenity. 

Steelport’s master plan includes: 

• more than 90 acres of landscapes that will offer the public increased access to nature and the harbour’s edge;
• more than 15 acres of blue/green infrastructure as part of the stormwater system;
• more than 60 acres of integrated mobility options that bring together demands for industry alongside green active transportation connections;
• taking materials from demolished buildings and structures and reusing them as part of the construction of the public realm;
• industrial districts comprised of mixed-use blocks, mid-sized to large flex industrial blocks, and shipping and inter-modal blocks;
• and the four-kilometre Steelport Loop recreational circuit that connects "hybrid places."

Steelport’s four legacy hybrid places

Steelport’s four legacy hybrid places are The Lagoon Scape, The Pipe Gallery, The Battery and The Waterfront. 

The Lagoon Scape is a regenerated, bio-diverse landscape that also functions as stormwater management infrastructure. 

While retaining industrial heritage infrastructure, The Pipe Gallery will support small-scale startups, makers and entrepreneurs in a public-facing assemblage of commercial creative office space, fabrication and design studios, retail and amenities.

The Battery will preserve a cluster of the site’s coke battery plant structures to create a hybrid park with open green spaces.

Steelport includes about 3.4 kilometres of waterfront access.

The Waterfront will renew the natural shoreline as a public amenity that will offer food and beverage, hospitality, education, entertainment and recreational activities. 

Steelport will be developed in phases

Steelport’s master plan is deliberately open to an evolving and collaborative process that will unfold over time.

The build-out will be multi-phased and take place over decades.

Phasing has been designed to unlock development opportunities as Stelco’s ongoing operations are consolidated to lands it has leased back from Slate Asset Management. 

Infrastructure for each phase will be designed to support future development and access to the water is intended to become available as part of the second phase.

Phase timing and order will continue to be assessed as the master plan evolves.

Pop-up culture and pilot projects will offer a quick way to activate sites and foreshadow future uses as Steelport evolves. 

Slate Asset Management and its Steelport partners

Slate Asset Management is a global alternative investment platform targeting real assets. It has $13 billion in assets under management and 13 offices across North America and Europe.

Gensler and Baldassarra Architects are the architects, while Public Work is the landscape architect for Steelport.

Stantec is the civil and traffic engineer, Pinchin is the environmental engineer, and MHBC is the planner.

Members of the public are invited to share their feedback and ideas on Steelport here.

“We intend for Steelport to be a true reflection of the Hamilton community and an economic and cultural cornerstone of the Hamilton region for decades to come, which is why Hamiltonians’ input at every stage of this project will be integral to its success,” Dejonckheere said in the release.