THE HEART OF THE CITY
LLOYD D. JACKSON SQUARE
100 King Street West
BUILDING INFORMATION
Date Built:
1970-1973
Original Owner: N/A
Original Use: N/A
Subsequent Uses: Shopping mall
THE HEART OF THE CITY
LLOYD D. JACKSON SQUARE100 King Street West
Date Built: 1970-1973
Original Owner: N/A
Original Use: N/A
Subsequent Uses: Shopping mall
Size: N/A
Architect, Builder: Arthur C.F. Lau, architect; Tricon Construction Company, builders
Design and Style: N/A
Construction Materials: N/A
Main Architectural Feature: N/A
On October 19, 1970,
the construction of Jackson Square, named after Lloyd D.
Jackson, former mayor of Hamilton, began. The new indoor pedestrian mall was
part of an urban renewal project. It was located in the downtown core of the city that it
might take advantage of the trend that businesses preferred to be located in the core. A
ceremony, led by Mayor Vic Copps was held and representatives of all levels of government
(municipal, provincial, and federal) were present, as well as the official companies, and
developers involved in the project. Yale Properties Limited and The Standard Life
Assurance Company, through Greater Hamilton Developers Limited, were among those present.
The building was designed by architect Arthur C.F. Lau and constructed by Tricon
Construction Company, a subsidiary of Yale Properties Limited. The electrical and
mechanical engineers for the project were from Kaith Associates Ltd., while the structural
engineers were of G. Horvath and Associates.
The construction of the mall was to occur in different phases, all of which required approval before starting. The cost of phase one of the project was estimated at $30,000,000 and was to include: the Stelco Tower (a 26-storey office complex), 400,000 square feet of gross rentable space, The Bank of Montreal Pavilion, a shopping concourse street of 143,930 square feet, two cinemas, an underground parking capacity of 250 cars, and a landscaped roof. There were to be 800 employees in the Stelco Tower, which was to be the prime tenant.
Phase two was to include a department store of
150,000 – 250,000 square feet, a shopping concourse addition, plaza additions, and an
enlargement of the underground parking. The plan went ahead without the department store.
By 1977, both the library and phase two were completed.
The third phase saw the proposed addition of a 24-storey office tower of 350,000 square feet, an addition to the parking lot, and another addition of 23,000 square feet to the plaza. Phase four of the project included a 400-room hotel, a 50,000 square foot shopping area, the addition of 150 extra parking spaces and 10,000 square feet to the plaza. The Eaton’s Store was the feature of phase five.
The hotel, The Sheraton Hotel, opened on August 15,
1985. Further proposals were made to have the Eaton’s Centre, owned by Cadillac
Fairview, linked to the mall. This was agreed upon in 1987. The price tag of this venture
was estimated at $100,000,000. Eaton’s opened again in 1990. Since the autumn of
1972, the mall has undergone three expansions, which tripled the retail space available.
The Eaton’s Centre in the meantime evolved into a sprawling mall. The mall is also
associated with important centres such as the Hamilton Public Library,
the Art Gallery, the
Convention Centre and Hamilton Place.
In 1993, the mall experienced a shortage of tenants, empty storefronts, and people demanding lower prices. In response, Jackson Square rented spaces and offered free space to non-profit organizations in an attempt to revitalize the mall. Accompanying the shortage of tenants, the mall was also plagued by the absence of workers when Stelco moved.
Today, attempts to revitalize the mall are in the works. A new food court, which should be open in the summer of 1999 is being built, and two-hour free parking is being offered in an attempt to bring the public back.
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