Prime Hamilton downtown properties going up for sale

Four owners with seven different parcels of land on the corner of King and Bay streets in downtown Hamilton are putting their land together to sell as one big deal going up for sale Tuesday morning.

The land assembly andsale opens up for redevelopment a prime corner of the downtown, right along the proposed light-rail transitroute and close to several other major projects that have gone up nearby in recent years.

The properties going up for saleinclude the corner property that was best known as theRegal Hotel, now the George Hamilton restaurant. The propertiesrunwest along the north side of King Street from there.

They're listing the propertiesas an all-together deal, measuring 0.8acres,according to the realtor representing the sellers,Rocchino Perrotto.

Many of the parcels have "been in the hands of these owners 50, 60, 70 years," Perrotto said.

The asking price? $12 million.Parcels like this don't come on the market every day, Perrotto said.

Any realtor trying to sell such a major piece of property is inclined to sound sunny about its prospects, but Perrotto saidfinding comparable sales that account for the rising market was impossible, and so he priced it "just to make sure we don't leave any money on the table."

It's a big chunk of primeland in the centre of Hamilton's downtown, across the street from the FirstOntario Centre and Jackson Square, kitty-corner from a new McMaster University health centre and near the new HomewoodSuites that developerDarko Vranichbuilt last year.

Aconfluence of Hamilton's hot market and the length of time the sellers have held onto the properties sparked the idea to band together to sell, Perrotto said.

That, and it's right on the new $1 billionLRT line that is slated to begin construction in Hamilton in 2019. Perrotto said the sellers are open to hearing ideas for the property.

"Whatever it is it's got to be high-rise," Perrotto said. "I personally think it you want a hybrid of hotel and condo."

kelly.bennett@cbc.ca | @kellyrbennett