Real estate developers Slate hosted a celebratory event in Hamilton on October 11 to highlight new developments on its Steelport and Corktown projects.

More than 80 people attended.

Slate unveiled new details of Corktown, the firm’s downtown residential development in the city’s downtown. It also shared new renderings and site plans for Steelport, an 800-acre industrial development on the Hamilton harbourfront.

“Growing up in this area, I was always proud that steel was produced here because it helped build this country,” said Slate co-founder Blair Welch. “Now, with our investment in Steelport – named partly in celebration of Hamilton’s proud heritage as the Steel Capital of Canada – and Corktown, we are helping to honour a century of enterprise while forging a new future for the city, and we are excited to share these plans with the Hamilton community.”

Slate acquired the 800-acre industrial parcel from Stelco Inc. in 2022. The developers introduced a new name, identity, and preliminary vision for the industrial lands and buildings earlier this year.

The company’s vision is to reshape the underutilized property into one of the largest, state-of-the-art intermodal industrial hubs in the country. The redevelopment of the site will bring new industry to Hamilton and is projected to create up to 23,000 new jobs and inject up to $3.8 billion into Ontario’s economy over the next decade, according to an economic study conducted by EY.

It will also make portions of the Steelport site accessible to the public for the first time in a century.

At the event, Slate Asset Management also launched sales for Corktown, its first mixed-use residential project in the city.

Corktown is planned to include a 27-storey tower and 14-storey mid-rise, with retail spaces at the ground level. The development will be located at one of the most connected areas of Hamilton, near St. Joseph’s Hospital and McMaster University, as well as local shops and markets, and access to the Hamilton GO Centre, Highway 403 and the QEW.

“We think of ourselves as city-builders, meaning we think beyond each of our individual projects and more about what we can give back to the communities we invest in,” said Slate’s managing director Brandon Donnelly. “With Corktown, not only are we bringing quality architecture and design to the region, but we are also investing in jobs, economic development, and the greater Toronto housing market.”

Slate expects to submit a formal master plan for Steelport in the coming months and plans to break ground on phase one of the development in 2024.