These home builds made headlines in Hamilton. What went wrong?

Hamilton Spectator

11-05-2025

A home build in Hamilton's north end coined the 'Leaning Tower on Ferrie.' Construction of a new house that caused the house next door to be demolished. A property owner hauled into court on the Mountain over an unsanctioned build.
The Spectator has reported on these local problematic building projects over the last few years.
While different, all three have required some level of intervention by the city, whether due to concerns around the structure, impacts on surrounding homes or allegedly bad building practices.
One case resulted in more than a dozen provincial offences against the homeowner, while the other two situations saw people forced to flee their homes. In one of those instances, residents in the Lansdale neighbourhood lost their home because it was 'no longer habitable.'
Here is a recap of those stories:
While
construction appears to now be going smoothly
on a new home at 75 Ferrie St. E. in the North End, that wasn't always the case for the property that made headlines in early 2024.
An off-duty city building inspector noticed that a home under construction on Ferrie Street East appeared unsafe and notified the city in early January 2024.
The unsafe home build at 75 Ferrie St. E. in Hamilton in January 2024.
A city building inspector quickly deemed the structure 'unsafe and at risk of failure,' leading to a nearly weeklong evacuation of neighbouring homes as the building was stabilized with steel columns — work that was completed by the city as the owner was unable to.
The city then ordered the owner to fix the structure, but that didn't happen, leading the city to step in once again.
The structure was then partially demolished by the city so it would no longer pose a threat to the safety of the neighbourhood. The site was later turned back over to the owner.
Throughout the incident, the city spent roughly $294,000 stabilizing and partially demolishing the structure — costs that were billed back to the owner on the tax roll of the property.
The unsafe home build at 75 Ferrie St. E. in Hamilton in February 2024.
Later, the city alleged that the builder of the home strayed from the original plans approved by the city, leading the structure, once coined the 'Leaning Tower on Ferrie,' to become unstable.
Those supposed variances included changes to the framing methods, which differed from the approved engineer plans provided to the city during the permit application — but the troubles didn't stop there.
City officials also noted that the home may 'not have been adequately designed to resist the imposed loads,' as well as a lack of shoring during the construction process.
It appears those issues have since been resolved, according to a recent update from the city to The Spectator.
Last September, the city issued a revised building permit to the owner of the property and construction at the site is 'proceeding in the normal manner,' with ongoing inspections by city staff, according to a statement.
The ongoing
building saga around 279 Bonaventure Dr.
on Hamilton Mountain began late one Friday night in April 2021, when the original home exploded due to a buildup of natural gas.
Since then, the property owner has been the subject of lawsuits from neighbours and a legal challenge by the city after dozens of charges were laid in connection with a new home build that began on the site last year.
As reported by The Spectator, the owner of the property has been fined roughly 16 times — to the tune of more than $10,000 — by the city regarding construction at the site, which initially began back in late 2023 and continued in 2024 before permits were issued.
The home build at 279 Bonaventure Dr. in Hamilton in June 2024.
The most recent news on the property comes after the owner was issued a building permit from the city. However, staff have since alleged that construction happening inside the home isn't matching up with approved building plans.
The owner of the property was issued an order to comply by the city, but work appeared to be continuing on the site as of early May.
A family lost their home in the process of
the construction of a new house
just off Barton Street East earlier this year.
In early April, city staff responded to reports of a 'compromised foundation' of a home at 54 St. Matthews Ave., near Barton Street East and Wentworth Street North, as reported by The Spec.
The remains of a home at 54 St. Matthews Ave. in Hamilton. The home was torn down in April.
The foundation had been 'compromised to the point that the house was imminently unsafe' during construction of a new home at 56 St. Matthews Ave., a city spokesperson previously told The Spectator.
Residents at 54 and 58 St. Matthews — brick houses on either side of the affected property — were forced to evacuate from their homes, as the city put safety fencing around 56 St. Matthews and called in a professional engineer to assess the situation.
The professional engineer found 54 St. Matthews was 'no longer habitable,' forcing its demolition on April 13. Meanwhile, the residents of the other affected property returned home.
A stop-work order was issued for 56 St. Matthews on April 4, however, it's unclear if that order was rescinded by the city. Costs for the safety fencing and the professional engineer's report have both been billed back to the owner of 56 St. Matthews.
The remains of a home at 54 St. Matthews Ave. in Hamilton. The home was torn down in April.
While neighbours of the project questioned the construction of the home, which was approved by the city, a spokesperson told The Spectator that they would not be laying charges.
Instead, the situation was being examined by insurance companies of the affected property owners. A Ministry of Labour investigation was also launched at the site, but a spokesperson for the province would not provide any further details around the nature of that probe.