A Hamilton skyscraper proposal that angered local residents has been given the go-ahead by local officials.

The City of Hamilton approved plans to bring a 45-storey tower to Block 16 of the broader Pier 8 waterfront development site, green-lighting what will become the new tallest building in that city.

Block 16 will stand as the flagship tower in the Pier 8 redevelopment, which unites a team of architects and developers, the winners of a 2018 design competition seeking proponents to redesign the pier into a mixed-use destination.

Hamilton City Council has approved the development plans for Block 16 in the Pier 8 community. Photo courtesy of Waterfront Shores Corporation.

Waterfront Shores Corporation — a partnership between developers Cityzen, Fernbrook Homes, Greybrook and Tercot Communities — celebrated the decision from Hamilton officials.

Joe Valela, founder and principal of Tercot Communities said, "This Council decision marks a historic day for the great City of Hamilton. With this landmark approval, Hamilton is well on its way to become a world-class waterfront city and we are proud to be one crucial step forward in making this a reality."

"As the days come, we will review next steps with the City of Hamilton and work together to see how the project will evolve. For today, we are very excited to receive Council approval for the 45-storey building and celebrate with everyone that has worked diligently to make this approval possible."

The developers promise a landmark design from acclaimed architect Bruce Kuwabara, founder of KPMB Architects, with a cylindrical form and lilypad shape that the project team boasts "is emblematic of the revitalization of the Hamilton Harbour."

Despite the rosy language from developers, not everyone in Hamilton will be jumping for joy at this decision.

At a height of 147 metres, the tower will stand 20 metres higher than Hamilton's current tallest, the 43-storey concrete monolith known as Landmark Place.

A 2022 public presentation was met with concerns about the tower's height and impacts on the surrounding community.

Among the pushback received at that presentation, developers were told that locals did not want tall towers on the site whatsoever. The tower was criticized as "way too big for the area" and its "small/big town feel," called "monstrous," and "a giant eyesore" in the making.

Locals were also caught off guard by the tower's height after design competition entries for the site — the very images on which Waterfront Shores' selection was based — depicted buildings of a much smaller scale populating the pier.

The approval for Block 16 includes several other additions for Pier 8, including new public spaces like a publicly accessible lookout terrace.