Gateway Group

The permit timeline is one of the most important numbers in your pro forma.

Here's what it actually looks like in Hamilton.
Two tracks and they're not the same.

Duplex (as-of-right): If your property is already zoned as-of-right for a duplex conversion, the building permit process typically runs 3 to 6 months.

Fourplex or complex infill: If your property is already zoned as-of-right for a fourplex or complex infill, the building permit process typically runs 6 to 12 months.
Most investors find out which track they're on too late.

At Gateway, we own the permit from first submission through every inspection, with full accountability throughout the process.

Our founder, Charles, sits on Hamilton's Missing Middle and Infill Development Subcommittee. That's not a website credential. It means we know how Hamilton's approval process works, and we build that into your timeline from day one.

Comment DUPLEX, and we'll walk through what's realistic for your project.

Project Arnold. Westdale, Hamilton.

This is what a basement looks like before anyone calls it finished.
See that black dimpled sheet on the foundation? It's doing the most important job in the room. Any moisture in that concrete wall has somewhere to go now, down and out, behind the framing. Not into your drywall. Not into your floor. Not into the air your family breathes.

The studs in front of it? Built off the foundation with an air gap. Not pinned to bare concrete. That's the difference between a basement that lasts and a basement that smells like one in three years.
Then there's the dirt. Yeah, that pile is part of the job. Sometimes the floor has to come up before the room can go in. That's not a problem. That's the work.

Electrical roughed in. Ready for inspection.
And only after every one of these layers is done, the walls go up.

This is what doing it right looks like, behind the wall. The part you'll never see once your basement is finished. The part that decides whether you ever think about it again.

Tarion-registered. Fully permitted. Building in Hamilton for 12+ years.

👇 Thinking about your basement? Comment BASEMENT, and we'll tell you honestly what your space can become.

Demo day. 97 Garside.

Another Kiwanis Small Lot site goes from standing structure to open ground.

What you are looking at is Phase 1 of a fourplex build:
Demolition → Excavation → Shoring → Underground services → Foundation walls.

Every phase documented. Every phase inspected. Every phase on the path to four new homes on one Hamilton lot.

Paling. Garside. Fraser.
Three sites. Three fourplexes. All active.
This is what full-scope looks like on the ground.

Follow along. We are documenting every phase.

Foundation stage. Kiwanis site.
Hamilton's first small lot fourplex three sites running right now.

One question worth asking before any multi-unit project starts.
Is your builder Tarion-registered?
Tarion is Ontario's official new home warranty program.
Registration isn't automatic.

A builder applies, carries warranty obligations on every unit they build, and stays accountable to a provincial regulator.
Structural defects. Building envelope. Deposit protection.

Backed by Ontario law not just a contract.
Gateway has been registered since 2012.
Every project. Same standard.
Gateway Group · Tarion-registered · 12 years in Hamilton · 4.9 Google

DM us TARION to learn what this means for your project.

Footing's done at 138 Paling.

Six months of permits, plans, and prep and now you can actually see it in the ground.
Walls are next.

This is what the work looks like before anyone calls it impressive.

What do you think Hamilton looks like ten years from now?

Week 1: you meet us on site.
We walk the space together.
Scope locked before we leave.

Weeks 2–3: drawings and plans done.
Smaller project? Faster.
Bigger or more complex? Full three weeks.
We tell you which one yours is upfront.

Plans done, permit goes in immediately.

The whole time: WhatsApp updates.
Not when you ask.
Before you think to ask.

That's just how we run things.
12 years in Hamilton. Every project.

Tarion-registered. 4.9 stars. WEHBA 2025.

Have you ever actually known what was
happening with your renovation
while it was happening?

60 properties. $40,000 each.
That's not a rumour. That's a city official confirming the number.

A legal second unit in Hamilton generates strong monthly rental income in today's market. The grant covers up to 70% of eligible build costs and once the build pays itself off, that income runs indefinitely.

Someone on your street is already in this program. The question is whether you'll be next or find out too late.
There's one thing most people miss before they even apply the build must be done by a Tarion-registered builder. Not every contractor qualifies.

Drop your biggest question about the program below and we'll answer it honestly.