City won’t rush to designate Gore

Heritage advocates are hoping to stop the planned demolition of 18-28 King St. E.

The city will not fast-track a request to study turning Gore Park and its surrounding buildings into a protected heritage district.

Hamilton council’s heritage committee voted last month to ask the city to evaluate the downtown park and its surrounding buildings as a possible heritage conservation district.

Such a designation — already in place for seven historic areas in Hamilton, including parts of the Beach Strip and St. Clair Boulevard — acts to protect entire streetscapes from demolition and unapproved alterations.

Heritage advocacy group Friends of the Gore circulated a petition and email alert last week urging support for the idea, arguing it could stop a contentious, long-debated demolition and redevelopment plan for 1828 King St. E.

“The city has the power through the Ontario Heritage Act to designate Gore heritage streetscapes and to reverse the demolition of the confederation-era buildings,” wrote Carol Priamo of Friends of the Gore in an email that also included a 1,100-name petition against the planned demolition.

The late plea comes two months after council signed off on a conditional plan to allow the demolition and redevelopment of the contentious, dilapidated addresses.

One of those conditions is that Hughson Business Space Corp. must preserve the facades of two of the Confederation-era buildings, 18 and 22.

The compromise came after years of controversial debate over the crumbling Gore Park street wall, including council’s “Christmas miracle” decision to save the buildings from demolition in 2013 with a last-minute heritage designation.

The development consortium sent representative Tim Bullock to planning committee Tuesday to ask councillors to “exclude” the project from any potential heritage district study, if it goes ahead.

“Please don’t make us start all over again,” said Bullock, suggesting a heritage district study — which is often accompanied by interim control bylaws banning demolition — would further delay a project council has signed off on.

Ward Coun. Jason Farr said he appreciated the “passion” of advocates for maintaining the existing Gore Park street wall, but added the city would not be acting in “good faith” if it stopped the developer from going ahead with the approved plan.

Other councillors expressed concern about moving a complex study to the front of the line for heritage studies. Staff suggested it could take two years to complete a heritage conservation district process for the Gore.

The committee didn’t reject the idea of a study outright, but instead supported a request from Farr to have staff review the implications of such an effort, including cost, staff time and impact on existing agreements with Gore property owners.

Please don’t make us start all over again. TIM BULLOCK BUSINESS SPACE CORP.