An Official Plan Amendment (OPA) and Zoning By-law Amendment (ZBA) has been submitted to the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake for a five story, 129 suite hotel with a restaurant and bar and event spaces. The site will also include onsite greenspace and underground parking as well as eight surface parking spaces.

The current zoning for the land permits an institutional use as it was the site of a former school. The application seeks to re-zone the site to commercial hospitality use.

From a planning perspective, the re-development of the site with the proposed land use is justifiable given the position of the site on King Street and its proximity to the Old Town. This use is well established in Niagara-on-the-Lake and mirrors other hotels such as Queen’s Landing, Pillar and Post, etc… all within close proximity of the Old Town.

The site also offers a convenient link between the wineries and the Town, supporting a tourism goal that has been promoted for some time. An operator for the future hotel has not yet been identified and hotel operations will be developed in due course.

The proposed hotel will be situated only slightly closer to King Street than the existing school; however, it will still be set back from the street. The building itself will take up approximately 1/3 of the footprint of the site, with plenty of careful landscaping around the hotel.

While access to the grounds will be controlled through the hotel and available to guests and patrons of the facilities; the open space’s visual impact of the landscaping will benefit the neighbours and the Town as a whole. The existing chain link fence around the property will be removed and decorative boundary treatment around the site is proposed.

We appreciate that the site is much loved. The Ontario Realty Protocol was followed by the Niagara District School Board that owned the site and at the conclusion of the process the lands were put up for private sale.

The stone oak tree marker and the monument commemorating the Underground Railway shall be retained as will the existing ordinance boundary stones. A time capsule believed to be in the cornerstone of the existing school site is expected to be identified for donation to the Niagara-on-the-Lake museum. In addition, the applicant recognizes the site as the former location of the historic residence of Josiah Burr Plumb and the hotel has been conceived with a deliberate effort to celebrate its historic architectural style.

A Stage One and Two archaeological assessment dated May, 27, 2020 was submitted in support of the previous application for the subject property. The licensed archaeologist recommended that no further archaeological work of the study area was required.

If deep archaeological resources are uncovered construction will cease and an archaeologist will be contacted.

A heritage impact assessment is required as part of the site plan application. This will include a temporary protection plan for the existing heritage attributes on site before, during, and after any construction.

The applicant is sensitive to discussion about tunnels under the site believed to be associated with the Underground Railroad. However, records indicate that the tunnels are abandoned municipal infrastructure (sewers) built well after the underground railroad network was in operation. This will be confirmed at a later date.

Existing water and sanitary services to the site are located on King Street. These will be capped, and new connections will be built. The project team is aware that the Town has identified a total reconstruction of King St. as a project in its 5 to 10 year Capital Plan. Therefore, as the detailed site plan is developed, there will need to be efforts to improve drainage for all properties on the street. The site servicing strategy will also ensure no negative impacts to the existing sewers and water supply.

Parking on the site will largely be underground through the construction of an underground parking garage. Eight (8) surface level parking spaces are planned to accommodate a valet parking service to move patron cars to the garage which will have a capacity of about 170 spaces. Two functions rooms and a restaurant will be located within the hotel with a total guest capacity of 349. This significant underground capacity will also reduce the visual impact of parking on the site. No changes to on-street parking are proposed by the site applicant.

While the development is will not disturb the existing sidewalks or trees within the road allowance, the applicant is aware that sidewalks are not currently available on all four sides of the property and that in some cases do not meet the current 1.5 metre accessibility standards for current sidewalk widths. The applicant will work with the Town to identify appropriate methods to improve the existing condition while balancing the need to maintain the existing streetscape character.

Operational decisions for the site will be developed at a future stage and an operator will be selected to carry out the day-to-day operations on the site.

The applicant believes firmly in an ongoing commitment to being a good neighbour with the existing surroundings. Successful examples of the integration of hotels within residential areas are evident throughout the Town. Garbage will be kept and maintained within the building where two service areas (one for restaurant, another for the banquet hall) will support building functions. No hotel suites will be located on the main floor.

The development has the potential to deliver symbiotic benefit to both the Town and the broader Niagara Region tourism industry, including a new opportunity to provide care and maintenance of the grounds and the opportunity to animate the King Street frontage. The site is within 200 meters of the Niagara-on-the-Lake museum and will support the Town’s tourism and history industry.