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  #61  
Old Posted Mar 14, 2013, 6:29 PM
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Land purchase the start of something great
(Hamilton Spectator, Editorial, Mar 14 2013)

It is great news that the Hamilton Conservation Authority has stepped up with almost $400,000 in bridge financing to help finalize the first land purchase for one of Canada’s largest urban parks, which will stretch between Cootes Paradise and the escarpment.

Formerly farmers’ fields, the 21-hectare, L-shaped grassland between York Road and a railway line will create a wildlife corridor and protect the habitat of several threatened bird species. With an $800,000 price tag, this piece of land is part of the puzzle that will ultimately connect 1,300 hectares of natural land into a gem of an urban park.

The plan marks the biggest acquisition of land for the citizens of Hamilton since the establishment of the 1,200-hectare Dundas Valley Conservation Area. The goal is to create an urban ecopark, anchored by the former Veldhuis greenhouse property on the Desjardins Canal in Dundas. The Dundas EcoPark will be a key part of the larger Cootes to Escarpment Park System.

Money will be a huge factor in the success of the plan. Joan Bell, executive director of the Hamilton Conservation Foundation, told The Spectator’s editorial board last month that about $5 million is needed. She said $2 million will be needed to restore the natural landscape of the former Veldhuis property. Two million dollars will go toward land acquisitions. About $1 million is needed to work on trail linkages.

The foundation has raised about half the money to buy this first piece of property, abutting land already owned by the Royal Botanical Gardens, which plays a lead role in the Cootes to Escarpment Park System. The bridge financing from the conservation authority allows the ecopark project partners to meet Friday’s deadline for finalizing the land purchase.
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  #62  
Old Posted Mar 14, 2013, 7:23 PM
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It's hard to believe that beautiful land somehow escaped being developed over the years. We are lucky that it wasn't urbanized, it will make a wonderful park.
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  #63  
Old Posted Mar 15, 2013, 10:52 AM
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It's a rare case where the good guys actually won. Fabulous news.
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  #64  
Old Posted Mar 26, 2013, 6:41 PM
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First eaglets hatched on north shore of Lake Ontario in decades
(CBC.ca, Megan Thomas, Mar 25 2013)

The first bald eaglets to be born on the north shore of Lake Ontario in decades have hatched near Hamilton.

The parents have been nesting at Cootes Paradise Nature Sanctuary at the Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG) for several years, but until now had not managed to hatch young.

These are thought to be the only eaglets to hatch in the region since bald eagle populations throughout North America collapsed in the 1980s, the RBG’s Head of Natural Lands, Tys Theysmeyer, told CBC News.

"We actually saw a little one poke its head up out of the nest," he said. "No one really knows when the last ones were born in this area. That's how long it has been."

The first eaglet was noted during monitoring of the nest site on March 22, with a second observed on March 23, said Theysmeyer. He said that it is still not known how many eggs are in the nest.

Theysmeyer started suspecting young ones were on the way when he noticed in mid-February that one of the birds was spending a considerable amount of time sitting on the nest. The nest has been monitored weekly from a nearby trail since, he said.

The eagles have nested at sites on both the north and south shores of Cootes Paradise marsh in Hamilton for several years, but failed to produce any young. Now that they have reached maturity, the eagles have become the first pair in decades to successfully nest on Lake Ontario’s northern shores, said Theysmeyer.

By the early 1980s, bald eagles were all but extinct in the northern Lake Ontario region. There were only four active nests in all of the Great Lakes, largely due to the widespread use of the pesticide DDT.

“This milestone is a testament to the restoration efforts of Project Paradise,” Theysmeyer said.

“As we bring Cootes Paradise back to the condition it was in before the 20th century, species that once called this area their home will continue to return.”

The nest, located in the Hopkins Woods Special Protection Area can be viewed at a safe distance, from the Marshwalk Boardwalk, accessed from the RBG Arboretum, the RBG said.
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  #65  
Old Posted Mar 27, 2013, 12:00 AM
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I remember seeing one in Cootes about five years ago and being pretty stunned. Nature always finds a way no matter what we do.
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  #66  
Old Posted Apr 2, 2013, 12:32 PM
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Dundas Museum expansion worries neighbours
(Hamilton Spectator, Mark McNeil, Apr 2 2013)

When the Dundas Museum and Archives opened more than half a century ago, the local industrialist who put up most of the money focused on the most practical of considerations.

“Since museum material is irreplaceable, a fireproof building free from rodents, mildew and other destructive forces is most desirable,” H.G. Bertram told The Spectator in the spring of 1955 as he expounded on the virtues of the new concrete and brick building.

He might not have been all that crazy about his beloved town being swallowed by the City of Hamilton in the 2001 amalgamation. But he’d likely be pleased to know his museum will almost double its space later this year with a gleaming glass atrium, part of a $1.4-million expansion.

The ongoing construction work will connect the museum building on Park Street West to a 140-year-old house on the property, with the atrium in the middle. It is expected to open in August or September and the museum remains closed during construction.

However, the plans have raised the ire of some neighbours, who say they did not realize such a major project was being done. They worry the expanded museum will create a building that’s architecturally inconsistent with the houses in their residential neighbourhood, and that meetings and banquets planned for the site will create noise and traffic....

The museum is privately owned, with a portion of its operating costs coming from a trust fund established by the Bertram family. The construction project is being funded mostly with $1.225 million from the Ministry of Infrastructure.
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  #67  
Old Posted Apr 5, 2013, 12:46 PM
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Preservation sought for Dundas Valley
(Hamilton Spectator, Daniel Nolan, Apr 4 2013)

Preservation was the underlying theme from residents as the Hamilton Conservation Authority sought public input for its 50-year vision and strategy for the Dundas Valley.

About 40 residents attended a meeting Thursday night hosted by project co-ordinator Anuja Ramgoolan at Ancaster library and they told her they would like to see the HCA work on preserving the valley and its environment.

This ranged from rerouting the Paris-Ancaster cycling race out of the valley to prevent harm to the valley’s ecosystems, providing incentives to farmers to stave off developers, clamping down on speedsters on York Road to protect wildlife corridors, placing more signs to warn off illegal hunters and ensuring creeks have enough water for wildlife.

“Residents who have lived in the valley for decades feel we are protectors of the land and it’s getting harder every year,” said Jackie Ogilvie of the hamlet of Mineral Springs. She worries about the cyclists going through unopened Martin Road and its impact on the Jefferson salamander.

“It’s conservation, not recreation,” said Janet Faloney, who lives on Lower Lions Club Road. “All the years that we have lived there we’re the ones who cleaned the trails and made the bridges. We just don’t want people who are there trying to wreck it.”

The HCA is seeking to protect the important natural lands, plants, animals, the agricultural lifestyle and rural lifestyle through its 50-year strategy. It has selected 10 key strategic directions (what it also calls action areas) for implementation within the strategy’s first implementation cycle, 2013-2018. Project plans will now be created from the actions areas.

The top 10 are:

• Preserve and enhance connectivity of ecosystems in the valley and explore the co-benefits with the Cootes-Escarpment Park plan.

• Preserve the escarpment and rural countryside, including selected vistas.

• Protect rare and endangered species at risk.

• Combat the impact of invasive and nuisance species.

• Maintain and protect local architectural and natural heritage.

• Promote green business practices.

• Develop farmer-generated mechanisms to develop public support for agricultural and increase awareness of local agriculture.

• Support special character roads (such as Sulphur Springs Road).

• Develop sustainable tourism business plans.

• Protect and enhance the health of streams, watercourses and waterfalls.

Caroline Thomson, who lives in Pleasant View, said watershed planning is crucial in her area. She said a stream near her home that used to provide drinking water for wildlife has dried up in the past five years. She puts a pail of water out each night and the animals come, including raccoons, chipmunks, deer and even a weasel.
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  #68  
Old Posted Apr 5, 2013, 1:01 PM
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EcoPark: A great idea whose time has come
(Hamilton Spectator, Aidan Johnson, Apr 5 2013)

The highlight of my time as a student at Westdale Secondary School came courtesy of carp.

Over decades, along with sewage and industrial run-off, carp made a ruin of Cootes Paradise — the marshland a few blocks from the school and the richest site of plant species diversity in Canada. Left to their own devices, the bottom-feeding, thrashing carp had scraped up much of Cootes’ aquatic plantlife.

By my Grade 11 year — 1996 — things started to change. Westdale’s environment club grew wetland plants to replace the ones killed by the carp and by toxins. We also raised money for carp barriers.

It was my job to cultivate the plants in a series of sunny windows on the school’s third floor, and make sure they didn’t die. We eco-club members then got to tromp out to Cootes in our Wellies, to test the water for pollution. In retrospect, it was the most important extracurricular I was part of.

Today, the ball of Cootes restoration keeps rolling. A new project seeks to link Cootes with the Hamilton area’s other vital conservation lands and waters: EcoPark. (I love the name. It reminds me of Jurassic Park, but without the biological meddling.) EcoPark is the Hamilton and Dundas side of an even broader Royal Botanical Gardens-led Cootes to Escarpment park system that will link us ecologically into Burlington. The plan is to connect Cootes and the forest lands on and extending around the escarpment, to the complete ecosystem of the Dundas Valley.

The park project, Conservation Hamilton says, will restore the former Veldhuis greenhouses property besides the almost-two-century-old Desjardins Canal in Dundas, and acquire natural lands between Dundas and Highway 6; from the Niagara Escarpment to Cootes Paradise and Hamilton Harbour.

On March 24, I had the privilege of attending a lecture on the EcoPark plans, sponsored by the Giant’s Rib Discovery Centre, the Hamilton Conservation Authority and the Hamilton Conservation Foundation. The speaker was Brian Baetz, chair of civil engineering at McMaster University. The vision he described took my breath away.

Administrative barriers that divide the properties are to be eliminated. Where swaths of private land interweave with the public waters and land, agreements are to be struck: purchase contracts, or at least partnerships. (Three quarters of the properties to be connected are publicly owned. In theory, at least, this makes for a good start.)

EcoPark is great news for native species — including humans. Some of the newly acquired lands will be reforested, allowing native plants to flourish. They will form a great corridor, uninterrupted. This amalgamated wild space will be free of barriers, particularly big highways. Wildlife will be able to travel freely through a continuous link. That “liberty” is key: animals will have more habitat. Carnivores will have broader territories in which to hunt.

Our health stands to be enriched by EcoPark. Air quality will be improved by the expansion of forests and meadows. More people will be drawn out, to cycle and to hike in heightened natural beauty. Who — save the allergic or the spiritually dead — will have it in them to resist?
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  #69  
Old Posted Apr 5, 2013, 1:02 PM
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Canal lands resurrection: From brownfield to green space
(Hamilton Spectator, Matthew Van Dongen, Apr 5 2013)

Walk the birthplace of the former cactus capital of Canada today and you risk doing a face-plant in the debris of history.

The famed Veldhuis greenhouses on King Street East in Dundas, once the largest exporter of prickly plants in the country, are now merely an obstacle course of cratered concrete and scattered rubble.

Wander south towards the historic Desjardins Canal and you’re in danger of slip-sliding down the muddy, eroding banks of what is now more of a bathtub than a waterway.

But the same walk next year should take you back in time.

The Hamilton Conservation Authority is overseeing a $3-million rehabilitation of the polluted brownfield into public green space — a first step in building a 1,300-hectare urban park in Hamilton. The planned eco-park between the escarpment and Cootes Paradise represents the largest effort to preserve city natural lands since the Dundas Valley was protected in the 1970s.

The rehabilitated canal property will be a “public gateway” to the valley and Cootes, said landscape architect Sandy Bell, the agency’s design and development manager. “From our perspective, ecological restoration is a key element — but so is public access and a chance to tell the story of the site.”

You should eventually be able to walk — or paddle — right into this story. A historical highlight of the project is a plan to recreate a section of wooden wall along the Desjardins Canal that once served as a watery highway into Dundas in the 1800s.

“We want it to be a public gathering place with a sort of old industrial feel, with a heavy timber deck and wood pilings in the water,” said Bell, standing on the brambly edge of the canal during a recent property tour.

It’s hard to visualize now, amid the mud, greenhouse detritus and towering power lines. The Great Western Railway killed the shipping canal by the late 1850s. Today, it is basically a recreational paddler’s path to Cootes Paradise and the harbour.

“But can you imagine having a glimpse of what (the canal) looked like a century or more ago, in its heyday?” asked Clare Crozier, chair of the Dundas museum. “I’m personally excited about it and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
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  #70  
Old Posted Apr 15, 2013, 6:59 PM
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Condos still face opposition
(Dundas Star, Craig Campbell, Apr 11 2013)

Significant changes to a proposed mixed-residential development at the site of a former King Street West restaurant have appeased some neighbours’ concerns.

But even with growing acceptance, there is still opposition to the updated Kingsview Condominium plan for 338 King St. W. unveiled at an open house last Wednesday.

Impacts on street parking, views overlooking neighbours and the building’s modern look are among ongoing concerns with what will still be a significant change at the corner of King and Brock streets, despite an amended re-zoning application that sees the proposed building drop in both height and density.

New drawings shared by planning consultant John Ariens show a proposed building of four storeys, 13 residential units and two ground-floor commercial units instead of the original plan for six storeys, 27 residential units and one ground-floor commercial unit.

“Coming down two floors is significant,” said Park Street resident Jane Lowry, co-founder of the neighbourhood group HEARD Dundas.

That group successfully opposed a residential development application at 24 Brock St. and hired a lawyer to represent their interests in an ongoing Ontario Municipal Board appeal of that matter.

Lowry sees Ariens’ changes as “moving in the right direction”, but said there is still tremendous opposition based on parking issues and “over-viewing into neighbours backyards.”

Jeff Gowland, who lives across the street from the proposed development, is satisfied with the amended plan. He said his own home is taller than the proposed building.

“It’s not like 24 Brock,” said Gowland, a member of Dundas Community Council. “It’s on King Street.”

He suggested more intensive commercial uses could have been proposed for the site that was previously home to a small, one-storey neighbourhood restaurant, because it faces Dundas’ busy main street.

Unlike some at the open house, Gowland doesn’t see parking as a reasonable concern.

“Street parking is a fact of life,” he said, telling Ariens he hopes to see the new proposal move forward.

The new plan calls for 20 underground parking spaces accessed from Brock Street South. That meets the requirement for 1.25 spaces per residential unit – a total of about 17 spaces, leaving three for the commercial units.

Ariens said the plan includes 2,000 square feet of commercial floor space, which he said is not significant because Hamilton generally doesn’t require any parking for uses under 4,500 square feet.
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  #71  
Old Posted Apr 16, 2013, 12:40 AM
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It's a wonder anything ever gets done in this country. This sort of NIMBYism is so tiresome.
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  #72  
Old Posted Apr 24, 2013, 8:39 PM
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Dundas Valley renovations worth the wait
(Dundas Star, Apr 22 2013)

Two hundred and fifty members of Dundas Valley Golf and Curling Club and their guests celebrated the opening of the newly renovated clubhouse at a gala evening on Saturday.

The opening marked the completion of the most significant item in the club’s ambitious $8-million project to renovate and expand the course and facilities, which, in addition to the clubhouse, has seen major improvements in the driving range and the long and short courses.

In welcoming those in attendance, club president Chris Sorby recognized the hard work of a large number of club members who, over the previous three years, have provided assistance in the planning and construction process. Sorby noted that without their contribution, the project would not have been possible. He also recognized the patience of members, whose only clubhouse facilities during the 2012 golf season were a tent and a barbecue. But based on the reviews from those who had toured the clubhouse, Sorby said the renovations were worth the wait.

Originally constructed in the early sixties, the clubhouse renovation program has been designed to update the facility to 21st century standards and meet the expectations of both current and future members.

In additions to major changes to the interior finishes, the layout has been changed to include a new grill room and bistro while the footprint has been increased to take full advantage of the clubhouse’s location overlooking the Town of Dundas and the City of Hamilton.

A formal opening of the clubhouse and course improvements is scheduled for June.
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  #73  
Old Posted Apr 25, 2013, 12:55 AM
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^A highly underrated course. Nice to see it getting some love.
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  #74  
Old Posted Jun 7, 2013, 3:29 PM
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  #75  
Old Posted Jun 7, 2013, 3:48 PM
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16th Annual Dundas International Buskerfest / June 7-9, 2013

Buskerfest gets a new look
(Hamilton Spectator, June 5 2013)

It will be "Cirque du Soleil unplugged" at a refreshed Dundas International Buskerfest.

First-year creative director Allison Williams may not have managed a busker festival before, but she's no stranger to the world of street performance.

Williams actually performed at Dundas's Buskerfest three times with her own circus-style performance group Aerial Angels from 2006 to 2008. This time around, she's completely focused on managing the creative side of the event taking place in downtown Dundas from Friday to Sunday.

She brings the benefit of her own experience and contacts to a fresh version of Buskerfest at its 16th annual edition. Williams said 100 performers applied for the 13 available spots this year. She also sought out some of the best street performers from around the world.

"We have performers you would pay $50 to $60 to see in a theatre. You get to see them here up close on the street," Williams said. "We are Cirque du Soleil unplugged."

Visitors to this year's Buskerfest will be treated to several stripped-down versions of gala theatre-style performances. And at Buskerfest the shows are all free, with the performers earning their pay from audience tips — whatever you think they deserve.

This year's event features a few returning audience favourites, but was planned to include as many first-time Dundas performances as possible. Five of the 13 featured acts are making their Canadian debuts at Buskerfest.

Among the new highlights are the duo Les Vitamines featuring comic acrobats Vincent Dubé and Sébastien Tardiff.

Hula hoop artist Lisa Lottie, from Amsterdam, brings an act that can't easily be defined. Just one of her featured YouTube videos has well over a million views.

Contortionist Jonathon Burns has performed on The Tonight Show and The Late Show with David Letterman.

Dundas International Buskerfest, a Downtown Dundas BIA event, features performances along King Street West starting Friday from 6:30 to 10 p.m., continuing Saturday from noon to 10 p.m. and finishing off Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.


Also featured on the festival schedule:

All Wound Up
Circo Loco
Circus Firemen
Djuggledy
Fire Fingers
Goma
Peter Rabbit
Reuben DotDotDot
The Red Trouser Show
Theo Teabag
Throw2Catch
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  #76  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2013, 1:11 PM
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Work set to begin on Webster’s Falls park upgrades
(Dundas Star, Richard Leitner, June 13 2013)

The Hamilton Conservation will spend $170,000 this year on the first phase of a new master plan at Webster’s Falls that will try to ease parking headaches and keep people out of Spencer Creek.

Sandy Bell, manager of design and development, said staff hopes to complete the entire project, estimated at $850,000, over the next five years.

This year’s work includes planting vegetative buffers to reduce the size of a grass overflow parking area and restrict access to the creek, and replacement of a stairway between Webster’s and Tews falls, he said.

It will also see the removal of a ramp leading to the creek and installation of safety signage and new fencing along the waterway as well as at the top and bottom of the closed stairs leading to Spencer Gorge.

“We’re hoping this will move us forward,” Bell told directors of the work plan.
“We think what we’ve put together here is realistic and it’s following what we promised to do as part of the master planning system and in listening to the people who told us about the issues and what they wanted to see.”

Future projects include entrance and parking lot improvements, new washrooms, trail restoration, interpretive signage and repairs to the pavilion and cobblestone bridge walking surface.

Bell said staff will present proposed projects during the budgeting process each year to give directors a chance to make changes.

He noted the master plan doesn’t yet include any money for re-establishing the Bruce Trail connection from Dundas or replacement of the gorge stairs, two options still under consideration to provide pedestrian access to the lower falls.

The stone stairs were shut down in May of last year because they are no longer safe, while a trail bridge over the CN line is also closed for safety reasons.
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  #77  
Old Posted Jun 13, 2013, 2:34 PM
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This may be good conservation, but bad business. I was by Websters a few weeks back, and I was a bit surprised to see that the parking fee had jumped from $8 to $10. So take away the best feature of the place - access to the lower falls, and a really nice hike to lower Tews - and then charge more. It's like going to Wonderland and paying more because the coasters are down for repairs. At least I knew about the closure ahead of time. A lot of people don't know until after they've arrived and paid, and they're not thrilled about that.
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  #78  
Old Posted Jun 20, 2013, 6:47 PM
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Just noticed that a website's up for Dundas District Lofts.
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  #79  
Old Posted Jun 21, 2013, 12:44 AM
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They inserted a Maserati into one of the pictures. Stranger things have happened I suppose.
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  #80  
Old Posted Jul 2, 2013, 4:31 AM
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That this building still survives is a minor miracle. Hopefully it goes on to become one of the area's great preservation success stories.

Historic Dundas building sits vacant
(Hamilton Spectator, July 1 2013)

Dundas's oldest building, which provided shelter to soldiers during the War of 1812 and was home to the town's first post office, has been officially declared vacant.

The stone structure at 2 Hatt St., built around 1804 by Richard Hatt, will now be inspected for compliance with property standards and maintenance bylaws at least four times a year. It has been unoccupied for more than three months.

The structure is approximately 209 years old, but is not designated under the Ontario Heritage Act. City of Hamilton bylaw services manager of enforcement Glyn Wide said the building was visited by an enforcement officer on May 22, just after it was added to the vacant building registry.

Home to Folkes Lighting for more than 40 years, the building was sold to Andrew and Barbara Galbreath of Chelsea, Que., for $240,000 in October 2004. Before vacating the building earlier this year, Galbreath received a heritage award for maintaining the building in 2009.

Now that 2 Hatt is registered as a vacant building with the city, the owner must pay a one-time administration fee of $240, plus annual registration fees of $600 a year to cover the cost of additional staff and resources for inspections.

In the early 1990s, there was some question about the stability of the building due to its curved south-facing wall and bowed roof. A construction crew working nearby could not understand how it was still standing — and worried work across the street might bring down the structure.

Hatt originally built the structure as a store and office next to his business, Dundas Mills. The community of Dundas developed around the mill and store, the mill eventually disappeared. The stone structure was used as a post office, blacksmith shop and by the 1940s was a private residence before Folkes Lighting moved in during the early 1960s.

In the fall of 1813, 7,000 British soldiers, native warriors and their families descended on Dundas seeking shelter, food and medical care. One of the buildings that provided shelter was 2 Hatt St.
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