Hamilton Extends James Baptist Church “Minor Alternation” Heritage Permit, Again – TPR Hamilton | Hamilton's Civic Affairs News Site

April 27, 2023
The City of Hamilton extended the heritage permit for the facade of the former James Street Baptist Church. The new permit expires on March 31, 2024.
It requires the new owners to maintain the front facade of the former heritage church.
The heritage church was demolished in 2014. The City does not consider the demolition to be a demolition, classifying it as a “minor alteration” to the building.
The City of Hamilton defines “minor alteration” as any change which retains any portion of an existing heritage building.
Since the 2014 demolition, the site has had three owners.
The first owner went bankrupt, after taking out several mortgages on the property. He secured development approval for a 30-storey condo building on the site. This approval remains in place today.
Hue Developments and LCH Developments purchased the property in the bankruptcy sale.
This group sold the property in 2022 to a new corporation called 98 James South (2022) Inc.
In a report, City staff state the new owners are meeting all requirements of permit. They are submitting monthly reports on the condition of the facade.
“Crack Monitor Review Reports were conducted monthly from grade, and all indicated that no significant signs of structural distress were noted at the time of the visit. The reports do acknowledge that the structure does require restoration work and the delay in restoration work is not expected to adversely affect the building,” read the staff report.
“However, the cost and scope of restoration is expected to increase with continued deferred maintenance.”
Staff write that a separate Masonry Restoration Assessment Report that “while the masonry is in poor condition it does not present an immediate risk to the public or stability of building.”