David Israelson
Special to Niagara Now/The Lake Report

There’s a handsome property close to the heart of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s Old Town that’s waiting for our decision makers to make the right choice about its future. It’s the former hospital at 176 Wellington St.

The 2.32-acre site is public property. The town has set up a process for the public to see some details about the property, which now houses Royal Oak Community School, now the only elementary school within Old Town. 

The decision will come down to this: will the town cave into developers and a few wealthy special interests who covet the land for themselves and for profit, or will council protect the publicly owned site for the community? Does the community matter? 

It sounds like an easy decision, but it’s not necessarily so simple. There’s a process in place for the public to look (online) at details about the site. 

So far, there are at least three competing ideas about what to do with the property. One of them would turn the property into a hub for different arts, music, historical and Indigenous culture groups — including the Shaw Festival. 

It would be a hub where residents and visitors alike could encounter and engage with all the activities that make NOTL one of the most important and dynamic tourism and cultural attractions in North America.

This proposal has already secured significant financial backing from a local philanthropist. That would keep the property in public hands, leased to and managed by an umbrella group that would work with the community-based organizations that want to be there.

Many organizations have already signalled that they’re interested. These include not only the Shaw, but also Yellow Door Theatre (youth theatre programs), Bravo Niagara, the Niagara Symphony, Niagara College (which could run culinary classes), the Niagara Parks Commission, Parks Canada, an outlet for the nearby Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum and the Chamber of Commerce.

One-stop shopping for everything that makes NOTL great. 

Perhaps most importantly, an organization called Plenty Canada wants to join the hub to run an Indigenous-led program — filling a long overdue need to bring the area’s rich Indigenous legacy to the centre of NOTL. 

The other two proposals envision having the town sell the property. That’s what happened when the town declined to keep the Parliament Oak Elementary School in public hands. 

What of the other proposals? One is from a Niagara Falls chiropractor and entrepreneur, Dr. Nick Vaccaro. He’s been pitching a new development he calls “Wellness Estates.” He made a public presentation in August.

Dr. Vaccaro would replace the old hospital building with a three-storey condo building, with as many as 100 tiny residential units selling for between $550,000 and $1 million at current market prices. He promises state-of-the-art medical facilities on the main floor and parking below.

Another proposal has more grassroots backing, but it would still turn the old hospital property into a place for a few, not the many. Some locals would like to turn the site into a residential property that would enable aging residents to sell their large, lavish houses and use the proceeds to buy into a new residential building that would replace the hospital. 

Neither of these are terrible ideas. But there are lots of more suitable sites for either of them than this gateway property at one of the entrances to Canada’s most beautiful town.  

The hub is the only idea that would keep 176 Wellington St. in community hands — for the community and used by everyone, not just a few people who buy in. 

Council has made unpopular development decisions before, but it appears to be playing this one more carefully. Let’s hope they’re listening. Council will likely put out an official Request for Proposals (RFP) in the near future. When it comes time to decide, let’s hope our town gets to the hub of the matter and does what’s best for Niagara-on-the-Lake.

David Israelson is a writer and non-practising lawyer who lives in Niagara-on-the-Lake.