The expansion of the Niagara-on-the-Lake Museum moved another step closer to reality Monday as the town hosted an open house to gather community input on the proposal.
The plan calls for a two-storey addition behind the museum’s Memorial Hall and a one-storey addition to the west that would connect to it. A ramped entrance from Castlereagh Street would provide access to the new one-storey space.
The expansion would span 43 Castlereagh St., home to the museum, and 25 Castlereagh St., the site of the Janet Carnochan House on museum-owned land.
Attendance at the open house was light, but those who came voiced their support for the museum’s growth. Museum member David Snelgrove said he saw little downside.
“There’s very little negative aspect to it,” he said.
Snelgrove asked whether the proposal would go before the municipal heritage committee. Town planner Victoria Nikoltcheva and NPG Planning Solutions senior planner Mary Lou Tanner said it would.
NPG planner Daniel Banatkiewicz said a second phase of an archaeological assessment is still required at 25 Castlereagh St. A first phase has been completed there, and assessments have already been completed at 43 Castlereagh St.
The project would require the removal of four trees, reducing the total on the property from 39 to 35. Planners said existing parking can accommodate the expansion and heritage features will not be affected.
The two-storey addition received a heritage permit in 2021. Tanner said the museum has applied to amend the permit because costs have increased since then.
To proceed, the museum is seeking to rezone the lands from part institutional and part residential to a site-specific institutional designation.
No decisions were made at the open house.
The museum is raising $10 million for the project. It received $2 million from the federal government last year and will receive $500,000 from the town over five years, in addition to other grants.
The museum marked its 130th anniversary last year. It operates out of the former Niagara High School, built in 1875, and Memorial Hall, built in 1907. A link connecting the two buildings was added in 1971.
A public meeting on the development is scheduled for March 3 at 6 p.m. in the NOTL town council chambers.
