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Wednesday, October 1, 2025

Author's Latest

Arch-i-text: Addressing some urban myths about designation

In examining a 2023 study from McMaster University that looked at the corelation between heritage designation and property value, “The authors concluded that heritage-designated properties ‘were associated with a positive increase in sale value’ and resulted in ‘an increase in sale price of residential properties,'” writes Brian Marshall.

Arch-i-text: Grey Forest Homes vs. Virgil’s coniferous forest

“At a juncture in history wherein climate change initiatives are generally considered by both governments and voters to be a high priority, most of the members of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s elected council apparently don’t give a damn — only if it stands in the way of development,” writes Brian Marshall.

Arch-i-text: A primer on property heritage designation

“Sometimes the easiest way to determine the importance of a property to the character of its area is to consider what would happen to that character if the property were to be demolished or significantly modified,” writes Brian Marshall.

Arch-i-text: Points of interest and infrastructure

Writing about the stormwater infrastructure management plans for hte upcoming Parliament Oak hotel, Brian Marshall writes, “Should the municipality construct and own that pipe, legal experts opine that the town could bear all or a part of that liability.”

Arch-i-text: Property standards and demolition by neglect

Columnist Brian Marshall will spend the next few weeks examining the options available to municipal authorities for protecting heritage properties, starting with a bylaw called “The Standards for the Maintenance and Occupany of Property,” which “provides the criteria for maintenance of all properties located within the municipal boundaries of Niagara-on-the-Lake,” writes Marshall.

Arch-i-text: The green road forward for everyone

“I’d like to begin 2025 by extending my heartfelt gratitude to those who have taken the time out of their busy days to engage with this writer,” writes Brian Marshall, sharing some of the feedback he received on his last column of 2024, with some food for thought on climate change action and green infrastructure for the new year.

Arch-i-text: All about green infrastructure

“The protection and expansion of our natural heritage system supported by green infrastructure has become the proven order of the day and necessary to our future,” writes Brian Marshall.

Arch-i-text: Things to know, to do and to learn

From the future of the historic Crysler-Burroughs property at 187 Queen St., to the promising effects of investing in green infrastructure over grey infrastructure, Brian Marshall looks forward at how communities can make choices that make people, life, history and heritage a priority.

Arch-i-text: Good financial management needs transparency

“While it wouldn’t make the pain of increased property taxes any less, a process dedicated to ‘transparency, fiscal responsibility and effective communication with our residents’ would certainly go some distance to increasing the confidence of NOTL’s voters,” writes Brian Marshall.

Arch-i-text: Of roundabouts and other things

“No one is suggesting that roundabouts do not have a place in our road infrastructure, but rather, installed only in selected intersections,” writes Brian Marshall. “I submit that the centre of St. Davids is not one of these intersections.”

Arch-i-text: Considerations of a civilized society

“Here in Niagara-on-the-Lake, I suggest that one of the primary ‘benefits’ is the character and heritage of the town that we have inherited. And, when a part of that inheritance is threatened, I argue that our elected officials are obligated to fight for its preservation,” writes Brian Marshall.

Arch-i-text: Of the Rand Estate and other things

“In my book, this tribunal decision must count as a ‘win’ and flies in the face of an often-repeated suggestion voiced by certain members of the town council that costs associated with going before the tribunal are a waste of money because we’re going to lose,” writes Brian Marshall.

Arch-i-text: Four faces of Gothic Revival

“For more than 50 years, from the 1830s to the 1880s, the Gothic Revival style of architecture dominated the Ontario marketplace and continued its popularity in the province into the early 20th century,” writes Brian Marshall.

Arch-i-text: Of bricks and other things

“Prior to the advent of machine-made modern brick late in 19th century, bricks were handmade by workers who mixed native clay with water to make the slurry that was then hand-packed into rectangular forms, then laid out to dry,” writes Brian Marshall.

Arch-i-text: Once upon a time, NOTL respected heritage

“There was a time in this town when nearly everyone was committed to its preservation, she explained,” writes Brian Marshall. “Unfortunately, it is an ethos that is frequently forgotten or deliberately ignored in the town of Niagara-on-the-Lake in 2024.

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