The James. A. Burton & Family Foundation is taking another step forward with its interest in development at the site of Niagara-on-the-Lake’s old hospital at 176 Wellington St.
The possible multimillion-dollar project to turn the old building into a hub for a handful arts, education, culture and heritage groups — led by resident James A. Burton and his family’s foundation — is in its beginning stages.
The Niagara Gateway Project has been in the works for the past year with the foundation working with community groups to recognize needs in town.
To confirm NOTL’s need for the Gateway, the James A. Burton & Family Foundation is partnering with Abacus Data to conduct a resident survey, launching Monday.
“This survey will provide an unbiased evaluation of how residents perceive the proposed centre and its potential to enhance the quality of life in the area,” the foundation said in a media release.
Abacus Data’s other surveys, including one on tourism in NOTL, attracted the foundation to their company, James Burton said.
“We knew they were highly respected as a credible third-party group,” he told The Lake Report.
Knowledge of the area played into their decision to choose Abacus as well, foundation CEO Susan St. Amand said.
The survey will sample 300 adult residents through a combination of live telephone interviews and online panels over the next three to four weeks.
“The survey is a really important part of this work, following a year of what we feel is a gathering of subjective, qualitative data,” communications representative Kathryn Hendrick said.
According to interviews with organizations and elected officials, NOTL is in need of a space where people of all ages can come and get involved in beneficial activities, she said.
The James A. Burton & Family Foundation is not a developer, but rather a family wishing to give back to the community, Burton said.
“We don’t have an axe to grind and we don’t intend to make this a profit centre for us. We’re a family,” he said.
The hope for 176 Wellington St. is to create a space for accessible programs, like an acting class given by Shaw performers or learning about surrounding Indigenous trails, Hendrick said.
“It’s not in the hub in the sense of a community centre, it’s something much bigger,” she said. “It’s the bridge between Fort George and the Shaw campus and the whole region of the Niagara Parks Commission and all of the trails.”
One space that inspired the foundation when coming up with the gateway’s functionality was C Space in Calgary, James’ son Jordie Burton said.
The old school has been used as a space for both Montessori students and seniors.
“It’s become this beautiful example of adaptive reuse,” he said.
Following results of the survey, the foundation will make a presentation to town council regarding next steps.
“We’re presently in conversations with the mayor and council, keeping the apprised on what we’re doing and seeking their feedback along the way,” Jordie Burton said.
Final results will be shown to council along with all stakeholders, James Burton said.
“We will hopefully present to the town and they will have elections with their process of what we need to do next,” he said.