Big changes are coming to Strewny Winery: after almost 30 years in business, the small winery is being sold and may become home to a new hotel with 58 rooms.
Jane Langdon, co-founder of the winery with her husband, Joe Will, says some prospective buyers are interested in purchasing the property and want to redevelop a portion of the land to build a hotel. The winery itself will still be open and operational beside the hotel.
Speaking on why the couple is selling the business, Langdon said it’s simply time for them to move on.
“We’re seniors. We don’t have a next generation coming along,” she said. “I love this property dearly. I love everything we have done about it.”
Meanwhile, the proposal for a 58-room hotel will be presented to the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and its residents, starting with a virtual open house on Monday, June 29, then a public meeting on Tuesday, July 7.
The winery, located at 1339 Lakeshore Rd., sits on the former site of the Niagara Canning Company, established in 1940 by Peter Wall. The fruit cannery operated for eight years before closing in 1948.
The developers behind this proposal are MPI Group and 11999911 Ontario Inc. Langdon said she is not involved in the development of the project.
According to SGL Planning & Design’s planning justification report for the project, 16 of the 58 rooms will be built within the existing two-storey building and 42 in a new, three-storey built where the cannery used to sit. The new building will be 565 square metres at ground level and almost 11 metres tall.
“No wine production space will be reduced. No vineyard or agriculturally productive lands will be disturbed. All development is contained within the existing building footprint,” the report states.
Alongside accommodating overnight stays, the hotel will have spa amenities. The application also includes plans for an event space within the current wine production building.
The application is asking the town to redesignate the project’s land from “agricultural” to a site-specific exception designation to allow the hotel and event space as “on-farm diversified uses.”
“What we are always hoping is that as the winery eventually passes into new hands, they are going to be as committed to our wine industry and to ensuring that the property will take its place as one of those places that you really want to visit when you come here,” Langdon said.
The open house for the proposal will be held at 5 p.m. on June 29, while the public meeting on July 7 will start after 6 p.m. Those interested in taking part in the open house should register before noon on Monday with senior planner John Federici (john.federici@notl.com).
