When the Rand Estate hotel proposal came to Niagara-on-the-Lake council Tuesday night, Save Our Rand Estate came armed with more than vocal objections.
The community group arrived with lawyers, planners, engineers, architects, heritage specialists and other experts.
Over almost three hours, SORE argued a proposal by Benny Marotta’s companies, Two Sisters Resorts Corp. and Solmar (Niagara 2) Inc., still falls short of what the Ontario Land Tribunal called for in 2024, when it said Solmar had to resolve “many fundamental matters” before a draft subdivision plan could be considered for approval, according to an April 17 town statement.
One of those matters was the proposed access to the development by vehicles through the 200 John St. E. panhandle.
Solmar later challenged the decision, but the tribunal denied the request in January 2025 and dismissed the matter in April 2025.
Now, the development company is proposing a five-storey, 111-room hotel with a spa and commercial space, five three-storey residential buildings with up to 270 units, underground parking, a stormwater pond and a sewage pumping station for the historic Old Town estate.
Solmar says the proposal has been significantly revised since the last application, while SORE argues many of the same concerns remain, including heritage protection, traffic, emergency access, flooding and the proposed panhandle access.
The meeting was a statutory public meeting held to gather public input, therefore no decision was made.
Much of SORE’s case centred on its argument that these new plans do not meaningfully address the issues the tribunal raised.
David Bronskill, a lawyer representing SORE, said the 2024 tribunal process gave the applicant clear direction and involved seven or eight weeks of hearings — “a lot of time.”
“The tribunal clearly found an unequivocal outcome: ‘Go back to the drawing board,’” he said. “This application ignores everything we have learned over the last decade.”
The proposed panhandle route was a major point of contention.
Solmar planner Paul Lowes has said the company reviewed other options and concluded the panhandle route is the preferred access, but SORE argues it still creates traffic, heritage and emergency-access concerns.
Transportation planner Greig Bumstead questioned whether a single access point would adequately serve emergency responders.
“Sprinkler systems are great for fire, but in medical emergencies, if you have a single access, how is that going to work?” he asked. “It’s not.”
Other experts raised concerns about infrastructure, flooding and tree preservation.
Civil engineer Tara Chisholm questioned who would own and maintain the proposed sewage pumping station and warned provincial rules could leave the town responsible.
She also said, at the open house on May 25, it was stated emergency overflow could spill into the pond and eventually into the downstream watercourse, something she described as prohibited under the Environmental Protection Act.
Drainage engineer Ron Scheckenberger said the stormwater plan does not fully address One Mile Creek or flooding risks on John Street.
“It’s going to create more flooding in an area that’s already flood prone,” he said.
Several SORE experts argued the proposal still puts the development plan ahead of the estate’s heritage, trees and landscape features.
Forester and biologist Jack Richard said the design also relies on tree preservation work that has not yet been fully integrated into the proposal, while planner Dana Anderson argued the proposal fits heritage around development, rather than development around heritage.
Alexander Topps, a landscape architect, SORE member and member of the town’s municipal heritage committee, said the site’s landscape features are more than decorative.
“It’s not just a walkway up to the house — it’s much more,” he said.
SORE member Judy McLeod said the group is not opposed to development, but argued the estate has been “under attack since it was acquired by Solmar in 2016.”
The Ritz-Carlton potentially being attached to the project was another pressure point.
Lyle Hall, chair of the Niagara Foundation and a SORE member, asked what would happen if the luxury hotel brand never materializes.
“Is there a plan B?” Hall asked.
The chief executive officer of Two Sisters Resort and Solmar, Blake Lyon, told council Marriott has provided verbal conditional approval, written confirmation about the facilities program and a confidential term sheet.
Marriott was not represented at the meeting and did not respond to The Lake Report’s questions about its involvement with the project by press time. Marotta also did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Hall said a term sheet is “not an agreement” and “at best, it’s an offer.”
“It’s not signed, it’s not agreed to,” he said.
Bronskill, meanwhile, questioned whether a luxury hotel name is worth trading part of NOTL’s history.
“You don’t need the Ritz-Carlton to define Niagara-on-the-Lake as an outstanding place in this region, in this province, in this country and in the world,” Bronskill said.
“Especially when it comes at the cost of one of its pieces of its soul: the Rand Estate.”
Town staff will continue reviewing the proposal and public feedback before bringing a recommendation report back to council.
