Do whatever you can to buy Century Manor, group tells city
The former Hamilton Asylum for the Insane building has been empty for 20 years
A group fighting to save Century Manor — a grand three-storey mansion and one of the few remaining buildings from the old Hamilton Asylum for the Insane — wants the city to step up its efforts to buy the land.
I'd rather have control of the lands and control of their future rather than putting it in somebody else's hands.- Terry Whitehead, Ward 8 councillor
Century Manor Task Force 2, led by local heritage advocate Patricia Saunders, is appealing to city council to "do everything in your power to convince our provincial officials, including the premier, that the City of Hamilton should be the rightful owners of this provincial property," she said in a letter.
The task force fears that Infrastructure Ontario (IO) — current owner of the 1884 building — is committing "demolition by neglect." The building has been empty for 20 years, and the province has denied volunteers a look inside.
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The manor sits near the escarpment brow on St. Joseph's Healthcare's West 5th campus. Over the years, the heritage building has housed a treatment program for alcoholics, a forensic psychiatry program, and a treatment program and school for adolescents.
Last year, local developer Steve Kulakowsky said he wanted to make it student housing for Mohawk College.
Council will either receive or act on Saunders's letter at a Wednesday council meeting. Terry Whitehead, Ward 8 councillor, says he's open to the suggestion. The city is already investigating buying the lands.
"I'd rather have control of the lands and control of their future rather than putting it in somebody else's hands," he said.
"They're premium lands. Whether we look at green space or different amenities or a jump-off point for future transportation, it could be a whole series of things."
IO said Tuesday that it's talking to not-for-profits or other level of government as "part of the normal disposition process."
If one of those want the building, it says, Century Manor will be a direct sale at market value. If not, it will be sold on the open market.