SPECIAL ALERT – Attention all members of the Friends of Auchmar and heritage advocats. On Wednesday May 20th the City of Hamilton will be discussing the fate of the Auchmar Estate at General Issues Committee beginning at 9:30am.
Very Important: We urge all FOA members and heritage advocates to email the mayor and their own ward councillor and other councillors they know and ask that AUCHMAR REMAIN IN CITY OWNERSHIP!
The full memo for Auchmar discussion can be found here.
SUBJECT: Sale of Auchmar Estate for Adaptive Re-Use (PED15072) (Ward 8)
item 8. 11 Auchmar General Issues Committee Wednesday May 20th, 2015.
CITY RECOMMENDATIONS TO BE DISCUSSED:
(a) That the Council direction for staff to proceed with the development of a comprehensive operational plan, based on the Proposed Use Concept Profile for the Auchmar Estate (Report PED12193) be rescinded.
(b) That the Request for Proposals for The Use, Adaptive Re-Use, Conservation, and Management of the Auchmar Estate in the City of Hamilton (Contract Number C3-06-14) be terminated.
(c) That the Real Estate Section of the Economic Development Division of the Planning and Economic Development Department be authorized and directed to enter into negotiations for the sale of the land and buildings, legally described as Parts 2, 3, 4 and 5 on Plan 62R-15401, with a right of way over Part 1 on Plan 62R-15401, as shown in Appendix “A” attached to Report PED15072, in accordance with the “Procedural By-law for the Sale of Land”, being By-law No. 14-204 and substantially on terms and conditions outlined in Appendix “B” attached to Report PED15072, and any such other terms and conditions deemed appropriate by the General Manager, Planning and Economic Development Department.
(d) That the Manager of Real Estate be authorized to retain the services of an independent qualified appraiser, in good standing with the Appraisal Institute of Canada, to establish a fair market value of the subject property.
(e) That all costs, including legal, appraisal and real estate, be debited to 10005 – Revolving Fund-Historic Properties.
(f) That the Manager of Real Estate report back to the General Issues Committee with any potential purchasers that have (i) substantially met the terms and conditions outlined in Appendix “B” attached to Report PED15072, and any such other terms and conditions deemed appropriate by the General Manager, Planning and Economic Development Department, and (ii) entered into an offer to purchase agreement with the City.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
At the September 5, 2013 General Issues Committee, staff were directed to proceed with a non-binding Request for Proposals (RFP) for the potential private use and/or sale of the Auchmar Estate (PED13151). Two submissions were received and evaluated by a panel of City staff, Ontario Heritage Trust staff and external heritage consultants. Neither proposal received a passing score, as reported in an Information Update in April 2015 titled “Auchmar Request for Proposal Update”. Staff advised that no further action be taken on these proposals; however, the City has been a steward of the property since 1999 and there is strong support for the sustainable preservation of the estate from the local and heritage communities.
With the backdrop of unsuccessful attempts to address the adaptive re-use of Auchmar, a different approach is required. Staff are recommending that the City initiate a real estate process to identify and secure a buyer for Auchmar (including all structures and property), making any transaction conditional upon a set of terms and conditions outlined herein including the Heritage Conservation Easement held by the Ontario Heritage Trust, the Municipal Heritage Designation and the Statement of Significance developed by the Ontario Heritage Trust, attached to Report PED15072 as Appendixes “D”, “E” and “F” respectively.
The full agenda for tomorrow’s general issues committee meeting can be found here.
The full memo for Auchmar discussion can be found here.
Councillor Contacts
mayor@hamilton.ca – Mayor Fred Eisenberger
terry.whitehead@hamilton.ca – Auchmar ward councillor
Scott.Duvall@hamilton.ca – his ward is next to Auchmar
Lloyd.Ferguson@hamilton.ca – Ancaster
Matthew.Green@hamilton.ca – new on council
Jason.Farr@hamilton.ca – councillor of the downtown core
Arlene.VanderBeek@hamilton.ca – new councillor in Dundas