The Heritage Canada Foundation (HCF) is urging Ontario Minister of Culture Aileen Carroll to intervene on behalf of two heritage buildings featured on its 2006 Top Ten Most Endangered Places List— Hamilton’s historic Lister Block and the landmark Alma College in St. Thomas.

In June, the Province of Ontario allocated $7 million to support the redevelopment of the 1913 Lister Block, considered a pivotal building in the ongoing revitalization of Hamilton’s downtown. The City of Hamilton, set to be the building’s tenant in this arrangement, is now balking at the office space leasing costs and the property owner’s intentions remain unclear. The notion of demolishing this important historic building only to replicate part of its façade has resurfaced. HCF has written the Mayor and councillors urging them to freeze the demolition permit until a more sustainable solution can be found.

HCF executive director Natalie Bull has also urged Minister Carroll to ensure protection to the Lister Block by designating it a provincial heritage site.

Alma College, a Victorian Gothic Revival school, has stood proudly on a prominent 10-acre site in St. Thomas for 130 years. Designated a heritage site by the municipality in 1994, the college spent the intervening years deteriorating as development plans repeatedly surfaced and floundered. The current owner, Alma Heritage Estates, appealed city council’s decision not to issue a demolition permit to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) last year. The city subsequently negotiated a deal with the developer—that was endorsed by the OMB in mid-January—permitting the demolition of all but the central entranceway. The building is now mere weeks away from demolition. HCF has called on Minister Carroll to use her powers under the Ontario Heritage Act to place a stop work order on the property and ensure its ongoing protection through the enactment of a provincial heritage designation.

The Heritage Canada Foundation’s Top Ten Endangered Places List includes examples of some of the many conservation challenges faced by hundreds of communities in Canada—be it as a result of neglect, lack of funding, legislation not being enforced or inappropriate development.