This is a sample of some of the biggest local stories of the past year. By no means is it an exhaustive or complete summary of 2017, but a taste of what the year was like and a reminder of some significant local events. As we move into 2018, new stories and highlights are sure to face the Valley Town, and some of the topics below are sure to continue developing.
Library renovation
Renovation of the Dundas library branch at 18 Ogilvie St. began in earnest at the start of 2017, after a stop-work order from Ontario’s Ministry of Labour stalled the process at the end of 2016. An original completion target of fall 2017 was pushed to December.
After work resumed for several months, holes in the roof and HVAC equipment were discovered — adding an unplanned but necessary roof and equipment replacement to the project, extending not only the project timeline but also its budget. Library staff hoped to complete the work by the end of December, but admitted late January was more likely.
Two more stop-work orders were issued by the Ministry of Labour in early December, but work quickly resumed and library staff still expected work to be completed by the end of January 2018.
Throughout the long and drawn out renovation project, scaled back library services were still offered at a temporary location at 55 Cootes Dr., and the library’s bookmobile made weekly stops in the parking lot behind the local branch.
Parkside demolition
Demolition of the former Parkside Secondary School began in January, with the salvaging of many elements of the building. By mid-August the entire structure was gone, the site had been reseeded with grass and was expected to remain a passive public open space for approximately two years, until Grove Cemetery fills up and new cemetery space is needed in Dundas.
Grightmire renovation
The long-awaited renovation of, and front addition to, J.L. Grightmire Arena on Market Street went through site plan review by City of Hamilton planning staff during the first few months of 2017. While temporary locations for users were arranged, many worried continuing delays could impact meeting the tight September, 2018, completion deadline. The Hamilton Conservation Authority gave its formal approval in April for flood-proofing measures that had set the project back a couple of years.The project was tendered by July, and awarded by the end of August. Work finally began on the site in October.
2 Hatt St.
The history of Dundas’ oldest building came to a crossroads this year. Not long after the City of Hamilton placed a certificate of tax arrears on 213-year-old 2 Hatt St. in May, the current owner put the property up for sale before the end of June. All the questions surrounding the undesignated property’s status and future attracted the attention of Hamilton’s municipal heritage committee which, in October, approved a staff recommendation for a high priority heritage assessment — scheduled to be completed before July, 2018. On the market for six months, the structure built around 1804 by Richard Hatt, one of Dundas’s founders, was still for sale heading into the end of December.
Valley City sold
One of several historic sites with an unclear future was the former Valley City Manufacturing plant at 64 Hatt St. It had been quietly operating under Bob Crockford for several years as a sort of business mall, providing space for several small companies. In June, Crockford sold the sprawling historic site, featuring more than 75,000 square feet, to Forge & Foster, a Hamilton company known for refurbishing and reusing similar large historic industrial sites like Valley City. The new owners slowly and carefully started a process to temporarily rezone the property to permit existing businesses to continue operating, while developing a permanent zoning that will add brand new features to the central Dundas space.
Sisters of St. Joseph convent for sale
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton put its 97,000-square-foot sandstone mansion and more than 50 acres of property at 574 Northcliffe Rd. up for sale in November for $15 million. Staff and members of the convent would not comment on the decision to sell, but had been trying for at least a decade to keep the building operating despite dwindling numbers of nuns residing in the building that has space for at least 200 residents. Before the end of the year, a subcommittee of the Hamilton municipal heritage committee recommended the convent be placed in a registry of properties of interest.
Flooding at York Road
Maintenance and emergency response attracted plenty of attention when Sydenham Creek escaped its man-made banks near York Road and Cootes Drive on April 20.
Private property owners are not required to keep creeks that cross their property clear of debris — natural or unnatural. Municipal workers will not remove trees or branches because they are considered part of a creek’s natural environment. Accumulated debris and a slow emergency response were blamed when the Cootes and York area experienced its worst flooding in years, causing property damage in area residential and commercial properties.
King Street West bridge and Fisher’s Mill Park
The year opened with a Feb. 1 public information meeting about the city’s proposed solution to the replacement of the King Street West bridge in front of the Dundas District Lofts. Reaction was generally opposed to the planned realignment of King Street West — and construction of a new bridge — through Fisher’s Mill Park. The park site had been purchased from the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board after it closed Dundas District school and was being paid for by Dundas residents on their municipal tax bills. Rebuilding in the park would mean being able to keep the road and bridge open during the construction.
Nine months later, in November, the Dundas Star News learned staff had changed their minds and dropped the “preferred alternative” in favour of another option of rebuilding the bridge in its current location.
71 Main appealed to OMB
An appeal hearing of a City of Hamilton decision to amend zoning bylaws and the official plan to permit a nine-storey residential building on a small lot across the street from Dundas town hall began on April 3. Within a couple of days, it was clear to all the five-day hearing wouldn’t be long enough to hear all the evidence. After the first half concluded on Friday, April 7, the hearing resumed on Monday, Dec. 4. The hearing raised ongoing issues about how Dundas will be developed, how extensive further intensification should really be, where that intensification should be located, and what it should look like in the midst of iconic historic properties.
Alley closure approved
City staff and councillors approved a controversial recommendation to close the south end of a public unassumed alley between Alma and Victoria streets on Monday, June 19. More than 30 people showed up at the council meeting in opposition to the recommendation, but they did not trump city policy of accepting the support of immediately abutting neighbours.
While the administrative process required to actually close and transfer ownership of the alley had apparently not been completed, the city did receive an application to close the remaining north part of the same alley, at Alma Street, in June.
Vacant DQ demolished
Many downtown area business, as well as residents, cheered — or at least smiled briefly — on Aug. 21, as the long-awaited demolition of the vacant former Dairy Queen building at 16 King St. E. finally began at least five years after it closed. Some had described the property as an eyesore at one of the main entrances into the downtown core. A proposal to redevelop the site by building a seven-storey condominium with ground floor commercial has yet to be confirmed.
Dundas Community Awards
In April, when Russ Powers was named the 2016 Royal Bank Citizen of the Year, he recalled handing the first award to the winner in 1972. Powers became the 45th recipient of the honour. William Olenek was named the 2016 Dundas Valley Collision Youth Volunteer of the Year. Olenek volunteers with the Stewards of Cootes Watershed and is also a volunteer coach in Hamilton Water Polo's junior league.
Dundas Learning Centre, which has provided education and growth opportunities for intellectually challenged adults for more than 20 years, was named Business of the Year. Founder Anne Pearson accepted the award.
Mark Jankowski breaks into NHL
It will be a highlight reel year for former Dundas Minor Hockey player Mark Jankowski, who scored his first NHL goal, then added a few more.
Jankowski, 23, started the 2017-18 season with the Calgary Flames’ AHL farm team in California despite a strong training camp. Injuries gave him his shot and he was called up to the big club on Oct. 24.
The former St. Bernadette Catholic Elementary School student played the next seven games without a point, but on Nov. 8 in Calgary against the Detroit Red Wings he broke the ice with his first NHL goal.
Jankowski went to the net while linemate Jaromir Jagr fired the puck. A rebound off the goalie hit the Dundas native in the thigh and went in for the goal. Jankowski followed that up in Calgary’s next game against St. Louis with two more goals and an assist — this time a couple of true highlight real plays, including a slap shot just inside the blue line and a nifty deke of the goalie and shot off the backhand into the net.
As of Dec. 20, Jankowski has six goals and five assists for 11 points in 26 games.
Dundas Blues Junior Hockey Club
The Blues junior hockey club started the season in a temporary home — Westoby Ice Surface on Olympic Drive — with new head coach Andrew Tait.
In December, the Blues announced a new partnership with the Hamilton Huskies minor hockey association that would see them share volunteer administration support while providing an opportunity for further development for Huskies players.
Mackenzie Hughes
Golfer Hughes, 27, completed his rookie season with more than $2.3-million in total winnings. He had two top 10 finishes, nine top 25 finishes and made the cut in 22 of the 31 events he competed in. He finished the RBC Canadian Open as top Canadian, tied for 32nd overall. But all those highlights might be hard-pressed to beat out the birth of Hughes’ son, Kenton Robert Hughes, to him and wife Jenna.
Hughes finished the season at 107th in the Official World Golf Rankings. That made him the third best professional golfer in Canada, just behind Graham Delaet (98th), and Canada’s No. 1 Adam Hadwin (46th).
Among Hughes’ season highlights were: a tie for 13th at the Dell Technologies Championship, a tie for 16th at The Players Championship and a tenth-place tie at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It all combined for what is still an impressive 36th place finish in the FedEx Cup standings.
Library renovation
Renovation of the Dundas library branch at 18 Ogilvie St. began in earnest at the start of 2017, after a stop-work order from Ontario’s Ministry of Labour stalled the process at the end of 2016. An original completion target of fall 2017 was pushed to December.
After work resumed for several months, holes in the roof and HVAC equipment were discovered — adding an unplanned but necessary roof and equipment replacement to the project, extending not only the project timeline but also its budget. Library staff hoped to complete the work by the end of December, but admitted late January was more likely.
Two more stop-work orders were issued by the Ministry of Labour in early December, but work quickly resumed and library staff still expected work to be completed by the end of January 2018.
Throughout the long and drawn out renovation project, scaled back library services were still offered at a temporary location at 55 Cootes Dr., and the library’s bookmobile made weekly stops in the parking lot behind the local branch.
Parkside demolition
Demolition of the former Parkside Secondary School began in January, with the salvaging of many elements of the building. By mid-August the entire structure was gone, the site had been reseeded with grass and was expected to remain a passive public open space for approximately two years, until Grove Cemetery fills up and new cemetery space is needed in Dundas.
Grightmire renovation
The long-awaited renovation of, and front addition to, J.L. Grightmire Arena on Market Street went through site plan review by City of Hamilton planning staff during the first few months of 2017. While temporary locations for users were arranged, many worried continuing delays could impact meeting the tight September, 2018, completion deadline. The Hamilton Conservation Authority gave its formal approval in April for flood-proofing measures that had set the project back a couple of years.The project was tendered by July, and awarded by the end of August. Work finally began on the site in October.
2 Hatt St.
The history of Dundas’ oldest building came to a crossroads this year. Not long after the City of Hamilton placed a certificate of tax arrears on 213-year-old 2 Hatt St. in May, the current owner put the property up for sale before the end of June. All the questions surrounding the undesignated property’s status and future attracted the attention of Hamilton’s municipal heritage committee which, in October, approved a staff recommendation for a high priority heritage assessment — scheduled to be completed before July, 2018. On the market for six months, the structure built around 1804 by Richard Hatt, one of Dundas’s founders, was still for sale heading into the end of December.
Valley City sold
One of several historic sites with an unclear future was the former Valley City Manufacturing plant at 64 Hatt St. It had been quietly operating under Bob Crockford for several years as a sort of business mall, providing space for several small companies. In June, Crockford sold the sprawling historic site, featuring more than 75,000 square feet, to Forge & Foster, a Hamilton company known for refurbishing and reusing similar large historic industrial sites like Valley City. The new owners slowly and carefully started a process to temporarily rezone the property to permit existing businesses to continue operating, while developing a permanent zoning that will add brand new features to the central Dundas space.
Sisters of St. Joseph convent for sale
The Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton put its 97,000-square-foot sandstone mansion and more than 50 acres of property at 574 Northcliffe Rd. up for sale in November for $15 million. Staff and members of the convent would not comment on the decision to sell, but had been trying for at least a decade to keep the building operating despite dwindling numbers of nuns residing in the building that has space for at least 200 residents. Before the end of the year, a subcommittee of the Hamilton municipal heritage committee recommended the convent be placed in a registry of properties of interest.
Flooding at York Road
Maintenance and emergency response attracted plenty of attention when Sydenham Creek escaped its man-made banks near York Road and Cootes Drive on April 20.
Private property owners are not required to keep creeks that cross their property clear of debris — natural or unnatural. Municipal workers will not remove trees or branches because they are considered part of a creek’s natural environment. Accumulated debris and a slow emergency response were blamed when the Cootes and York area experienced its worst flooding in years, causing property damage in area residential and commercial properties.
King Street West bridge and Fisher’s Mill Park
The year opened with a Feb. 1 public information meeting about the city’s proposed solution to the replacement of the King Street West bridge in front of the Dundas District Lofts. Reaction was generally opposed to the planned realignment of King Street West — and construction of a new bridge — through Fisher’s Mill Park. The park site had been purchased from the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board after it closed Dundas District school and was being paid for by Dundas residents on their municipal tax bills. Rebuilding in the park would mean being able to keep the road and bridge open during the construction.
Nine months later, in November, the Dundas Star News learned staff had changed their minds and dropped the “preferred alternative” in favour of another option of rebuilding the bridge in its current location.
71 Main appealed to OMB
An appeal hearing of a City of Hamilton decision to amend zoning bylaws and the official plan to permit a nine-storey residential building on a small lot across the street from Dundas town hall began on April 3. Within a couple of days, it was clear to all the five-day hearing wouldn’t be long enough to hear all the evidence. After the first half concluded on Friday, April 7, the hearing resumed on Monday, Dec. 4. The hearing raised ongoing issues about how Dundas will be developed, how extensive further intensification should really be, where that intensification should be located, and what it should look like in the midst of iconic historic properties.
Alley closure approved
City staff and councillors approved a controversial recommendation to close the south end of a public unassumed alley between Alma and Victoria streets on Monday, June 19. More than 30 people showed up at the council meeting in opposition to the recommendation, but they did not trump city policy of accepting the support of immediately abutting neighbours.
While the administrative process required to actually close and transfer ownership of the alley had apparently not been completed, the city did receive an application to close the remaining north part of the same alley, at Alma Street, in June.
Vacant DQ demolished
Many downtown area business, as well as residents, cheered — or at least smiled briefly — on Aug. 21, as the long-awaited demolition of the vacant former Dairy Queen building at 16 King St. E. finally began at least five years after it closed. Some had described the property as an eyesore at one of the main entrances into the downtown core. A proposal to redevelop the site by building a seven-storey condominium with ground floor commercial has yet to be confirmed.
Dundas Community Awards
In April, when Russ Powers was named the 2016 Royal Bank Citizen of the Year, he recalled handing the first award to the winner in 1972. Powers became the 45th recipient of the honour. William Olenek was named the 2016 Dundas Valley Collision Youth Volunteer of the Year. Olenek volunteers with the Stewards of Cootes Watershed and is also a volunteer coach in Hamilton Water Polo's junior league.
Dundas Learning Centre, which has provided education and growth opportunities for intellectually challenged adults for more than 20 years, was named Business of the Year. Founder Anne Pearson accepted the award.
Mark Jankowski breaks into NHL
It will be a highlight reel year for former Dundas Minor Hockey player Mark Jankowski, who scored his first NHL goal, then added a few more.
Jankowski, 23, started the 2017-18 season with the Calgary Flames’ AHL farm team in California despite a strong training camp. Injuries gave him his shot and he was called up to the big club on Oct. 24.
The former St. Bernadette Catholic Elementary School student played the next seven games without a point, but on Nov. 8 in Calgary against the Detroit Red Wings he broke the ice with his first NHL goal.
Jankowski went to the net while linemate Jaromir Jagr fired the puck. A rebound off the goalie hit the Dundas native in the thigh and went in for the goal. Jankowski followed that up in Calgary’s next game against St. Louis with two more goals and an assist — this time a couple of true highlight real plays, including a slap shot just inside the blue line and a nifty deke of the goalie and shot off the backhand into the net.
As of Dec. 20, Jankowski has six goals and five assists for 11 points in 26 games.
Dundas Blues Junior Hockey Club
The Blues junior hockey club started the season in a temporary home — Westoby Ice Surface on Olympic Drive — with new head coach Andrew Tait.
In December, the Blues announced a new partnership with the Hamilton Huskies minor hockey association that would see them share volunteer administration support while providing an opportunity for further development for Huskies players.
Mackenzie Hughes
Golfer Hughes, 27, completed his rookie season with more than $2.3-million in total winnings. He had two top 10 finishes, nine top 25 finishes and made the cut in 22 of the 31 events he competed in. He finished the RBC Canadian Open as top Canadian, tied for 32nd overall. But all those highlights might be hard-pressed to beat out the birth of Hughes’ son, Kenton Robert Hughes, to him and wife Jenna.
Hughes finished the season at 107th in the Official World Golf Rankings. That made him the third best professional golfer in Canada, just behind Graham Delaet (98th), and Canada’s No. 1 Adam Hadwin (46th).
Among Hughes’ season highlights were: a tie for 13th at the Dell Technologies Championship, a tie for 16th at The Players Championship and a tenth-place tie at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. It all combined for what is still an impressive 36th place finish in the FedEx Cup standings.
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