A proposal is being recommended that would allow for some demolition and redevelopment of the former General Amherst High School in Amherstburg while also preserving some of its heritage.
An administration report going to the town’s Heritage Committee meeting on Thursday recommends that town council authorize a heritage easement agreement under the Ontario Heritage Act.
The agreement would allow for the conservation of the heritage attributes of the property at 130 Sandwich Street South.
The owner of the property, Valente Development Inc., would be allowed to redevelop the building to include the structural dismantling and reconstruction of the 1922 and 1951 south-facing masonry facades and the removal of the three 1967 murals on the west elevation, subject to their commemoration or reinterpretation on site.
However, the owner would need to get a Heritage Alteration Permit, which requires a Conservation Plan and a Heritage Impact Assessment completed by a qualified heritage professional.
Valente purchased the property in April 2024 with ongoing plans to construct 8-storey and 11-storey mixed-use towers with 144 residential units, including commercial and institutional uses.
Councillor Linden Crain says he’s been against designating the site as a heritage property from the beginning.
“From a high level looking at the heritage easement agreement, it does look like it is going to require a lot of work from the developer to ensure the facades are there and the murals are relocated,” he says.
Crain says what comes with the heritage easement agreement could be costly for the developer.
“He will have to provide financial security on the work that he’s doing to conserve some of those assets that maybe have historic value, but I think it’s going to end up costing him a lot, and that additional cost, where’s it going? It will go back to those purchasing condos on the property, right?,” he says.
Speaking on AM800’s The Shift with guest host Kyle Horner, Peter Valente said a heritage easement agreement would help define what heritage features would be preserved.
“It gives us the ability to sort of make a deal with the town on what aspects of the property need to be preserved and what things can go,” Valente said.
He said the proposal maintains key heritage features.
“We’re going to keep the six murals because three of them need to be demolished to give us access to Laird. And then the town wants us to reinterpret the murals somewhere else on the site, which we’ve agreed to do,” he said.
“We want to build a beautiful project. We want to build a project that recognizes the history of Amherstburg, while creating a modern living environment for the people that are going to be calling that place home.”
Valente says a heritage easement agreement would not give him the green light to immediately begin development, as additional approvals would still be required.
“I still have to go back to the Heritage Committee, show them what kind of bricks I’m using, making sure that they’re okay with that. Show them how we’re going to reinterpret the murals that are going to come down, make sure they’re okay with that,” he said.
“It just adds time, effort, energy to the equation.”
Valente adds that if approvals move ahead, he’d like to begin condo sales next spring, with demolition and construction starting later in 2027.
Earlier this year, Amherstburg’s heritage committee endorsed a list of potential properties for future heritage protection, including the former high school.
Under Bill 23, the More Homes Built Faster Act, legacy properties must have at least a notice of intention to designate issued by January 1st, 2027, or they will be removed from the heritage register and could become vulnerable to demolition. If removed, the properties cannot be added back to the register for five years.