George Hood is part of a group that wants to buy the Kingston Penitentiary.
"Along we come with an offer to buy a moribund, dormant federal asset, use our money to do do it, and its not going to cost them a cent". (From jailing to sailing? Feds asked to sell Kingston Pen site for redevelopment - Jordan Press, the Canadian Press, December 18 2016).
The word moribund means "not active or successful""being in a state of dying." The Pen is far from dying. Public tours of the site are very popular. And the prison was constructed with limestone; therefore the walls, guard towers and buildings will last for thousands of years. Don't worry, Canada Lands Company will gladly take your money they are a self-financing federal Crown corporation, meaning they keep all the money from the privatization of federal land and buildings. Another federal Crown corporation involved with real estate, the National Capital Commission, is also allowed to keep the money from the sale of Crown property, most notably Greenbelt land. The Greenbelt that surrounds Ottawa was created by Jacques Greber to honour Canada's war dead, not to line the pockets of developers or the NCC.
The city councillor for the Village of Portsmouth wants to see the area transformed into another Distillery District, which is located in Toronto. "Over the years, one after another condominium has appeared leaning right over the Distillery District and it hasn't interfered with the functioning and the beauty of the area." (From: Redevelopment a huge opportunity - Elliot Ferguson, Kingston Whig Standard July 7, 2017)
High rise condominiums along the waterfront and on the grounds of P4W will drastically change the character of the area. Fifty one years ago I attended a summer school at KCVI, and the bus drove by P4W and the Pen five days a week. Half a century later, the area is basically the same.
The Ontario government is privatizing the nearby Provincial Lands,where Rockwood is located. And the City recently approved the sale of land that surrounds the Church on the Good Thief on King Street West and the construction of houses will result the the loss of trees and green space.
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| The future of Kingston Penitentiary? |
"Kingston is a city with a lot of history, and we've embraced the idea of telling the stories of that history."( From: Beyond the bars: Former inmates at the Kingston Prison for Women return in fight for recognition - by Elizabeth Renzetti, Globe and Mail - 15 hours ago).
You can save the history of the Portsmouth Village Mayor Paterson, save the landmarks that were built by inmates at The Big House.. KP prisoners also built the Penitentiary Water Tower, Isabel McNeill House, the Church of the Good Thief and Rockwood. The Village of Portsmouth is currently being besieged by potential real estate developments that will block views of Lake Ontario and have a negative effect on tourism.
More than one million people a year visit Alcatraz, according to Laurie Armstrong,Director for Media Relations for the San Francisco Travel Association. (Listen to the Haunted Walks podcast.)
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A closed door meeting was held by the City of Kingston to discuss the future of publicly-owned Corrections Canada property at 440 and 442 King Street West. We, the people of Canada, owned these properties:
Committee of the whole "closed meeting"
March 24, 2015
That Council resolved itself into the Committee of the whole "closed meeting" to consider the following item(s):
b.) The proposed or pending acquisition or disposition of land by the municipal or local board -440-442 King Street West.
City Council of Kingston - March 24, 2015
Executive Summary
The federal government has provided notice that the former Ontario Regional Headquarters located at 440-442 King Street West (the Site) is surplus to its requirements. Public Works and Government Services Canada will be launching a disposal of the site on behalf of Correctional Services Canada. The process will be guided by the federal government process for a strategic disposal which provides for a limited amount of time for the City of Kingston to provide a written notice of any public purpose interests in the Site within 30 days of the circulation of the notice, or by March 27, 2015.
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| A limestone former Corrections Canada building, Stone Gables,King Street West.. |
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| St.Helen's, King Street West.. |
"Kingston to review closed door meeting policy" - The Kingston Whig Standard, 23 hours ago.
"Kingston councillors pass motion to review transparency issues for closed door meetings" - by Alexandra Mazur, globalnews.ca August 8 2018.)
The controversy dates back to 2015 (the same year Canada Lands offered to sell 440-442 King Street West to the City) when a closed-door meeting contravened sections of the Municipal Act, regarding another property.
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How many high-rise condominiums will be constructed on the Prison for Women land?
ABNA Investments recently bought the prison. The following document is enlightening:
Heritage Properties Working Group - June 26, 2018:
Prison for Women (P4W)
-Greg noted that staff have not yet taken a position on the conceptual development plans for the former P4W site as presented by ABNA Investments. The report to Council is requesting direction on:
1.) Taller buildings on the site.
2.) Community benefit considerations for the restoration to the heritage buildings; and
3.) Reviewing the heritage attributes of the current designating by-law.
ABNA is trying to remove any evidence that the Prison for Women was a prison:
City of Kingston Report to Council
June 26, 2018
"...ABNA has also indicated that it is willing to work with the City to ensure that interior heritage attributes that are not functional to the adaptive re-use of the building be displayed either in the Prison Museum or integrated into the Kingston Penitentiary tours."
(A letter to me from the Hon. Peter Milliken, Member of Parliament for Kingston and the Islands. The letter points out that the Administration Building and cell block will be preserved:
The City planned to designate the Prison for Women a heritage site under Part 1V of the Ontario Heritage Act, however
"The City received an objection to the notice of intent on September 26 2006 from the then property owner, Correctional Services Canada/Canada Lands Company. A withdrawal of the objection was received by the City on April 29 2008. An important aspect of the withdrawal was the City's inclusion of a provision within the designation by-law stipulating that the by-law would not be in force and effect while the site was federally owned." The Portsmouth Visioning document points out that the City of Kingston Official Plan (2010) will be amended in order to change zoning restrictions. The Official Plan (2010) has already been changed.
The one remaining stone wall at 40 Sir John A. Macdonald Boulevard is in disrepair, according to this June 26, 2018 report.
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