Hamilton’s Property Standards Committee has ordered the owners of the heritage Marr-Phillipo House, built in the 1840s, to complete emergency masonry repairs by December 17, rejecting their request to delay the work until after winter.
In late April 2025, the City of Hamilton ordered the owners to make immediate repairs of “the exterior masonry, including re-pointing deteriorated mortar joints and rebuilding the partially collapsed wall” after a bylaw inspection found the south wall had partially collapsed.
The wall is currently secured with boards and concrete blocks.
On Wednesday, September 17, the five citizen-member quasi-judicial Property Standards Committee heard the owners’ appeal and unanimously upheld the repair order.
The Committee agreed with the City that immediate repairs are necessary. All of this comes as the City works to prevent another heritage building collapse like what happened to the Gore Park heritage buildings late last year.
Note: The City of Hamilton refuses to provide property standards hearing documents, in contravention of open court requirements under the Statutory Powers Procedure Act. This impacts the depth of reporting on this matter.
City: Orders to Prevent Loss of Another Heritage Building
City of Hamilton lawyer Brandon Blackmore opened his arguments stating the wall needed to be repaired before the onset of winter.
Bylaw officer Tori Yachetti was the City’s primary witness. She conducted the April inspection of the property.
Yachetti testified that the developer’s engineering report states that “some areas of the wall above the ground floor were also in fair to poor condition” and that “lower areas of the wall are typically exposed to de-icing salts.”
The report also states that snow accumulates against the wall during winter, and this increases exposure to moisture, freezing, and thawing.
This is why, Yachetti testified, the City’s position is that repairs must be completed before winter.
Asked why the City was acting now after approximately five years of deterioration, Yachetti cited “an emphasis on heritage buildings since the collapse of the heritage buildings in Gore Park.”
Owner: Sought Deferral of Repair to When Heritage Structure is Moved
Lawyer Jonathan Marun-Batista, representing Wilson Street Ancaster Inc. (Sergio Manchia and Frank Spallacci), argued for deferring repairs to “coincide with the lapsing of the conditionally approved heritage permit.”
He told the committee there was no risk of further deterioration and repairs would be more efficient when the building is relocated as part of the planned development.
Registered Professional Planner Matt Johnston, of Urban Solutions, testified that a structural engineer’s report confirmed the building was secure and not at risk of significant winter damage. The engineering report recommended delaying repairs until spring “when more favourable weather conditions will allow for the best possible outcome.”
Johnston testified the report states that “undertaking such work late in the fall or winter often leads to quality issues and should be avoided unless absolutely necessary for this building.” He added it would be challenging to find qualified stonemasons on short notice.
Property and Developers Were at the Centre of the Greenbelt Scandal
The property standards order is the latest chapter in the ongoing saga of one of Hamilton’s most notorious proposed developments on a property that has been at the centre of the provincial Greenbelt scandal and the now-reversed decision by the Ontario Conservative government to overturn Hamilton City Council’s urban boundary freeze.
Manchia and Spallacci successfully lobbied the Ontario Conservative government to insert a site-specific zoning amendment into Hamilton’s official plan in November 2022, overturning City Council’s rejection of their proposal.
During the ensuing Greenbelt scandal, Manchia was among developers who bought tickets to Premier Doug Ford’s daughter’s stag and doe. When Ford reversed course under public pressure, the developers lost their special planning permissions. Ontario’s Divisional Court denied their appeal, forcing them to restart the planning process.
Plans to Move The Structure as Part of Redevelopment
Developers Manchia and Spallacci want to build a modern mid-rise building on the property. In 2021, the City approved a proposal from them to allow the relocation of the heritage structure to the rear of the property.
The proposal remains unpopular in Ancaster, with many residents wanting the building to stay visible on Wilson Street.
Ward 12 Councillor Craig Cassar passed a motion in February to explore moving the structure to the nearby Ancaster Arts Centre. Following the committee decision, Cassar said staff were exploring multiple relocation options.
“The most desired outcome is to incorporate the home into the development,” Cassar said. “Plan B is to move the Marr House to a spot in the Ancaster Village core, on the street where it can be used by the community.”
The developer’s most recent proposal for the entire property, municipal address 392-412 Wilson Street East & 15 Lorne Avenue, is “an 8-storey maximum height in the Mixed Use-Medium Density designation of the Ancaster Wilson Street Secondary Plan in order to permit an 8-storey mixed-use building with 118 residential units and 1,475 square metres of ground-floor commercial space.”
No date is set for Council to consider this latest application.
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Published: September 22, 2025
Last updated: September 22, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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