The City of Hamilton has initiated the tax sale of the approximately 44,000-square-foot Cannon Knitting Mills property at 134 Cannon Street East after the owner/developer, Harry Stinson’s company, failed to pay property taxes for two calendar years. Following the one-year period for the owner to enter into an acceptable payment arrangement, the City has initiated a tax sale of the site.
The minimum bid requirement for the property is $679,955.64. The property’s assessed value is $1.78-million, though it last sold in 2016 for approximately $3-million.
The sale comes as Stinson faces numerous business pressures. On October 21, the Ontario Capital Markets Tribunal dismissed an appeal he filed against restrictions imposed against him related to his Buffalo Grand Hotel project. The City of Buffalo is filing a ‘notice of intent to commence an abandonment proceeding’ to seize the Buffalo Hotel property.
Ward 2 Councillor Cameron Kroetsch stated he is meeting with City officials to determine what options are available for the City regarding future uses of the building.
“I know that everyone in the neighbourhood is concerned about property speculation,” Kroetsch stated on October 20. “They’ve already been waiting for decades for this property to be developed, and this is an opportunity, perhaps to reset, get something to happen.”
The sale is strictly regulated by rules set forth in the Municipal Act and will go to the highest bidder.
The property is zoned for mid-rise use, up to 12-storeys, within the Downtown Hamilton Secondary Plan. A heritage designation requires that any new development preserve the exterior features and adaptively reuse components of the complex. The oldest portion of the complex is circa 1866.
Various City departments have been intimately involved with the property for the past decade, with a City joint-venture corporation, Hamilton Realty Capital Corporation (HRCC), owning the building from 2011 to 2016. During the five years of joint public-private ownership, the former textile factory’s structures were allowed to deteriorate further.
HRCC, with then-Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr and City Council’s blessing, sold the property to Stinson in 2016 for approximately $3-million. Prior to moving to Hamilton, Stinson held a good reputation for his work in Toronto on the Candy Factory Lofts.
Since 2016, the City’s film office facilitated film productions to use the property, providing a steady cashflow for Stinson’s corporations. During the past nearly three years, the film office was aware of Stinson’s property tax arrears, and also aware of neighbourhood complaints regarding property standards violations, pest infestations, and other concerns. One of the primary issues for neighbours is the extent of the Knitting Mills rat infestation, with residents stating rats have been burrowing beyond the property and entering the basements of nearby homes.
Earlier this year, shortly after the City’s new Acting Director of Licensing and By-Law Services Dan Smith took on the role, the City’s outstanding property standards orders began to be enforced and the activities of the Film Office were curtailed. The City’s building Department declared the building unsafe in early September and ordered the erecting of fencing surrounding the structure due to deteriorating and unsecured window panes.
In response to the City’s announcement of the tax sale, confidential conversations are underway in the community to explore an affordable housing bid for this property.
In 2021, the Hamilton Community Foundation financially backed a bid by Indwell for the Delta Secondary School property in East Hamilton. Though a higher private-sector bid won that auction, both the Hamilton Community Foundation and Indwell expressed an interest in another purchase attempt if similar opportunities arose in the future.
The bids will be unsealed on November 11 at 3:10 p.m. at City Hall.
Editorial Note: TPR attended a Ontario Capital Markets Tribunal hearing on October 22 regarding Harry Stinson’s Buffalo Grand Hotel project. the Tribunal upheld sanctions and penalties imposed by the Ontario Securities Commission. A story will be published.
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Published: October 22, 2025
Last updated: October 22, 2025
Author: Joey Coleman
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