The city wants to relocate a century-old stone tower from the Forbes Estate property to Jacob’s Landing park and transform it into a lookout tower over the dam and Hespeler Mill Pond.
The recommendation is part of a staff report returning to council Tuesday on how to save heritage structures at 171 Guelph Ave. to accommodate a subdivision proposed for the property.
It comes six months after council deferred its decision on a similar recommendation because staff were unsure of the stone tower’s significance after it was suggested it could be a “dovecote.”
The rarely surviving structures were designed to house pigeons and doves and had steeply pitched rooves to allow the birds to fly in and roost.
Tuesday’s report to council also includes the recommendation that council initiate a heritage designation of the Forbes house and agree to move a retained portion of a stone wall fronting Guelph Avenue back from the road.
It’s all to accommodate a draft plan of subdivision on the remaining 11.76 acres with up to 185 residential units.
The land at 171 Guelph Avenue was once the site of an agricultural complex owned by Jacob Hespeler, one of the key founders in the development of the Town of Hespeler.
It later became the home of the Forbes family, who were prominent local industrialists and political figures.
The property includes the Forbes House, a large masonry dwelling constructed in 1912 and is the last remaining portion of a much larger estate that has been subdivided over the last century.
As for the stone tower being a potential dovecote, only two dovecotes remain standing in Ontario, one at Dundurn Castle and one at Auchmar Estate, both in Hamilton.
Despite some doubt around how the Forbes Estate tower was used, it is considered a “rare example of a stone agricultural building in the town of Hespeler and shows a high degree of craftsmanship” according to a Cultural Heritage Impact Assessment for the property.
It was constructed as part of an agricultural complex for Jacob Hespeler, which included a stone barn and was used to house pigeons, doves and other poultry.
Staff is of the opinion that a definitive identification of the stone tower as a dovecote would not change staff’s recommendations.
Staff considered keeping the stone tower in its current location to be included in a park planned for the condominium development, but because it is located in an area that would discourage public access, decided it’s not the best option.
They are recommending it be “adaptively reused as an observation tower with accessibility features” once it is moved to Jacob’s Landing park.
A preliminary estimate of the cost to reuse the tower as an observation tower, is approximately $350,000 based on 2022 pricing, reads the report.
The city would be responsible for assisting with obtaining the required permits and preparing the new location for the tower at a cost of approximately $100,000.
If council does not approve the adaptive reuse of the tower, the report says the owner would be responsible for the cost of reconstructing the tower as-is.
