Cemetery relocation proposed as part of downtown Hamilton condo tower project

The proposed construction of a condo tower on James Street North has taken an interesting turn.

The leaders of Christ Church Cathedral are asking the city to give them a “good deal” on the purchase of an adjoining municipal parking lot, fronting on to Hughson Street.

It is a property which the Anglican Diocese of Niagara needs to go forward with the project, which would also include retail and community space.

The Very Reverend Peter Wall has also revealed that the parking lot sits on top of an old cemetery, where hundreds of people were buried between 1832 and 1853, most of them believed to be young people who died of illness and disease.

Reverend Wall adds that archeologists have found evidence of burial shafts, coffin nails and other things, adding that it’s time to stop parking on the remains and to release them from “asphalt hell.”

The remains would be exhumed and relocated as part of the development, which Wall says would allow the Church to be sustainable and to continue its existence on James Street North.

Ward 2 Councillor Jason Farr says he’s open to the request from the Anglican diocese which would also create new tax revenue for the city.