Residents of have collected more than 1,200 signatures on petition asking the City of Niagara Falls to retain ownership of iconic building

A push to keep Chippawa’s former town hall in city hands to ensure it remains for future generations is gaining momentum, with folks in the former village garnering more than 1,200 signatures on a petition.

Chippawa resident Maria Artiga, who started the petition, said everyone from residents with ancestors in the village dating back to the 1820s to newcomers to Chippawa have jumped on board with preserving the iconic building at Cummington Square so it can once again become a focal point of the historic village.

“The important thing is to save it,” she said, standing in front of the building along with residents Stanlee Hickey and Rick Paquette, who along with other residents have been gathering signatures for the petition.

Back in September, city staff were recommending city council look at selling the building, after politicians earlier decided in a closed-door meeting to declare the building surplus. The building dating back to 1842 is zoned to permit a wide range of businesses as well as residential on the second floor.

But the new Friends of Chippawa Town Hall group that the petition gatherers are part of want it to remain in city hands to ensure its preservation.

Hickey said Chippawa residents are proud of their village’s past.

“There’s a great deal of passion here in the community, especially when it comes to our ancestral past,” she said. “Everybody drives by that building almost every day. We have major concerns that if a business comes in and buys it, it will be for a select few or they could let it sit there and disintegrate.

“We don’t want to see it going into ruin and being removed because of neglect,” she said. “We’d like it to stay as a community hub.”

Council members Lori Lococo, Victor Pietrangelo and Wayne Thomson all spoke out in September against the idea of selling the building, after council agreed to a call from Lococo to have staff come back with options for maintaining ownership. Kathy Moldenhauer, director of recreation and culture, said at the time that the building needs about $150,000 in work inside and outside in the next few years.

Lococo said the city has a poor track record when it comes to protecting its historic buildings. 

“Heritage buildings are important to our community,” she said. “There are not many buildings left that have the history and heritage features that the Chippawa town hall does.”

Pietrangelo said the recent demolition of the former city hall downtown after it was allowed to decay for years, and other decisions, have hurt the city’s reputation when it comes to protecting heritage.

“I really feel that the city needs to establish itself as a leader” in preserving and restoring heritage buildings, he said. That’s especially important if the city expects other owners of heritage properties to follow suit, he said.

Pietrangelo said whether or not the old Chippawa town hall could turn a profit if it stays in city hands shouldn’t figure into the equation.

“If making things profitable was the city’s benchmark in respect of all its services, then much of what we do would be on the chopping block,” he said.

The building is designated under the Ontario Heritage Act, meaning any new owner would be required to preserve the façade.

Artiga said there are many potential uses for the building that’s currently vacant, from using it for a supper market or vendor market to extending library programming to it or using it for classes. She said many local businesses in the former village are also supporting the city retaining ownership.

“I think that shows it’s not just one or two people on a Facebook page,” she said.

BEHIND THE STORY: After learning of a petition to keep Chippawa’s former town hall in city hands, This Week looked at why residents feel it’s important.

Paul Forsyth is a veteran of more than 30 years of community journalism who covers a wide range of issues in Niagara Falls and other parts of south Niagara, as well as topics of regional significance in Niagara.