Christ’s Church Cathedral in Hamilton, Ont., must dig up hundreds of long-dead parishioners from the “asphalt hell” of a church parking lot before building a multimillion-dollar condo tower for the living.

The local Anglican diocese hopes to build a 12-storey, $50-million-plus condo and commercial development at 252 James St. N. in Hamilton to help the shrinking congregation remain solvent and pay climbing maintenance bills for the iconic, heritage-protected stone cathedral and associated school house.

But to do so, the church must first “reverentially” dig up, try to identify and relocate the remains of up to 400 people buried under the back parking lot.

“It’s time that we stopped parking on top of those people,” said the Very Rev. Peter Wall, rector of Christ’s Church Cathedral, in a presentation to councillors Wednesday. “They need to be released from asphalt hell.”

Wall was actually at City Hall to ask councillors to consider a discounted sale of a small nearby municipal parking lot to the church. City staff will report back on the request in October.

Wall argued the extra land would allow a larger, wraparound condo building behind the preserved cathedral and school and by extension a larger tax bill — more than $400,000 — paid to the city. (The church itself is exempt from paying property taxes.)

The rector said any help would be appreciated given the looming $1-million-plus cost of the strictly regulated effort to exhume those buried in the long-lost cemetery.

The asphalt-entombed graveyard opened in 1832 and closed two decades later, with the land variously used as green space, tennis courts and finally parking over 160 years. More than 700 people were buried behind the cathedral, including famed city father Richard Beasley, and many children and teenage victims of early cholera epidemics.

When the city’s main cemetery opened on York Boulevard, Wall said many headstones moved — but not all of the bodies.

A stone monument for Beasley and a select few headstones are the only visible remnants of the old burial plot today. The remainder is paved over for about 40 parking spaces.

Rev. Bill Mous says lazy past protocols meant the remains were not treated with the respect they deserved.

He says the church would like to address that issue if it is able to secure the land and permissions needed for the building project.

“We would make sure that those remains are moved to a more dignified location, as was the intention in the late 19th century,” Mous said in a telephone interview.

Wall took The Spectator for a basement tour under the old school beside the cathedral to see another 24 tombstones collected and stored over a century — the fate of the associated remains unknown.

Only one stone appeared legible, naming Mary Arthur Worsop, who died in 1837 at the age of 23. The inscription also appears to refer to an infant son.

“I’ve often looked at these and thought, see, that’s the reason we need to do something about this (lost cemetery),” Wall said.

Wall said anecdotally, he understood building additions between the late- 1800s to mid-1900s turned up bones during construction. “It’s unfortunate, but the reality is back then construction workers were likely throwing bones in dumpsters.”

Ground-penetrating radar has found burial shafts, coffin nails and other evidence to suggest the remains of 300 to 400 people are underfoot.

If so, the dig and reburial would be one of the larger efforts in Ontario history, said Ron Williamson, founder of ASI Archaeological and Cultural Heritage Services.

The veteran of four decades of archeological digs said he participated in a mass exhumation of remains for 622 parishioners of a Toronto church in 2000 for an airport extension. He believes a larger effort involving 700 burial plots took place in Kingston.

“But this would still represent a large, unique and complex project,” said Williamson, who added it can take a day-and-a-half to “uncover and fully document” remains found in a single grave.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

A lot of work also happens outside the dig, he said, including cross-referencing church records, contacting descendants — and potentially dealing with their concerns. “Even moving a dozen bodies can be complex,” he said.

The church worked with DPAI Architecture on early designs for a 110-unit condo and retail building, but Wall said no application has been submitted to the city yet. The new building would host the existing diocesan office and Jamesville child care centre.

With files from The Canadian Press