Bird Kingdom $12M birdcage for sale

Meaghan Edwards

Meaghan Edwards

Well-Known Member
I was so sad to hear this. I love this place and I think the building it is in gives it atmosphere and the birds seem to thrive extremely well in it, but I'm glad they're not totally shutting the place down, just moving if they come to that. They have a very impressive collection, IMO.

$12M birdcage for sale
Posted By COREY LAROCQUE, REVIEW STAFF WRITER
Posted 18 hours ago

-world's biggest birdhouse. Bird Kingdom, the award-winning aviary on River Road, could move from Niagara Falls partly because its owner says its property taxes are too high.

"I guess we lost our appetite for Niagara Falls because of the way the tax structure is. It makes it very difficult to do business," said Larry Vann, a Niagara-on-the-Lake businessman who created the Niagara Falls aviary on River Road about five years ago.

Vann has put up for sale the River Road building that has housed the attraction since it opened in 2003, though he said the aviary is a viable business and will carry on. Other factors also went into the decision to list the building.

"The attraction doesn't generate the revenue to warrant staying here," he said Monday.

The aviary's total property tax bill was more than $225,000 in 2008. Vann said property taxes were about $60,000 in 1999 when his company bought the former Niagara Falls Museum building, which had housed a private collection of eclectic artifacts since 1958. Before that, the 101-year-old building was the old Spironella corset factory.

The property has been for sale "quietly" through a commercial real estate broker in Toronto since last year, Vann said. But it was recently listed publicly in The Niagara Falls Review's real estate guide.

It's listed at $11.9 million and realtor Linda Page is promoting it as a rare opportunity to acquire a landmark with potential to be converted to retail space or loft condos with a view of the Niagara River.

Depending on who buys the building, the aviary could remain as a tenant or find a new home, Vann said.

"If somebody wants to buy (the building), knock it down and redevelop it, we relocate the business," Vann said.

But if Bird Kingdom is forced to move, it wouldn't necessarily remain in Niagara Falls, Vann said. Property owners outside the city have offered to accommodate the aviary, Vann said.

The aviary is a high-profile business. It won four Misty awards, the local tourism industry's annual honour, as "attraction of the year" among midsize attractions.

If Bird Kingdom left town, it would be "quite a significant loss" to the tourism industry, said Niagara Falls Chamber of Commerce president Carolyn Bones.

"Everybody was really excited when the aviary came to town because it was another attraction in the mix to draw families," Bones said.

When it came to town, it was heralded as the kind of new investment the casinos were spurring on.

If tax concerns prompt a business to move, it should send a signal to governments that commercial property owners have limits to how big a bill they can afford, Bones said.

While nobody likes taxes, neither Mayor Ted Salci nor Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor say there's a groundswell of businesses considering leaving town over their bills.

"To see it listed has caught me by surprise," said Craitor who has talked to Vann about his concerns over Ontario's property assessment system.

Craitor said he believed the tax bill was just one issue at play in Vann's decision to sell.

The city's business development office and finance department have worked with Vann to drum up business for Bird Kingdom and to appeal its property value, Mayor Ted Salci said.

City and regional councils are sensitive to the needs of businesses, he said.

"We are concerned about the tax burden on commercial properties, especially in the economic conditions that have developed recently," Salci said.
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Wow. I didn't see that coming...I visited it last year and it had so much potential! They had just started a bat education program and everything :( Hopefully their new place will be just as beautiful...
 
Leptonyx said:
Wow. I didn't see that coming...I visited it last year and it had so much potential! They had just started a bat education program and everything :( Hopefully their new place will be just as beautiful...
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Oh I know :( I could watch their bats for hours! And the birds seem to be breeding very well, too, some have nests right by the walkways. Next to the Toronto Zoo, it's my favorite zoo in Canada that I've visited.
 
As a sidenote- I remember being told that they had to change their name from "The Niagara Aviary" to "Bird Kingdom" because apparently not everyone knew what an aviary was ...:p just an aside, haha...people are funny.
 
Another article here :)

Aviary so much more than a 'birdcage'
Posted By
Posted 19 hours ago

An open letter to Mr. Corey Larocque:

I feel your article written about the sale of the building at 5651 River Rd. in Niagara Falls does a great disservice to the quality of the facility.

To refer to Bird Kingdom as a "birdhouse" and "birdcage" lacks understanding of the quality of the attraction. It is one thing to talk about the sale of the building but please acknowledge the quality and reputation of the facility.

The vastness of the facility approximates species territories found in the wild, it is inappropriate to refer to the institution as a "birdhouse or birdcage."

Bird Kingdom provides a safe, healthy environment, where the birds will live far longer than they would in the wild and allows the public to easily witness unusual species in a natural setting.

The aviary regularly breeds species seldom bred outside of the wild.

Many species require considerable territories and are impossible to breed in cages. The free flying open concept of the aviary and welfare of the birds was a primary consideration of the design.

The aviary is recognized by Canadian and international zoos. Species are continually being exchanged as part of breeding programs.

In 2008, Bird Kingdom successfully bred Wattled Jacanas. This species is rarely bred in zoos anywhere in the world. The success was achieved by consultation with facilities in Europe.

Royal Starlings were also bred for the first time in Canada and are due to enter a breeding program with a major Canadian zoo.

More chicks are due to hatch in the next week.

The location may change, but Bird Kingdom will continue to grow and prosper. The animals will continue to breed and thrive as will our reputation. We are far more than a building or a "birdcage."

Wayne Davey Curator,

Bird Kingdom
Aviary so much more than a 'birdcage' - Niagara Falls Review - Ontario, CA
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