Pansy has greeted customers at Chapman Books for the past 20 years. Owner Joanna Chapman has sold her Cross Street building to an environmental engineer specializing in wind power.

After 32 years as a local bookstore owner, Joanna Chapman is starting a new chapter in her life.

Ms. Chapman, whose name became a household word during a protracted battle with former Mayor Larry Di Ianni over campaign financing, said her Cross Street business will close in early April. Ms. Chapman will continue to operate a special order service and Internet sales for those seeking a specific book.

The historic 11 Cross St. location of Chapman Books has been sold to an environmental engineer specializing in wind power. The existing business will relocate from Waterdown.

Ms. Chapman said the decision to close her bookstore after such a long tenure in downtown Dundas was "very hard."

"It was a difficult decision to make, but I feel I made the right one because I feel so good about the people who are buying the building."

Ms. Chapman said she expects some interior changes to accommodate office space, but the exterior of the building is protected under the Ontario Heritage Act.

A final closing sale at Chapman's Books begins March 8 and will offer 50 per cent of all merchandise, including books, local Dundas souvenirs and numerous kites.

A former Dundas councillor in the 1980s, Ms. Chapman's name once again became familiar in 2004, after she stepped into the media spotlight to challenge Hamilton's former mayor over campaign contributions. Ms. Chapman laid 17 private charges against 18 companies who she alleged violated the Municipal Elections Act during the 2003 mayoral campaign.

Most of the companies settled with Ms. Chapman in 2007 in what is called a diversion agreement. The companies donated over $20,000 to the Hamilton Community Foundation and admitted their mistakes.

Legal costs

Ms. Chapman acknowledged legal costs related to the charges "ate into her savings very significantly," but did not have an impact on her decision to close the bookstore.

"There comes a time...and I'm 69 years old...when you have to make a few decisions whether you want to or not," she said.

Ms. Chapman has been involved in the publishing industry since the age of 17, when she was an editorial assistant to a book publisher in England. And while she will retire from the daily grind of operating a bookstore, she is promising not to fade completely from public view.

"I have a lot of other interests, such as the environment, and I need to devote more time to other things."

Ms. Chapman declined to reveal the purchase price for the Cross Street building that has also been her home until recently. The deal officially closes in mid-May.