The United Church at 72 Frederick is considering a condo project.
Their website has a page dedicated to the project.
Church will support itself with $40M condo project
Their website has a page dedicated to the project.
Church will support itself with $40M condo project
Quote:KITCHENER — A downtown church has plans to transform its aging site into a $40-million development with at least one 20-storey condo tower.
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It has toyed with the idea of redeveloping a few times in the past few decades, but this latest effort began in earnest in 2009.
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Plans are still in the early stages, but the church hopes to build at least one, possibly two, buildings of up to 20 storeys, with small units suitable for one or two people and limited parking. In keeping with the church's social mission, Trinity would like the units to be modest and relatively affordable.
As well, the developer would build 14,000-18,000 square feet of space that the church could use for its worship and offices, designed as flexible, multi-use space that other community groups could use for meetings and activities during the week when the congregation doesn't need it.
The plan meets several of the church's key goals, Rutherford said: it uses the space more efficiently, so that it isn't sitting empty much of the time; it allows the congregation to provide outreach and to worship downtown; it creates a space that's more easily shared with community groups who can't afford to build their own buildings; it adds to the supply of affordable housing downtown.
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The existing 42,000-square-foot 1905 building, which has no significant architectural or heritage value, would be torn down. The church is working on plans to preserve essential elements of the congregation's heritage, such as stained-glass windows and church archives.
The church is still working out how to ensure at least some of the homes on the site are affordable, Rutherford said, since federal and provincial money for subsidized housing can be difficult to secure. Possibly the church might retain ownership of some of the units, which it would then rent out at affordable rates, he said.