With congregations declining throughout Toronto, many are having trouble paying the bills, and old, decommissioned churches like Deer Park United are being put up for sale. This commonly causes strife between developers and residents (who aim to protect the churches’ historical and sentimental value) — but sometimes a collaboration pays off.
In the Blue Diamond development on St. Clair Avenue West, between Yonge Street and Avenue Road, Deer Park United (built in 1913) will become a different kind of community landmark — incorporated into a three-part development by Camrost-Felcorp and Diamond Schmitt Architects. The front, north-facing portion of Deer Park will likely be turned into a café, whereas the roof on the back of the church will be removed, allowing for an outdoor courtyard secured as a privately owned public space.
The inspiration for the project came to principal architect Donald Schmitt on a visit to London, England.
“The frame of Christchurch Greyfriars church, bombed in World War II, is now a rose garden in the heart of the city.” said Schmitt. “In this way, the social sense of communion and a vivid sense of history is preserved.”
The courtyard will be designed by landscape architects Janet Rosenberg Associates as a kind of sculpture garden, bookended with public art, allocated for an estimated budget of over a million dollars.
“In this way, a vivid sense of history is preserved.”
“That stretch of St. Clair is a bit of a dead zone — we wanted to animate it,” said Andrew Athanasiu, senior policy advisor to councillor Josh Matlow (whose ward encompasses the church). “And this was a really positive way of doing that.”
The three-part development at 101, 111 and 129 St. Clair Ave. W. will also include the Imperial Oil Building — to be retrofitted for residential use and a new state-of-the-art condominium (28 storeys tall). The public art plan intends to unify the three developments with $675,000 worth of art for each of the two sites (to be linked conceptually).
An artist selection team consisting of various art experts, such as Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) board member Jay Smith and AGO curator of modern and contemporary art Kitty Scott, will shortlist three artists from an invitational competition. Tony Cragg and Anthony Gormley are just two of the artists expected to participate.
Janet MacInnis, a lifelong member of the church’s former congregation — which vacated in 2008 after they ran into some financial difficulties — is a fan of the development (slated to finish construction in 2016).
“It is a wonderful resolution to a difficult situation,” said MacInnis.