I doubt the church would/could be "saved". Maybe the sanctuary and parts of the south/west external walls, but the site is too constrained to construct a high-rise AND keep the church as-is.
 
I attended the meeting Councillor Vaughan held to discuss the proposal. I reported a bit on it here, including two pictures of the preliminary renderings they showed.

The current proposal is 39 storeys. It entails façadomizing the church (only the south and east façades would remain, I think) and the first several floors of the condominium would be aboveground parking. People were predictably highly (if not unanimously) critical of the proposal, mostly citing height, though also disliking the conspicuous parking. Further, it's yet another all-glass banality.

Hopefully it'll improve quite a bit throughout the proposal process, since they haven't even made the application yet, apparently.
 
The proposal and its' evisceration of the church is obscene. If it is for the Metro lot I'd have much less issue with it, but as it stands now, the project is an affront to heritage preservation.

AoD
 
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Arvelomcquaig, under the proposal, was a new church sanctuary/worship space to be built into that structure? My wife was a member of the congregation as a student, many years ago and will be interested to hear.

As I mentioned earlier, I heard the new national offices of the United Church are to be in the new building.
 
That's the wrong church, AoD. 300 Bloor is actually a couple blocks east on Bloor, at Huron: here.

But anyways, thanks Arvelo for the report, and greenleaf for that link. Although the renderings look nice, the proposed form is inappropriate for that site. There are no height precedents for a 39 storey tower along that stretch of Bloor, and the set-back new addition podium is overwhelming on the low-rise character of Huron Street and residential area.
 
Travis:

Oops! Thanks for pointing out my gross mistake. Agreed, a 38s tower and such radical facadism is inappropriate - a 20 - 25s and no facadism would be much more preferable.

AoD
 
Yep, if it was the United church at Bloor and Robert people in the Annex would be having a fit. When the condo went up on Spadina just north of Sussex a few years ago I got mail multiple times from community activists asking me to support their effort to stop it.
 
greenleaf said:
http://www.bloorstreetunited.org/GCOProposal.html
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Renders:

VWESq.jpg


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NDUzz.jpg


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Tower looks great but gutting the church is stupid. They're not even building above it? Can't support this project as a result.
 
The nature of the facadism is almost insulting. And it's interesting that the renders don't actually show the full height of the project, which seems deceptive to me.

I'm certainly not against development in this area, but seeing the renders sure suggests this project is poorly thought out and poorly placed.
 
http://www.blogto.com/city/2012/04/bloor_street_church_the_focus_of_huge_development/

Bloor Street church the focus of huge development

Posted by Chris Bateman / APRIL 19, 2012


The Bloor Street United Church at the corner of Bloor and Huron Street will likely be redeveloped to host the headquarters of the United Church of Canada, a condo tower, and an improved space for church services and other meetings. Like several other proposed and under-construction developments in Toronto, the designs available on the church's website show a mix of angular modern design mixed several historic features of the original structure.
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http://www.bloorstreetunited.org/GCOProposal.html

Under the plans currently available online, the original nave will be replaced with a large, glass-walled square space to allow in the maximum amount of sunlight. The area behind the church, currently a parking lot, will form the base of the General Council offices and condominium tower. The appearance and layout shown here is preliminary, but the design is one favoured by the church.

The Bloor Street United Church was selected from several locations in Canada vying for the new headquarters. The lease on the current offices at Bloor and Islington will expire in 2015, which prompted the church to look for a new space. The location in the heart of Toronto and the local congregation were apparently deal-breakers in the decision.
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The green features could include LEED designation - an internationally recognized level of excellence for sustainable and eco-friendly buildings - and a green roof on top of the redesigned nave. The architects behind these designs, B+H, are also (partially) responsible for another Bloor street icon - the modern extension to the ROM. The still under-construction Ripley's Aquarium near the CN Tower is also in the company's portfolio.
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The church hopes to have the new building ready sometime in 2017, though that could change depending on how the development progresses in the coming months. The church met with the community and local councillor Adam Vaughan last night to discuss the project and initiate the process of getting council approval. If all goes to plan, the builders could break ground within two years.
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