ProjectEnd said:
KPMB now. There's a community meeting on September 27th at 7pm.

https://www.300bloorstreetwest.com/

Presentation here (no renders yet):

https://www.300bloorstreetwest.com/...0-Bloor_Community-Engagement_emailable-sm.pdf
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Thank you ProjectEnd for the information. I grew up in that building. It was a second home...Our main home was 476 (1959-1963...torn down to build the subwaay and 478 Huron Street (the Pidgeon House...now office space) I guess all things must change. But the first proposal for the church in 2011 or 12 was HORRIBLE in my opinion.
 
Closer to 30 than 38 storeys now.
 
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Far better than the previous proposal. Also interesting that the 1920s-30s box in front of the church is being replaced- are they relocating the entrances again?

I hope they can retain the original portalways.
 
What the hell is that thing?? Sent me for a loop when I first saw that thing. First time looking at this thread
 
jje1000 said:
Far better than the previous proposal. Also interesting that the 1920s-30s box in front of the church is being replaced- are they relocating the entrances again?

I hope they can retain the original portalways.
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Far superior to the original proposal which metastasized over the whole site. The current box on Bloor is an affront - sadly I am not sure if this version handled it all that much better.

AoD
 
AlvinofDiaspar said:
Far superior to the original proposal which metastasized over the whole site. The current box on Bloor is an affront - sadly I am not sure if this version handled it all that much better.

AoD
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So, I'll use that as a jumping off point to share some more details communicated at the meeting:

> You can't make it out from the pictures of the boards (above), but they're proposing to replace the 1950s Bloor-fronting addition with a metal screen of some sort; it would have a bronze effect similar to the colouring of the facade detail on the east face.
> They're proposing extremely extensive renovations to the church (at the church's request, which includes reducing the size of the main congregation area, interestingly). I'll post a couple crappy photos of the interior renders when I have a sec, but there are some neat details they're aiming for; the interior change is quite dramatic, and of the sort I'm not sure we've seen with a religious institution in this city (think movable walls, and floor-to-ceiling office space that has a view of and indeed cantilevers out into the church space above the congregation). It includes, among other things, lowering the entire ground floor of the church to the same level as Bloor (currently, it sits roughly a flight of stairs above, which obviously presents accessibility challenges). There is a specific monetary contribution set aside for restoration of what is apparently a rather fantastic organ.
> The development team has already held multiple meetings with the Annex and Huron Residents Associations, Cressy's office, and "other neighbourhood stakeholders."
> There will be a mix of church and market office space.
> You can't quite make it out from the renders, but there will be a publicly accessible atrium space that the team said would very closely resemble the cafe/seating area at Koerner Hall, which will front both Bloor and Huron, wrapping around the west and north portions of the podium (i.e. enveloping the west and north sides of the church, and in between the tower and the church on the north.
> The subway tracks are 3 tracks wide here, which presents obvious design limitations.
> You can see it if you look closely at the one render, but I hadn't noticed until the team explained it -- the entire east face of the tower has balconies; they are to be recessed behind the facade.

Oh, and the NIMBYs were predictably out in full force; the words "destruction" and "rape" were used, and one old hag said the church should fend for itself rather than "desecrating the Queen Anne-style community" and asserting that "we don't need more community space because there are plenty of spaces for people to rent."

For his part, Cressy gave full-throated thanks to the development team off the top for taking such a consultative approach and for the extremely extensive and considered heritage and adaptive reuse work that they're proposing, before ending with the declaration that this is "obviously much too tall." He mentioned 25 storeys as a marker of sorts in that regard.
 
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