Toronto Wabash Community Centre | ?m | 4s | City of Toronto | Diamond Schmitt

[AlbertC]

Plans to revive and convert the old Canada Linseed Oil Factory building (Wabash Ave, just east of Sorauren) into the Wabash Community Centre and integrate further with Sorauren Ave Park. I don't believe any substantial work has begun yet. But according to reports, it's expected to open in 2023:

http://www.buildwabashnow.org/

Community Centre – Sorauren Park

Posts about Community Centre written by Friendly Site Administrator

soraurenpark.wordpress.com

Some further coverage on its history. Based on reports it has been left abandoned for around 45 years now.

Linseed Factory

Abandoned Linseed factory - closed during the 1960(a)s Update by Kenndruuh: Feb/2014 BREIF HISTORY: The property was purchased and the foundation wa...

www.ontarioabandonedplaces.com

Building Storeys — The Canada Linseed Oil Mills buildings & Sorauren Park - Spacing Toronto

EDITOR’S NOTE: Spacing is pleased to again partner with Heritage Toronto on their ongoing Building Storeys exhibit at the Gladstone Hotel that has been extended until April 25. A collaborative effort by Heritage Toronto and members of the photography groups the Shadow Collective and the DK...

spacing.ca

Current state:

 

[junctionist]

It seems like they've been saying that they're going to start work on it soon for the past 15 years. It would be a great preservation project. The building has tons of character. They should restore the smokestack too.

 

[AlbertC]

The Sorauren Park WordPress website gives better context in time line regarding more recent developments in this planning process.

On the update entry from Sept 24, 2019 it mentions:

The City of Toronto will soon hire architects to work on the final design for the Wabash Community Centre at Sorauren Park. This is exciting news, and the Friends of Sorauren Park is asking for your input on what you’d like to see at our new community centre.

Link to the survey can be found here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Z8NYRLS

I imagine the greatest challenge in this ongoing process is funding. Although, it does look like they are gradually moving in the right direction. Back in 2017, there was a mention that its budget has been increased for this project:

Wabash Community Centre budget increases by $6 million

More planning details on the Wabash Community Centre have been released by the City as part of the 2018 Capital Budget process. And a hint that a pool may be included in the planning discussions wa…

wabashbuildingsociety.wordpress.com

The Parks, Forestry and Recreation Capital Budget document, which every year must be approved by City Council (the next vote is February 12), recommends a $6 million increase in the project’s overall budget, from $34 million to $40 million, flowing over five years from now till 2022. The extra funding was added “to account for program requirements and recent costs for construction.”

 

[AlbertC]

 

[AlbertC]

Diamond Schmitt Architects hired for Wabash Community Centre

November 11, 2019

“The community has had more than twenty years now to envision what this great building could become. The Friends of Sorauren Park is passionate about continuing its role as the voice of our neighbourhood on this. We look forward to working closely with this world-renowned firm to bring our community’s vision to fruition,” said Joël Campbell, chair of the non-profit Friends.

Diamond Schmitt’s scope of work for the Wabash Community Centre will include community consultations, expected to start in the new year. These consultations will complement the work already begun by the Friends of Sorauren Park, including a community survey you can still take. Have your say!

The City has budgeted $40 million for the community centre. Design work will take more than a year, with construction expected to take several years more.

Diamond Schmitt Architects hired for Wabash Community Centre

The City of Toronto has hired one of Canada’s best-known architecture firms to design the new Wabash Community Centre at Sorauren Park. Diamond Schmitt Architects was awarded the work after an open…

soraurenpark.wordpress.com

 

[Towered]

These things seem to take forever. I have a feeling the building will collapse before work even starts!

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

These things seem to take forever. I have a feeling the building will collapse before work even starts!

We had a track record of that:

The rise and fall and rise of St. Lawrence Hall - Spacing Toronto

In 1966, Toronto’s St. Lawrence Hall was in terrible shape. The venerable old neoclassical building at the southwest corner of King and Jarvis streets was partially derelict—its stonework and chimneys collapsing, the roof leaking, and window frames rotting. Years of grime and dirt caked the...

spacing.ca

AoD

 

[AlbertC]

Wabash Community Centre “on track” according to city budget documents

January 18, 2020

New City of Toronto budget documents show the Wabash Community Centre project at Sorauren Park is “on track” as the city’s Budget Committee and, eventually, City Council work to approve the annual budget and 10-year plan in February.

The public documents appear to have been prepared earlier in 2019, as the city subsequently announced the architects for the project, Diamond Schmitt Architects, have been hired from a short-list of four firms.

The documents reveal an assessment of the condition of the existing building at 40 Wabash Avenue (the old linseed mill) has been completed, along with a Draft Cultural Heritage Evaluation and environmental studies. These reports have not yet been released to the public.

The budget indicates the city invested $285,000 in the project in 2019, presumably on these studies and project management costs. A further $1.084 million is budgeted in 2020, for design costs. The total project budget is $40 million.

Though the documents indicate the project is “on track,” expected completion has been pushed from 2023 to 2024.

Wabash Community Centre “on track” according to city budget documents

The old linseed mill at 40 Wabash Avenue, the site of the future community centre New City of Toronto budget documents show the Wabash Community Centre project at Sorauren Park is “on track” as the…

soraurenpark.wordpress.com

 

[Jacob Lisgar]

Could this be the slowest moving project in history, I think it's been in the pipeline since the 1980's. I forsee more delays as the architect tries to cram a pool into an old heritage building.

 

[Johnny Au]

Could this be the slowest moving project in history, I think it's been in the pipeline since the 1980's. I forsee more delays as the architect tries to cram a pool into an old heritage building.

For non-infrastructure projects, this could be true; the Relief Line/Ontario Line project has been in the pipeline for well over a century.

 

[AlbertC]

 

[AlbertC]

GTA From Above: A relic industry left behind to be rejuvenated

Ted Brooks
Published Thursday, February 27, 2020 11:45AM EST

The Friends of Sorauren Park group have long hoped to complete the space with the re-development of the Linseed Oil Mill building, turning it into a community centre with all the amenities.

"We're looking forward to finding out more about the design this year, and getting into construction hopefully by 2021 or 2022," Joël Campbell, Chair of the Friends of Sorauren Park told CTV News Toronto. "The ultimate goal has always been the community centre." "The cultural heritage, and the industrial heritage of the neighbourhood… that building is iconic to us."

The Diamond Schmitt Architect firm, known for its work in Toronto, across Canada, and around the world, was awarded the job to design the new community centre while keeping its historical values. Construction is to be completed by the City of Toronto with an opening date for the Wabash Community Centre sometime in 2023.

GTA From Above: A relic industry left behind to be rejuvenated

The Canada Linseed Oil Mills building has stood for over a hundred years and will become a new community centre in 2023.

toronto.ctvnews.ca

 

[vic]

I've also had a couple of wanders through this building back in 2012:

Canada Linseed Oil Mills

Interior photos of the former Canada Linseed Oil Mills plant on Wabash Ave., next to Sorauren Park, in the west end of Toronto. June 10, 2012. Some history and more info about the area on Spacing's website: spacingtoronto.ca/2010/04/09/building-storeys-%E2%80%94-t... And here's what some...

www.flickr.com

Frankly, I'm amazed the building has held up so well after so many years. I'm glad they're able to re-use it still, and am looking forward to its completetion.

 

[TSC]

Thought I would share some pics from the skatebowl that some of our local riders built. The city has torn down a few of these builds over the years. We have had an eyeing this space for a permanent skatepark for decades, hopefully the footprint of the new building doesn;t take up the whole site. Anybody know when the consultations are supposed to start up?

 

[vic]

Thought I would share some pics from the skatebowl that some of our local riders built. The city has torn down a few of these builds over the years. We have had an eyeing this space for a permanent skatepark for decades, hopefully the footprint of the new building doesn;t take up the whole site. Anybody know when the consultations are supposed to start up?

Nice! Was it the same group who built under the Dundas St. bridge? Funny enough...We came across Andrew Huang shooting the video for Ma Bicyclette at the ramp under the bridge just after taking photos at Linseed. Also loved the little ramps built at Paton Rd.