3.6K 
Interest remains high as the redevelopment of the 1886-built Bloor Street United Church continues in Downtown Toronto. With support from the congregation, Collecdev’s 29-storey mixed-use project designed by KPMB and heritage architects ERA will bring a renewed church, new head officces for the United Church of Canada, some retail at ground level, and 284 residential condo units in tower above.
As internal and external demolition of the church progresses, preparations for the next phase of construction are already underway. New footings that will form the base of a steel facade retention structure are being installed along the building’s Huron Street frontage. The same footing and structure will also be installed on Bloor Street to support the church’s exterior walls while construction of the complex behind gets underway.
Moving upwards, noticeable changes can be seen as more sections of the original roof continue to be removed. Notably, the southernmost vaulted section, parallel with Bloor Street, has now been completely removed, while narrow sections of roof above the west wing have been taken out as well, suggesting the remainder of western roof is next to go.
Demolition and heritage work have taken a step forward on the west side of the church as crews continue to carefully carve out the western wing little by little. The two sets of double red doors with white framing at the southwest corner entrance have now been removed, and marked up tape has been used to catalogue the different sections of ornate stonework that will soon be deconstructed as well.
Like the stained glass windows removed from the east wall last month, the doors have been transferred off site for restoration work.The redevelopment will eventually see the western wing removed entirely, replacing it with a 4-storey, glass-exterior volume that will house offices and extend the church’s new promenade atrium.
On the north wall, demolition at the northwest corner has been underway to remove the external walls of a small single-storey extension into the parking lot, revealing white paint and lighter brick around a rear exit. Window removal is also progressing on the north wall, with only two windows remaining on the first storey. With the hopes of breaking ground this October, much more demolition is still to come.
UrbanToronto will continue to follow updates for this development, but in the meantime, you can learn more from our Database file for the project, linked below. If you'd like, you can join in on the conversation in the associated Project Forum thread, or leave a comment in the space provided on this page.
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