Church conversions

[ScreamingViking]

I didn't see a thread for this, but here's a new multi-residential built using St. Thomas Anglican church on the eastern edge of downtown.

There are others, and will be more. Maybe a dedicated thread can include them all?

Anyway, it looks great. A little too much "white" in the decor for my tastes, but that will change as people put their stamp on each unit's interior.


Leap of faith: Hamilton church converted into apartments
Tal Dehtiar took a risk in transforming a former church on West Avenue South.

Teviah Moro
The Hamilton Spectator
Tue., Aug. 23, 2022

https://www.thespec.com/business/rea...partments.html
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%...partments.html



• Video Link












When word spread that Tal Dehtiar planned to renovate a 150-year-old downtown church into apartments, a few skeptics came out of the woodwork.

He’d run into heritage hurdles. It didn’t compute financially. His timeline was unrealistic.

“Maybe ignorance is bliss, or whatever the expression is,” Dehtiar says.

But he has transformed the 14,000-square-foot stone church into 19 bright and airy units in less than a year — albeit two months or so beyond his original goal.

For Dehtiar — normally a serial entrepreneur with a focus on footwear — the project was a leap of faith.

The Oakville resident bought the West Avenue South church at the corner of Main Street East from Carisma Pentecostal for about $1.5 million.

But Dehtiar says he couldn’t afford to let the project drag on for years while paying interest.

Working to his advantage, the property was already zoned for multi-residential use, which saved him time.

He was also “very fortunate” to have a bank “take a risk” on financing a substantial portion of the roughly $5-million project, which the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation then backed upon refinancing with that original lender.

His aim was to preserve as many heritage elements of the building (originally built as St. Thomas Anglican) as possible.

The units — which range from bachelors to three-bedrooms — feature original trusses, stained-glass windows and arches. They’re renting from about $1,600 to $2,700 a month.

The adaptive-reuse effort comes to fruition during a time of dwindling congregations struggling to maintain their vast, aging structures.

Indwell, a non-profit that develops affordable housing, has partnered with Wentworth Baptist Church to create residential units in the century-old sanctuary at Cannon Street East.

Meanwhile, heritage advocates have urged New Vision United Church to restore St. Giles instead of demolishing it for housing on Holton Avenue South.

The project also coincides with a housing crunch and city hall’s focus of increasing residential density with a forecast 236,000 people expected to make Hamilton home by 2051.

“The great thing about churches is that they’re just open canvasses,” Dehtiar said during a recent tour of 16 West Ave. S.

...

[ScreamingViking]

I'd love to see this happen.


New Vision church needs $3.9M to transform auditorium into 1,000-seat live music venue
1868 heritage-designated landmark is located at 24 Main St. W. in Hamilton

Desmond Brown
CBC News
Aug 22, 2022

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamil...hall-1.6557945



2015 Junos:


Hamilton's New Vision United Church is plodding along with a project to transform its auditorium into a 1,000-seat live music venue.

The idea for the Music Hall at the 1868 heritage-designated landmark, located at 24 Main St. W., was born during Juno Fest in 2015 when the city's music scene was looking for concert venues.

Ian Sloan, New Vision co-ordinator of the Music Hall Initiatives, said they now need to raise $3.9 million to bring a much needed state-of-the-art venue to Hamilton's downtown.

He said the initial estimate of $1 million did not include major capital expenses such as air conditioning and improved ventilation of the auditorium, an electrical service upgrade and a production elevator.

"Those three things … contribute probably to half of that $3.9-million figure," Sloan told CBC Hamilton.

"The rest of it has to do with price increases [and] inflation. Construction costs have gone up a lot and as we refined the project it became clear that there were things that were very helpful to have … that would make it a really enjoyable venue."

The renovations designed and costed to date include the following:

• Structural reinforcement of the main floor.
• A large suite of gender-neutral washrooms to meet the occupancy load of the auditorium.
• Safety enhancements in the balcony area.
• Improved accessibility features.
• Sound and lighting support.
• Amenities for patrons, crews and performers.
• Significant improvements in ventilation that include air-conditioning.

Sloan said they have spent $450,000 so far, $250,000 of which was raised through grants. The rest came from New Vision United Church.

Sloan said their next step will be to talk with Hamilton's citizens and community leaders to develop a clear structure for operating and programming the venue.

"Those taking up the challenge will then push ahead with the renovations leading to the many event and performance opportunities that await," Sloan said.

"To raise the rest of the money, that's the next challenge, that's the gathering together and empowering a group that can … put the funds together to enable these improvements that then enable the hall to be scaled up to many, many, many events a year."


Artists support development of Music Hall

Jeff Martin, a former co-chair of Hamilton Music Strategy, said while Hamilton has big venues that can hold 3,000 or 20,000 people, the city needs a mid-sized venue like the Music Hall.

"One of the things that the music strategy identified is that we need a concert venue in Hamilton that can accommodate that 1,000 or 1,200," Martin told CBC Hamilton.

"So, this is a really important thing for Hamilton's music community and the city itself to have this really genuine venue that seats 1,000 people, and it's also an architectural gem and a historic building, so we're very lucky."

Artist Tom Wilson told CBC Hamilton, "The thought of watching art come to life in this old church is a step in the right direction for Hamilton and I wish only good things for its future."

Max Kerman, with Hamilton rock band Arkells, fully supports the development of the Music Hall.

"If the pandemic has taught us anything, it's that live music and human connection are some of the key ingredients to living a rich and happy life," Kerman said.

"A beautiful space in the heart of downtown Hamilton for people to congregate and celebrate art and community is much needed. I'm excited that the Music Hall is getting some TLC."

Guitarist Steve Strongman said he first learned of the Music Hall while searching for a location for a video shoot.

He was immediately struck by the charm and feel of this unique space, and decided to film and record two live performances that turned out incredibly well.

"The Music Hall is unique in its acoustic properties, fantastic sight lines, and central location. I believe Hamilton also needs a room with a capacity of 1,000 to welcome artists that are both growing into that ticket selling fan base, and artists that can already sell this many tickets," Strongman said.

"The fact that this space is in an historic building further strengthens the importance in its community."

Geoff Kulawick, president of Waterdown-based Linus Entertainment, said the Music Hall project means Hamilton will have a high-quality venue for musical performances and other events.

"The Music Hall will be an invaluable addition to the region's cultural and community spaces, while preserving a building of major historic significance in Hamilton's downtown core," he said.

"I am eagerly anticipating concerts by some of my artists in the Music Hall in the near future."

[TheRitsman]

I hope they maintain the church feel and the standing area on the floor since that is part of the charm and because seated only venues kind of suck. I also would love for this to stay a community space during periods it's not a music venue. These spaces that are used for various events and causes are great. Single use venues are lame.

[craftbeerdad]

Originally Posted by ScreamingViking

I didn't see a thread for this, but here's a new multi-residential built using St. Thomas Anglican church on the eastern edge of downtown.

There are others, and will be more. Maybe a dedicated thread can include them all?

Anyway, it looks great. A little too much "white" in the decor for my tastes, but that will change as people put their stamp on each unit's interior.


Leap of faith: Hamilton church converted into apartments
Tal Dehtiar took a risk in transforming a former church on West Avenue South.

Teviah Moro
The Hamilton Spectator
Tue., Aug. 23, 2022

https://www.thespec.com/business/rea...partments.html
https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%...partments.html



• Video Link












When word spread that Tal Dehtiar planned to renovate a 150-year-old downtown church into apartments, a few skeptics came out of the woodwork.

He’d run into heritage hurdles. It didn’t compute financially. His timeline was unrealistic.

“Maybe ignorance is bliss, or whatever the expression is,” Dehtiar says.

But he has transformed the 14,000-square-foot stone church into 19 bright and airy units in less than a year — albeit two months or so beyond his original goal.

For Dehtiar — normally a serial entrepreneur with a focus on footwear — the project was a leap of faith.

The Oakville resident bought the West Avenue South church at the corner of Main Street East from Carisma Pentecostal for about $1.5 million.

But Dehtiar says he couldn’t afford to let the project drag on for years while paying interest.

Working to his advantage, the property was already zoned for multi-residential use, which saved him time.

He was also “very fortunate” to have a bank “take a risk” on financing a substantial portion of the roughly $5-million project, which the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation then backed upon refinancing with that original lender.

His aim was to preserve as many heritage elements of the building (originally built as St. Thomas Anglican) as possible.

The units — which range from bachelors to three-bedrooms — feature original trusses, stained-glass windows and arches. They’re renting from about $1,600 to $2,700 a month.

The adaptive-reuse effort comes to fruition during a time of dwindling congregations struggling to maintain their vast, aging structures.

Indwell, a non-profit that develops affordable housing, has partnered with Wentworth Baptist Church to create residential units in the century-old sanctuary at Cannon Street East.

Meanwhile, heritage advocates have urged New Vision United Church to restore St. Giles instead of demolishing it for housing on Holton Avenue South.

The project also coincides with a housing crunch and city hall’s focus of increasing residential density with a forecast 236,000 people expected to make Hamilton home by 2051.

“The great thing about churches is that they’re just open canvasses,” Dehtiar said during a recent tour of 16 West Ave. S.

...

This project was quite impressive. I took a few photos in the downtown update thread but the level of detail and care without cheap shortcuts show you can really emphasize the quality of old stone buildings and adapt them for modern times. The fact he bought the building for $1.5M is mind blowing too (consider a house in Durand costs that). With Main eventually a two-way, projects like this will really stand out more compared to being a blur in the rear view mirror.

Also kudos to Tal Dehtiar for the vision and execution of this project. Just shows you don't need all the bells & whistles of a fancy project to complete an impactful small to mid sized conversion/build in this city.

[ScreamingViking]

Originally Posted by craftbeerdad

Also kudos to Tal Dehtiar for the vision and execution of this project. Just shows you don't need all the bells & whistles of a fancy project to complete an impactful small to mid sized conversion/build in this city.

Quoting in hope that Harry Stinson reads this forum.