Site & Facilities Renewal

We are journeying through a process of renewal. We are seeking to live out our mission of following Jesus, loving the city and serving the world. Within this context, we are focused on renewing our site and facilities for the purpose of empowering mission and ministry now and for future generations.

Our Goals

  1. Eliminate our overwhelming maintenance deficit* 

  2. Prepare our site and facilities for the next 100 years of Christian mission and ministry.

We can’t do this without your voice!
God has formed us together as the body of Knox Church, and we need your ideas, concerns, opinions, hopes and dreams for the renewal. It is our sensitivity to the Spirit and the collective input of our church that will lead to the success of this crucial initiative. Write to us any time with your thoughts on the renewal of Knox facilities. Email Tom Affleck, Entrepreneurial Leader, at tom@knoxtoronto.org.

*estimated at 14M in 2014.

Proposed Site Renewal Plan

SOUTHSIDE DEVELOPMENT

Mid-rise building, 18 storeys, 200+/- rental units, with 20% affordable units

Gymnasium on ground floor, accessible to church via indoor walkway

Minimum 15 underground parking spaces for church

The above image is a rendering of the site plan proposed by Greenwin and our church. Image courtesy of Sweeny&Co Architects. Plan subject to change.

NORTHSIDE DEVELOPMENT

Low-rise building, 8 storeys, 25 rental units, and small main floor retail space

1000 sq ft of dedicated space for church on ground floor

Knox House removed and replaced with a publicly accessible green space

MAIN PHASE

Replace all antiquated systems in church (plumbing, electrical, HVAC)

Renovate to reshape and update spaces in Sunday school wing

Funded from 99 year leases of lands to South and North of Main Church

STEP 1: Approvals

Engage city staff and neighbours for feedback, then secure the necessary approvals for redevelopment.

STEP 2: Southside Development

Demolish the Fellowship Centre and construct the Southside development.

STEP 3: Interim Planning

Define scope for the Main Phase once lease payments are established. Prioritize and pull forward essential work.

STEP 4: Northside Development

Demolish Knox House, build Northside development and Privately Owned Public green space.

STEP 5: Main Phase

Complete the Main Phase.

Site Renewal Timeline

(2014-PRESENT)

2022-2023

Phase 2 Construction

Between Fall 2022 and Summer 2023 the construction of our new commercial kitchen in our main church building was completed. This kitchen will allow us to prepare meals well into the future. Major infrastructure projects on the main church building will now be on hold until additional revenue from the 99-year lease of the south side of the church property is secured.  

2022 Land Lease Signed

In Spring 2022, we signed an agreement to lease the South portion of our site to Greenwin Corp. for 99 years. Greenwin aims to construct a residential building on this land for rental housing, with 20% of the units being designated as affordable rental housing. Knox Church is currently negotiating to lease a portion of the North side of our site to Greenwin Corp. for 99 years.

For upcoming meeting and event dates, keep an eye on our regular church communications like the bulletin, weekly email, and events page. Members and adherents in our database will receive email notifications of the most significant developments needing input

2020-2021

Internal Approvals

In March 2021, we completed a process of internal approvals that paved the way to move forward with the proposed Knox Church Site Renewal Plan. See an overview of the plan here.

2018-2020

Securing the Right Deal
with a Developer

A key component of Knox Church Site Renewal effort has been identifying the right developer to work with.

This was the most challenging piece of the site renewal effort to date. Through 2017-2018 we had two false starts with promising not-for-profit developers who provided great offers to our church, but ultimately did not have the capacity to complete the project.

Building on the lessons learned from these two experiences, we initiated an extensive selection process in 2019 to secure a well-established and effective developer to redevelop portions of our site. This selection process eventually led to a very strong offer from Greenwin: a 70 year old, multi-billion dollar property development & management company. Given Greenwin’s top of market offer, institutional strength, and strong charitable and social focus, the Knox Building & Property Committee (BPC) has confidence that they are the right developer for us to work with.

2017-2020

Phase 1 Construction

Between 2017-2019 we completed the first of several significant renovation projects as part of our site renewal effort.

Projects and investment included: restoration of the Main Church foundations; renewal of the Spadina Entrance and Sanctuary; renovation of the Winchester Room; the replacement of the Sunday School Wing flat roof; and, installation of roof-top AC units to cool the Sanctuary. While much work remains to be done, construction is on hold until we have funding in place. The Site Renewal Plan aims to provide the money needed to complete the renewal of the Main Church building.

Renewed Spadina Entrance / Narthex

Renewed Sanctuary

Renewed Winchester Room

2014-2016

Discernment,
Investigation
& Due Diligence

Our initial steps in the Knox Church Site Renewal effort involved extensive consultation with the congregation about what God could be calling us to achieve through our site and facilities.

In addition to our congregational discernment work, we also held roundtable discussions with our neighbours, Christian leaders, and City of Toronto representatives.

During this period, we did the due diligence work to understand the extent of our maintenance deficit, the potential for redevelopment of portions of our site, how other churches have handled site renewal efforts, and what kind of spaces our pastors and leaders need now and potentially in the future to host ministry and events effectively. Reports on this important work can be found below.

Church Redevelopment Study Report (2014) | Space Needs Study (SEPT 2014)
Renewal Feedback from the Congregation (MAY 2014)
Notes from Community Roundtable Discussion (JAN 2015)
Notes from Christian Leaders Roundtable Discussion (FEB 2015)
The Shift Report (MAR 2015) | The Future Report (JUL 2015)
Motion to Move Forward with Detailed Investigation work for Renewal Concept (JUN 2016)