Southminster United Church

Windmill has begun the work to apply for the rezoning which they hope to submit to the City by the end of April.  Part of that is a traffic study which will look at, among other things, the impact the development might have on traffic and parking around the church.

 

The overall schedule hasn’t changed.  As mentioned, Windmill hopes to have the application to the city by the of April.  If that happens, the earliest we could start getting quotes and work started on renovations is the end of next year but likely not until the summer of 2019 or even into 2020.  It depends mostly on the rezoning process.

 

They have begun consultations the immediate neighbours to give them some preliminary input for ideas for the project. The plan as they have explained it is to get immediate feedback through one on one sessions with those most affected, to use that feedback in the preliminary designs and then to consult with the wider community. 

 

From what the Task Group knows, the plan remains the same as was expressed when we approved the agreement for sale – a 6 story condominium building on Galt plus a number of Townhouse units along Aylmer that is respectful of the neighbourhood and the existing Church building.  Some very early drawing look very promising.

 

As for the work on the Sanctuary, the consultant some initial ideas based on conversations with the Task Group and attending various services and concerts.  They will be presenting these ideas to the Task Group next week.  Once we see how far along they are we will work out a schedule to get input from the congregation.  You can expect to hear more about this by the end of the April.

 

Many of you may have begun to hear from neighbours and others in the community who have heard about the development and begun to talk about.  We understand the community is very supportive of Southminster and interested in doing what it can to help.  They do, of course, have many questions and opinions. Members of the Task Group are attending the meetings and trying to stay as close as possible to the conversations.  Ultimately, Windmill is leading the community consultations as they are part of their design and re-zoning process.  They are responsible for handling all questions about the development itself.  We, as the nearest neighbours, are also very interested and the agreement we signed gives us a chance to continue to work with the developer to help get the best possible development while still realizing our own goals for the project.

 

We have begun a web page (http://www.southminsterunitedchurch.com/redev) on the Southminster Website where we will try to keep everyone up to date on the project.  There is a Questions page there that outlines some answers to typical questions.  You can also find a link to an email address if you want to share any specific concerns or ask other questions.  You are always free to contact any member of the Task Group.  I will remain after church today if you anything you would like to discuss with me.

 

Thank you for your continued support – as you know this project is very important for the future of our congregation, we are all new to this and I for one am extremely thankful the dedication, spirit and patience everyone is showing as we move ahead.

 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

Andrew Brewin

Chair: Southminster Tomorrow Task Group