The chimney swifts are back

In May, we reported that a family of chimney swifts might required us to reconsider our plans to demolish an unused chimney on our north building.

Well, the swifts have returned to their nest in our chimney. That's good news, because chimney swifts are a threatened species in Ontario.

More good news: we’ve been able to reconfigure the arrangement of solar roof panels we’re planning to mitigate the effects of the chimney’s shadow on solar collection. So the chimney can stay, the chimney swifts can enjoy their nest, and we can still plan to reduce Beach United’s energy footprint. Yay!

You can learn more about chimney swifts in this article by Tim Tiner from ON Nature Magazine.

Condo rumours are greatly exaggerated

Now that we’ve demolished the south portion of our church building, some people are wondering what we’re planning to do with that piece of land.

The answer is, we don’t know yet. Lots of ideas have been discussed by our congregation, but no decisions have been made. Right now, renovating our church is our main priority.

One of our neighbours let us know that they've heard our south lot has been sold to a private group and that it may house a future condo development. That story is not true.

If you have questions about our church project, or hear a story you’d like to confirm, please feel free to ask us about it. You can post a comment on this blog, or reach Beach United’s HOMe project team directly at home@beachuc.ca.

A new look at street level

There is a lot of progress on our renovation, but much of the work is hard to see from the street. So here’s the latest....

Most of the work needed on the foundation is complete. And most of the existing structural steel has been reworked and installed for the new wood floor in the sanctuary.

By the way, the sanctuary floor on the second level used to be sloped, but the new floor will be level. That will make it easier to use the space for different functions, as well as making it easier to walk on.

The renovated church will also have an elevator to help move people, food and other supplies from one floor to the next. Masonry work for that is starting soon.

The most obvious change is the building's new look at street level.

The ground outside the church along Wineva is being regraded, and that’s probably what you’ll notice most the next time you walk by the site. Lowering the grading means we will be able to enter the building at street level, and the rooms on the ground floor will have more sunlight.

You can see the difference in the before-and-after photos:

Before: built-up landscaping meant the front entrance

was on the church's 2nd floor. You had to climb stairs to reach it,

and the lower floor didn't have any windows at the front.

After: removing the landscaping and lowering the grade makes

the church will be more accessible from street level. Windows

will be added to the lower floor, where the church offices will

be located.