We're home!

Our newly renovated church is open!

You're invited to Beach United's Community Open House
Saturday, October 26, from 1pm to 4pm
Drop by to enjoy tours of the new building, great music, delicious food and more!

For other events and opportunities to get involved, visit the Beach United Church website.

Beach United's new building is making headlines!

Toronto Star article: "Green Renovation transforms Beach United"

Beach Metro News article: "Beach United Church reborn after multi-year renovation"

Opening day is Sept. 29th!

Mark your calendars for Sunday, September 29th. That's when we celebrate our first service in our newly renovated church. Join us for the opening ceremonies at 10am, followed by worship service at 10:30am. All are welcome!

Here are some recent photos of the building:

The view from Wineva Avenue, looking north-west.

The approach to the main entrance. Gardens are being planned
for the flowerbeds.

The easy to find, very accessible main entrance.

Bike racks!

It's almost ready!

Here are some photos taken at the end of July. Our renovated church is looking good!

UPDATE! Our first service in the new space will be held Sunday, September 29th. Join us for the opening ceremonies at 10am, followed by worship service at 10:30am. All are welcome!

Here's where that first service will be held, in the worship space on the upper floor:

Looking west: you can see the glass-walled meeting space and 
nursery area along the west wall. 

Looking north-east

Looking south-west

Looking south-east

Food - preparing it and sharing it - is very important to us at Beach United. We designed the kitchen to make it easy for people to cook together, whether they are enthusiastic amateurs or skilled professionals.

The kitchen will have lots of room and light.
New, commercial-grade appliances have been installed. 

An efficient dishwashing station, to make it easier to clean up
after cooking and serving.

Meeting space is important to us too. We designed lots of multipurpose space that can be used by different groups.

This is the meeting space located on the west wall of the worship space.
The glass partitions can be pulled back if overflow space is needed
for large gatherings in the worship space.

The large meeting room on the main floor has adjustable partitions,
to create two smaller meeting spaces if needed.

The main floor has flexible, functional office space for the ministers and administrative staff:

Here's what you'll see when you walk along the main floor corridor, approaching the stairs that lead up to the worship space:

On the right are the sliding doors that open up into the meeting room
The kitchen and elevator are located at the end of the hall, past the stairs.

Finishing touches are underway

Here are more photos of our renovated building, taken in early July. The finishing touches are being put into place and next month we'll be moving back in! Our first worship service in our renovated building is scheduled for September 8th.

Paving stones have been laid outside the front entrance on Wineva Avenue.

This shows the front entrance, looking from the inside out.

The ceiling is being installed in the administration office, located
on the main floor near the front entrance.

This is the meeting room, also located on the main floor. It will
have a retractable dividing wall to create adaptable space
for smaller groups.

The kitchen cabinetry has been installed. The pass-through window
shows the view from the kitchen down the main floor corridor.

The entrance to the upper floor worship space can be seen here.

A good view of the southeast corner of the worship space,
and its beautiful chandeliers.

The nursery area is in the northwest corner of the worship space,
behind a partition.
You can also see the oak flooring that has been laid.

On the home stretch

A lot of progress has been made this spring, and we are now in the home stretch for our new Beach United Church. Construction will be completed this summer, and we are planning to move the administration offices into the building in August.

The first worship service is scheduled for Sunday, September 8, 2013. Mark your calendars and join us to celebrate our new home!

Here are photos taken earlier this month. Let's take a tour of the building, starting at the front entrance on Wineva Avenue:

The southeast corner of the building now has large windows at ground level,
revealing the lounge area just inside the main entrance.

This view shows the lounge windows, looking out.

The administration area is next to the lounge area on the main level.

The multipurpose room on the main level will have an adjustable partition,
so it can be divided into two smaller meeting rooms when required.

At the west end of the main level is the new kitchen, with windows looking south.
The kitchen has been designed to accommodate community meal preparation,
professional catering and cooking classes for adults and children.

A staircase on the south side of the building leads to the upper level.
You will also be able to access this level with an elevator.

This shows the beautiful ceiling and new light fixtures in the assembly space
on the upper level. This space will be used for worship services, performances,
banquets and other large community gatherings.

A closer look at one of the windows on the upper level.

The upper level also includes a meeting room (shown here),
a nursery and a servery.

Even the tiling in the washrooms is beautiful!

Beautiful new photos

We have lovely new photos to share, courtesy of Marie Black of Black & Moffatt Architects.

First, some views of the sanctuary space on the 2nd floor. You can see the platform where the organ pipes will be installed at the west end of the space.

This view shows the main floor corridor that runs from the main entrance on the building's south-east corner to the kitchen and stairs at the west end of the building:

The view from the south edge of our property:

Happy New Year!

Here are some photos taken just before Christmas by Bob Torrance, one of the volunteers on the HOMe project.

Work on the site is progressing well. Much of the work is taking place inside, where plumbing, mechanical and electrical systems and fire protection are being installed. Once that is completed, the drywall will go up and a clearer definition of the rooms will be visible.

New windows have been installed on the north and south walls of the 2nd floor.

This space will be the nursery area on the 2nd floor, near the sanctuary space.

This shows the main corridor on the ground floor, looking east.

Here's the new electrical switch gear. Main power will be hooked up in January.

The roof is 90% complete.