Plans unveiled for former Trinity United Church site

DARRYL KNIGHT The Standard

UXBRIDGE: More than a year after a tornado devastated parts of Uxbridge and led to the demolition of Trinity United Church, plans were recently presented to council for future development on the site.

At their meeting on Monday, Oct. 23rd, councillors were presented with plans for development on the site following the demolition of the historic church earlier this year. Carly Forrester of Kindred Words, the development arm of the United Church of Canada made the presentation to councillors. Over the course of her deputation, she led councillors through the proposal, which is slated to include a pair of six-storey residential apartment buildings - one fronting onto Main St., and the other set in the middle of the property as well as a low-rise community centre, which would front onto First Ave.

Honouring the legacy of Trinity United Church in the community, Forrester explained that the proposed buildings would feature several architectural elements carried over from the church including arches and brickwork, as well as the design of a common area between the buildings which would be styled to be reminiscent of the church’s iconic rose window. While Forrester explained that work is still underway on the design of the proposed community centre, she noted that it will include some form of a church area.

According to the presentation, the proposed buildings would offer 105 units, with a target of one-third of the units to be priced below market value. In total, 58 of the proposed units would be one-bedroom suites, a further 43 would include two-bedroom and four would offer a three-bedroom option.

“We have worked to respect and emulate some of the existing targets that the downtown plan has within this new building,” added Ms. Forrester. “We’re trying not to recreate or mimic the church, but respect the heritage and respect what was there with some of the features.”

Councillors were enthused with the project and praised the design team for their work to listen to the input of local residents.

Replying to Ward 3 Councillor Zed Pickering’s question about traffic flow in and out of the complex, Ms Forrester explained that the majority of residential traffic would utilize Main St., while the First Ave. access would be primarily limited to visitors and users of the proposed community centre.

Ward 5 Councillor Todd Snooks suggested that the developers look at including a setback starting at the second storey of the apartment building - in particular for the building fronting onto Main Street rather than the current design which would have the building facades extending straight up.

Deputy mayor and Ward 4 Councillor Willie Popp highlighted the key details of the project and noted that it is an excellent example of what future developments in downtown Uxbridge could emulate as the town embarks on revitalization efforts in the area.

“To have some features that allow us to remember the past and an unfortunate incident, I think is great,” commented Councillor Popp. “As we look to revitalize our downtown area, this is a prime example of the kind of attention to detail, is something we would like to see moving forward.”

Prior to making a detailed motion to accept the proposal, which included a provision to allow a height of six stories and forwarding the proposal to both the Downtown Revitalization Committee as well as township staff for further discussion, Regional Councillor Bruce Garrod praised the work done to date and the efforts to build something new in the wake of the destruction left behind by the tornado in May of 2022.

“I couldn’t be more excited about this. If any good can come out of a horrible situation, this is it,” added Councillor Garrod before councillors unanimously endorsed his motion.