The conversation about the fate of St. Giles continues in this weekend’s Spectator. On behalf of the Friends of St. Giles, I spoke with Teviah Moro for his story about new UPRC proposals to redevelop the site where St. Giles Church is located (85 Holton Ave. S). Stay tuned for more detailed commentary and response from the Friends of St. Giles.
Update: read the story with a Toronto Star subscription here.
Update, May 2022: UPRC is now Kindred Works.
St. Giles is owned by the United Church of Canada, and has been left abandoned since a merger in the mid-2010s — raising concerns in the community about demolition by neglect.
Designed in 1912 by Stewart & Witton, the former St. Giles Presbyterian is an ACO Building At Risk and is nominated to the National Trust for Canada’s Endangered List. It has twice been recommended for emergency heritage designation. New Vision United Church acquired St. Giles through a 2014 merger, and continues to claim that they must destroy St. Giles to fund Centenary, their designated church downtown.
In February, I wrote an op-ed about the Connolly and the lasting community trauma of demolition. You can also read my reporting about St. Giles here and my December op-ed here.
Spectator print edition: “Condo tower needed to restore St. Giles, forum told” (Jun. 12, 2021, A7) | online: “Forum told condo tower is needed to restore historic Hamilton church”
The Hamilton Spectator (est. 1846) is published by Metroland Media Group, a division of Torstar.
Images: United Property Resource Corporation
Sarah Sheehan 