Our New Home – Renovation Updates

After three years of not being able to occupy the building, we invite you to a 10:30 am “soft launch” at 473, complete with stories, celebration rituals, and singing! Be sure to bring a flower (if you have some readily available) to celebrate our annual Flower Communion service.

Every day, new things happen at 473 Oakwood!  Here are some photos of the fixtures ready to be installed.

This week, our staff team visited 473 to see the progress and begin making plans for how to use specific spaces. Check out the photos showing work on the east windows, bathroom tiles, sanding the sanctuary floor, and getting ready to close in the ceiling.

On Tuesday, February 11, there were 37 tradespeople on-site at 473! They were making things happen with drywall, wiring, concrete, welding, glass, insulation and more.

The excitement starts now! I’m back from a visit to 473 Oakwood and a lot has progressed since just before Christmas.

Statement from Tanya Cothran and Chris Lee, Co-Presidents of the Board of Directors at FirstU;Presented at the Congregation’s Annual Fall Meeting on 27 October, 2024 Presentation of First U’s financial situation In a few minutes we will be asked to vote on a budget for the remainder of this fiscal year. Before that I’d like to share a few updates on FirstU’s current financial situation and what it means going forward. First, Where are we now? We’ve heard some positive news: We’ve run a clean audit again. This speaks to the incredible work of our volunteer financial team, and about the combination of systems ...

I’m at our site at 473 Oakwood. I’m standing in the long hallway that heads from the east side of the building, behind me, to the west on Oakwood Avenue.  But what’s exciting is that now, I can walk out this back door,  and start to see our new east hall taking shape.

Two big holes at 473 Oakwood show the progress of heavy construction this month: all of the west second floor windows facing Oakwood Ave. have been removed, making room to install our floor-to-ceiling windows and our stained glass panels; plus we now have a hole where our new lobby stairwell will take shape.

473 is buzzing from top to bottom this month, with a new roof covering going on, and new foundations being prepared, plus a staircase taking shape between floors.

Two big holes at 473 Oakwood show the progress of heavy construction this month: all of the west second floor windows facing Oakwood Ave. have been removed, making room to install our floor-to-ceiling windows and our stained glass panels; plus we now have a hole where our new lobby stairwell will take shape.

Presentation from Karen Dunk-Green at our Annual Spring Meeting, covering Timeline Milestones, Schedule Risks, Construction Risk, Financial Status, and Next Steps.

Read other posts about our renovation A note from Karen Dunk-Green, Chair of the Renovation Task Force, recorded May 7, 2024 Watch the video. Karen shows the progress on the second floor and the ground floor. The spaces are being defined by the framing and soon they’ll be covered in drywall to create all of the new rooms. We’ve moved from pouring over hard-to-imagine floor plans to standing in actual defined spaces – hooray! Come the fall, we’ll be able to invite more people into the building for tours, wearing our handy slip-on foot protectors and hard hats. Stay tuned.

Recorded April 1, 2024 (but seriously, not a joke!) Karen introduces some of the important professionals who are working to make our vision a reality, including architects (from LG Architects), and the site superintendent, project coordinator, and project manager (from Flat Iron Building Group). Watch the video.

This report includes discussion of the scope of the project, its finances and architects renderings of the main spaces. Construction documents for tendering are now complete and the four-week tendering process has begun. We are waiting for some permits from the city.

This report includes discussion of the scope of the project, its finances and architects renderings of the main spaces. Construction documents for tendering are now complete and the four-week tendering process has begun. We are waiting for some permits from the city.

This report includes discussion of the scope of the project, its finances and architects renderings of the main spaces. Construction documents for tendering are now complete and the four-week tendering process has begun. We are waiting for some permits from the city.

Architect’s preliminary renderings of our new home

This report includes discussion of the scope of the project, its finances and architects renderings of the main spaces. Construction documents for tendering are now complete and the four-week tendering process has begun. We are waiting for some permits from the city.

This report includes discussion of the scope of the project, its finances and architects renderings of the main spaces. Construction documents for tendering are now complete and the four-week tendering process has begun. We are waiting for some permits from the city.

After many months of planning, estimating and revising, the renovation of 473 Oakwood is actually underway! We still have final estimates to obtain and financial hurdles to address. Nonetheless, we are taking the first physical steps toward having our new home ready  in early 2025.

After many months of planning, estimating and revising, the renovation of 473 Oakwood is actually underway! We still have final estimates to obtain and financial hurdles to address. Nonetheless, we are taking the first physical steps toward having our new home ready  in early 2025.

Read other posts about our renovation We invite you to participate in Project 473, First’s Capital Campaign. Your contribution will help First build a modern, accessible, and environmentally sustainable new home and a much-needed community space at 473 Oakwood Avenue. Learn more about our journey to 473 Oakwood and Project 473.

Our last in-person service at 175 St Clair West was held on Sunday, June 5, 2022. Our stained glass tower was dismantled and put into storage soon after. We moved out of this building at the end of June. We will move into our new home at 473 Oakwood Ave in early 2024. In the meantime, we will hold online services for the summer and move to hybrid services (in-person and online) starting in September at Oakwood Collegiate Institute.