Through My Lens: Central Presbyterian Church

And now, for the Fifth Sunday of Lent, here’s something completely different.

This is Central Presbyterian Church. It doesn’t look like much of a church, does it? But that’s what I love about it.

The congregation has been active in the West End for more than 90 years and about a decade ago, they were coming to the realization that they were land rich, cash poor. Something had to be done with the aging building they’d been in for more than 35 years. It wasn’t by any stretch a heritage building — I would describe it as more of a concrete bunker, built in the Brutalist style that was in vogue at the time.

Central Presbyterian could have sold off their lot to a developer, but the congregation decided instead to go through the rezoning and development process themselves. This 23-storey building, completed in 2018, is the result.

There are retail and community spaces on the ground floor. Above that is a 300-seat sanctuary, a 50-seat chapel, other multi-purposes spaces, and a commercial kitchen. The tower consists of three floors of social housing and 15 floors of market rental housing. The income from those rental units funded the construction and now funds the social housing.

Several church communities in addition to Central Presbyterian worship in this building. There is also a daycare run by the YMCA.

All of that adds up to a congregation that takes its role as a community church quite literally.