Downtown San Diego Condos: What about the churches?

Sharyn Crown of Crown & Crown writes:

 As our downtowns change so will the urban usage change.  Lucky for us, so much of downtown San Diego is becoming newer rather than older.  However, we are still going to have some of our older buildings change and we need to think of how to use such buildings in an ever-changing world.

Glebe Lofts in the old Riverdale Presbyterian Church

One such possibility is changing older churches into some sort of downtown living space.  The Glebe Lofts located in Toronto, Canada are a wonderful example of how change can refresh what is old to what is new.

The Glebe Lofts were originally the Riverdale Presbyterian Church which was designed by Toronto architect J. Wilson Gray, and built in 1912.

As church attendance declined, the members had to decide how to keep their church but also cut down on their costs.  The solution was to take the addition/expansion that had been built in 1920 and sell it to a developer. 

The developer, Mitchell & Associates took the church and divided it into 32 individualized condo.  Each unit has a minimum 2 stories, private balcon, garden or rooftop terrace.  The developer was able to keep the original vaulted ceilings and exposed trusses and modernized by adding skylights.  Parking was developed underground and due to the original city location, these condos are located close to a subway stop. 

This is an idea whose time may come to many cities in the near future.  What do you do with these older buildings, many of the churches?  Do you just demolish, or do you expand your world and create something wonderful as with the Glebe Lofts. 

If you would like to see more "old into new" read te Urban Land Institute's October issue of UrbanLand.

This is a series of articles by Sharyn and Victoria Crown, Downtown San Diego realtors.