Aurora United Church
“Your leadership was integral to our site renewal process.
We are very grateful to have had your expertise combined with sensitivities to our unique needs as a faith community. We have never felt pressured or rushed through the process; we moved forward only as we agreed that there was mutual understanding. ”
Aurora, ON
Aurora United Church shares a prominent 3 acre site on Yonge Street with Amica Aurora Retirement Home above a single level of parking. The parties have entered into a unique 99-year Land Lease arrangement.
The need to redevelop arose out of a tragic fire that destroyed the heritage church which was originally constructed in 1878.
Murphy Partners was initially retained by the congregation of Aurora United to assist with its efforts to rebuild. This assignment followed years of specialized consulting work for the United Church of Canada, assisting the national body to evaluate the real-estate development potential of dozens of church properties across Canada.
A search for a developer to finance and execute the construction of the new Church led to the eventual involvement of Amica, who wasa client of Murphy Partners.
Significant effort and design ingenuity went into gaining the necessary planning approvals for this major development in a sensitive Heritage District neighbourhood and in balancing the functional requirements of two very dissimilar client groups.