Deer Park Church

The Deer Park Presbyterian Church building was designed by Sharp and Brown Architects and completed in 1912, with later additions in 1931 and 1961. The congregation vacated and deconsecrated the church in 2008, and a redevelopment process was initiated in 2010, with approval in 2015. Designated under part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act in 2010, and subject to a Heritage Easement Agreement, the building is a companion to the designated and adaptively reused Imperial Plaza to the east.

ERA was engaged as Heritage Architect in 2010, working with Diamond Schmidt Architects as project lead. The site strategy carefully considered the building’s cultural heritage value and its contribution to the surrounding context, leading to an unconventional conservation approach: removing a portion of the roof to transform the church’s interior into a public outdoor courtyard. The new courtyard maintains the original scale, volume, and sense of enclosure of the former sanctuary. Open to public access, the courtyard is the focal point of a new landscape, with trees and paving, that extends to the street on the west, accessed by new stairs and a ramp that replace a parking area. The exterior landscape is heavily planted and provides a park-like setting for the building.

The conservation treatment for the site centred on rehabilitation. Key heritage features were meticulously restored; extensive cleaning and repair of stone and matte-finished terra cotta, replacement of slate and copper roofs, refurbishment of historic lighting, wood doors, and stained glass. The grand north doors were refinished and fitted with custom bronze hardware to match the originals, while the west aisle windows were transformed into doors to the raised courtyard, and open-air tracery screens fill the space with light and air. These new ways of experiencing the building enable full public access and appreciation, while also supporting the two new uses on site.

A new dramatic two-storey frameless glass wall was constructed to enclose the north part of the church, now used as a restaurant and event facility. Overlooking the courtyard, the glass wall provides transparency and continuity between the retained interior and the courtyard. The original plaster vaulted ceiling was maintained at the balcony, which has a new level floor. This space features the preservation of the WWII memorial north window by Yvonne Williams, and a new glass-enclosed ramp in the east aisle provides accessible access between interior levels.

Looking from the street on St. Clair, the former church building looks unchanged, but from the adjacent Foxbar Road, you can look through the tracery openings to the courtyard and the stone wall of the Imperial Plaza building beyond. From the courtyard, you can see both the memorial window and the stone tower. These new ways of experiencing the building enable full public access and appreciation, while also supporting the two new uses on site.