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400 Northfield Drive West | 4 fl | Proposed
#16
(09-25-2021, 11:50 PM)nms Wrote: I wonder if there would be an option for the church to sell condos with the caveat that they be resold to the church at a fixed price in order to keep them somewhat affordable. I would wonder if the church hadn't worked out an arrangement to keep some of the condos in church hands which would mean that they could be used as affordable rental units.

My wife grew up in St. Philips church on Woodhaven.  They had excess land, and it was sold to a developer for the purposes of being a retirement home that was to be called St. Philips Place.  The developer re-sold the land to another developer who built for profit houses.  I'm sure it was a breach of contract, but the church didn't have the funds to sue, even if that was a possibility.

Its one of the reasons we sold the St. Marks property to a group that only does affordable housing, despite the fact we likely could of got more selling to a condo developer.  The lawyers confirmed that once you sold the land, you have no say in what happens there.

Coke
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#17
(09-27-2021, 10:45 AM)Rainrider22 Wrote: It is a shame that you see it like this.  Many churches have strong out reach programs simply to assist others.

Many do, but certainly all do not. The assets of the Catholic Church, for example, are incredibly vast compared to its purely charitable activities -- or its support for residential school survivors. And I won't even mention the (less mainstream) churches that have vastly enriched their founders.

So, it would have been good if this particular church had explictly planned and committed to build affordable housing. They did not, and we don't know what their motivations were for this decision. We likely won't find out, either, since their books are not public.
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#18
(09-27-2021, 02:23 PM)tomh009 Wrote:
(09-27-2021, 10:45 AM)Rainrider22 Wrote: It is a shame that you see it like this.  Many churches have strong out reach programs simply to assist others.

Many do, but certainly all do not. The assets of the Catholic Church, for example, are incredibly vast compared to its purely charitable activities -- or its support for residential school survivors. And I won't even mention the (less mainstream) churches that have vastly enriched their founders.

So, it would have been good if this particular church had explictly planned and committed to build affordable housing. They did not, and we don't know what their motivations were for this decision. We likely won't find out, either, since their books are not public.
From my personal experience it is typically local independent churches that do the most community work. I am religious but I'll be the first to admit I'm not a large fan of massive religious organizations such as the Catholic church which could and should do far more in their communities. 

I cannot speak for anything more than my church personally, but they have done and incredible amount of work in the region, from building their buildings at the outset to double as community centers, to programs to tackle hunger and homelessness. Even helping local families who cant afford Christmas gifts for their children get something from their wishlist and so on. Our church doesnt even send an offering plate around, it relies solely on peoples voluntary donations through their website. Again obviously this is not all churches, in fact it's hardly enough of them, but I can assure you my church is a force for good with no strings attached. I believe any church that actually follows and believes the doctrine they supposedly subscribe to, would do community work no strings attached because at the end of the day that's what it's ultimately about, being a force for good in your community
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#19
You bring up very important points. My church is part of a larger synod that gives it the ability to do some significant out reach but nothing compared to the size of the Catholic church.
Also to your point which I didn't even think of because I just take it for granite. We support a morning breakfast program for kids who go to the neighboring elementary school. We provide parking for the school and parents to pick up children. We provide rooms and space at a very minimal charge for many community groups, fitness groups, Scouts and Girl Guides, Kumon, etc...

It just shows you what a church can do for their community at a local level on top of the benevolence provided around the world.

Thanks for pointing that out Bjays93...
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#20
Construction has begun on the south-east side of the property. I assume where the new church will be built before the old one is demolished?
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#21
Updated article in the record for 410* Northfield Drive West:

https://www.therecord.com/local-waterloo...ed_for_you

Looks like this development is called Arbour Park stacked towns and is actually a project by Cook Homes and Zehr Group, not HIP Developments as previously noted.
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