Toronto church to be converted into a live music venue

Feb 8 2022, 4:18 pm

A church in the east end of Toronto is set to become a new space for music venue Hugh’s Room Live, thanks to a $2.2 million loan guarantee from the City.

During its meeting last week, Toronto City Council agreed to a loan guarantee for Hugh’s Room to purchase the historic Broadview Faith Temple Church at 296 Broadview Avenue.

Hugh’s Room lost its previous space at 2261 Dundas Street back in March 2020, after operating in Toronto for 20 years. The music venue is now in the final stages of negotiating the purchase of the church property, according to a City Council report.

“In addition to preserving an important heritage building, Hugh’s Room is committed to the principles of diversity and inclusion in its programming, while providing a venue to support a full range of teaching and community uses as well as being an important cultural and music-centred hub for the entire City,” the report reads.

Hugh’s Room has already secured more than $2.2 million in donations and vendor take back loans, the City says, but requires an additional $2.2 million in financing to secure the purchase and close on the property before March 31, 2022. The motion to grant the loan guarantee received unanimous support from City Council.

Built in the late 19th century, what is now known as the Broadview Faith Temple Church was designed by famed architect EJ Lennox who also designed Old City Hall and Casa Loma. It has been used by a series of religious bodies since it first opened in 1894 and was added to the City’s heritage register in October 2012. It was last listed for sale in 2018 with an asking price of $3,488,000.

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