There are claims that the state of our Estonian House has reached a point of no return. Some say Chester Public School’s heritage status is an overwhelming burden, dwindling usage by Estonians negates having a large building and that the neighbourhood is not attractive anymore. These points are presented to discount the viability of 958 Broadview. However, Tulge Külla uses each of those characteristics to benefit the revitalization plan for our current location.
From the Broadview Avenue curb straight through to the multi-leveled view of the Toronto skyline, our Pavilion is designed to welcome visitors in with the smells, sights and sounds of our culture. With an elegantly proportioned eatery facing the sidewalk, through the heritage portion of our original House, straight on back to the smaller event spaces and grand hall incorporating outdoor viewing decks in the rear, our Pavilion will have lots to offer. A shared larger kitchen facility on the upper levels will allow caterers to support events in the grand and smaller halls. Our food service partners will not only be anchor tenants but also a calling card to our Pavilion with a fulltime restaurant featuring seating areas facing the Toronto skyline.
The picture above was taken from a 6 story elevation to demonstrate a view across the Don Valley. Tulge Külla plans a multi-leveled terraced exposure so visitors can experience one of the best views of the downtown skyline.
Our community pavilion will support multiple streams of weekday and weeknight recurring anchor tenancy. Classrooms, training rooms, conference rooms or other multi-purpose spaces are being planned to attract secondary, specialty, alternative, vocational or other educational institutions. Alternative education providers have already been identified as potential anchor tenants. Additional spaces will service clubs, events and other community programming for additional recurring weekend rentals or long-term, contracted leases. Facilities that can be “shared” by parties over weekday and weeknight tenants offer opportunities to maximize recurring income.
In addition to education-oriented facilities, the larger halls, meeting rooms and eateries planned can also compliment small business tenants, executive administration offices and other long-term commercial leases. These tenants may also want to rent and access meeting rooms, presentation areas and other shared facilities on a periodic basis.
Providing visitors, clubs and our own users access to a small sports facility with training equipment and expanding the shooting/archery (“lasketiir”) range can provide additional revenue opportunities. Facilities will also be made available to other ethnic organizations, local community clubs, dance and arts groups as well as sports and aerobic organizations for recurring tenants. Non-recurring, contracted usage will continue to focus around clientele such as: theatre production companies, conferences and other special events.
Church congregations looking for a new home may find their answer in a naturally lit, meditational space sculptured and accented with wood that reflects our homeland and traditions. A place where weddings, baptisms, confirmations (leers) and celebrations of life can bring people together to share their joys, sorrows and their faith.
This location has the benefit of a subway station and frequent bus service right outside the doors with a major expressway almost below our feet. Parking with convenient and safe drop-off and pick-up zones for children and seniors will continue to be here.
Broadview is a very mature neighbourhood, close to downtown without being in the congested centre of the city. The popular Danforth area is a comfortable walking distance away as are many popular facilities that have benefitted our community for over 50 years.
With a viable, sustainable vision for a revitalized Estonian House on Broadview our neighbours should be more engaged to help support the community pavilion envisioned as part of the Broadview Development Plan.
A 6 storey Estonian House offers greater diversity in revenue models, provides greater economies of scale and mitigates our collective risk.
More details to follow.
Steering Committee for the Tulge Külla
