TEMC Mission Statement
"The Toronto East Masonic Centre,
while facilitating the goals of Freemasonry in the GTA, shall
benefit the whole fraternity and community at large."
Latest Project News
10-24-2011
Meeting minutes from TEMC
Committee Meeting on October 24th 2011
now added to the website.
Click Here
Questions, Comments or Concerns?
You can contact any of the chairmen of the Project Teams whose email addresses can be located here.
Welcome to the web site for the Toronto East new Masonic Centre (TEMC) development and construction project.
On this site you will find information regarding the project underway which aims to develop a new property for the use of Freemasons in Toronto. This is the largest and most comprehensive Masonic building project currently underway in the province of Ontario. This web site aims to keep the stakeholders of the project and interested parties informed and up to date. We hope that the information provided on this website will answer as many of your questions about the TEMC as possible.
We hope you find this website useful and welcome your feedback.
Some highlights of the planned new facility:
- The new Masonic Centre will be a 24,000 sq ft facility, called the Toronto East Masonic Centre and will support the goals of both Freemasonry and its concordant bodies.
- A large state-of-the-art auditorium
- Two distinct Masonic Lodge rooms
- A beautiful and well appointed banquet room with modern kitchen.
- Masonic library and museum
- Refreshment lounge
- Classrooms
- Daytime meeting rooms
- Modern and spacious washrooms
- Ample storage and change rooms
Toronto East Masonic Centre Q&A
As there have been many questions regarding this project, we will attemp to answer some of the common questions below. You may find other information to your questions thorougout this site, you can also ask questions directly to the TEMC project teams, with their contact details found on the Project Teams section of the website.
These are the 10 most common questions about the project, click on the links for more information.
- Why is it necessary to move?
- Is the Scarborough Masonic Temple going this alone?
- When did the Scarborough Temple Sell?
- What happens if we have to move before our new building is built?
- Where will our new building be located?
- What are we looking for in a new location?
- Will we have enough money to buy the land and build a new building?
- What will happen if we don’t have enough money?
- What do we want in our new building? What will it include?
- Can I help?
1. Why is it necessary to move?
Both the Scarborough and East Toronto Temples are over 50 years old and don’t meet the current needs of today’s lodges. Because it will be expensive to achieve the necessary changes for both temple buildings, it now makes sense to consolidate the two and develop a modern new Masonic home.
2. Is the Scarborough Masonic Temple going this alone?
No. The East Toronto Masonic Temple located at Chisholm Avenue is in a similar position. At a joint meeting of the two Temple Corporations in January 2010, both corporations decided to liquidate their assets and join in developing a new Masonic Centre for East Toronto. We are also exploring partnerships with other, non-Masonic, organizations that would be compatible with us and the site and help defray the development and on-going operating costs.
3. When did the Scarborough Temple Sell?
An offer we received in March 2010 finally resulted in the sale of the building on June 30th 2010. The purchase price of $3.1M was slightly more than expected and provides a solid financial base upon which to build our new home.
4. What happens if we have to move before our new building is built?
See 3. Above. This has in fact happened with the speedy sale of the Scarborough Temple the resident Lodges and Concordant bodies have had to seek temporary homes. Chisholm Temple, Doric Pickering Temple, York Temple and Thornhill Temple all opened their doors to accommodate the members from Scarborough.
Even our Grand Master saw fit to grant dispensation for the Lodges which chose to move to York Temple to meet outside their District.
5. Where will our new building be located?
No location has been chosen yet, though many potential sites have been viewed and reviewed over the past few years. The planning has progressed to the stage that we now have several clearly defined objectives in view. The new corporation is a reality and the interim Board of Directors are close to agreeing on a By-Law #1 which will allow the newly nominated Board of Directors to govern the assets of the TEMC, choose a location and implement a plan for our future Masonic home.
6. What are we looking for in a new location?
- Accessibility to public transportation
- Highway visibility
- Proximity to the 401
- Cost of the property
- Suitability of the site and structure (if any) to accommodate our very specific needs
7. Will we have enough money to buy the land and build a new building?
This question presupposes that we will build anew. And yes, the research so far suggests we will receive more value from a new build as compared to a renovation of an existing structure.
This said, we are budgeting $1.6M for land, $1.5 to $2M for the base building and up to $1.5M for, as Bro Graeme Boyce so eloquently frames it,” the accoutrements.”
That’s a total budget of $5.1M.
Followig sale and disbursements for both Scarborough and Chisholm Temples we expect to still have a short fall of a little over $1M.
8. What will happen if we don’t have enough money?
Over the next few months you can expect to be asked to assist in building the new structure by contributing both time and money to helping make the vision a reality. A committee is in place to develop fundraising ideas and they will be presenting many opportunities to contribute to the success of the structure financially and have some fun doing it.
Some of the ideas discussed include two Grand Balls one to coincide with the Ground Breaking ceremony and one for the Topping Off ceremony. These will be black tie affairs of a kind never before seen in our jurisdiction.
In addition, we are planning a golf tournament which will be infiltrated by some well known celebrities, just to make the day interesting.
Debentures are currently being offered at $1,000.00 each and bearing interest at a rate equivalent to the big five banks.
Finally, there are plans underway to sell stone blocks (bricks don’t cut it), every Mason will have an opportunity to purchase a ROUGH ASHLAR which will entitle him to receive regular email updates as the project progresses.
9. What do we want in our new building? What will it include?
A committee of interested Masons had been meeting in the SMTC Board room during the later part of last winter. The purpose of these meetings is to discuss the new structure and decide what we want to see included in the building. So far we have discussed including two Lodge rooms, banquet halls and a library which will include some form of snack bar or small restaurant. There has been talk of making the building accessible to local community groups and incorporating a museum into the public areas.
Many good ideas have been put forward which now need to be explored and brought to fruition.
10. Can I help?
Of course you can!!! Contact a member of the TEMC Board using the email link below. We welcome your interest, ideas and involvement in this truly magnificent undertaking.
So far we have determined the name for the facility, a mission statement and a logo.
Did we answer your question?
If not you can send us an email to temcquestion@torontoeastdistrict.com
