Tyndale expands its territory
TORONTO, ON—Tyndale University College and Seminary is poised for another growth spurt.
The institution, headed by president and vice-chancellor Brian Stiller, finalized a $40-million deal June 29 that will see the school acquire 22.8 hectares (56.3 acres) of prime Toronto real estate and facilities adjacent to their present property.
The Morrow Park property on Bayview Avenue is currently home to Morrow Park High School as well as the Sisters of St. Joseph of Toronto, a Roman Catholic religious order that describes its mission as "love of God and love of neighbour."
A 500-seat chapel that Stiller describes as perhaps "the most beautiful church built in Canada in the 20th century," is also part of the property.
The transaction will be implemented in stages over a period of 10 years, allowing for the expiration of the high school's lease in 2010 and the relocation of 100 members of the Sisters of St. Joseph to a new home.
Describing the property as "arguably one of the most beautiful campuses in Toronto," Stiller says the purchase allows Tyndale to move its witness "from the back street to the main street.
"It's a symbol and a sign to ourselves, to the Lord and to the wider community that we're serious about engaging our society with the wisdom and the presence of Christ," he says.
While serious negotiations took about a year, Margaret Myatt, general superior of the Sisters of St. Joseph, says the deal grew out of a deeper relationship."We've been good neighbours for quite some time. [Brian] Stiller and I got together informally for coffee over the last two or three years.
"We were having a conversation one day and he just said that if we ever wanted to relocate, they would be interested in talking to us."
For his part, Stiller calls the process "probably, for me, the most satisfying and complimentary journey I've made with anyone in my life" and describes the sisters as "people of extraordinary generosity and goodwill."
Both Stiller and Myatt describe the transaction as one initiated and led by the Holy Spirit.
Stiller says negotiations were guided by four basic principles; "that together we would seek to ensure that the facility would continue as a witness to Christ in the world, that the sisters would get a fair price, that we would seek to minimize [the disruption] during their transition to a new home and that we would get a fair price."
Quiet phase
Tyndale is now in what Stiller describes as "the quiet phase" of a $58 million capital campaign; $40 million to cover the property purchase and an additional $18 million to cover the costs of retrofitting, furniture and investment in programs. He expects to have the entire amount "covered by cash and pledges within a two-year period."
The school will begin using parts of the facility that are not currently occupied by the sisters during the coming year.
As for the enormous capital campaign ahead, Stiller professes a "gentle confidence that the Lord has led.
"My sense is that it's going to be hard and it's going to be a lot of work, but people will say 'This is an opportunity we dare not lose; a moment we must not miss.' It will allow thousands of people to be nurtured and educated in Christ. And people are already saying, 'We're on board.'"
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