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The Berkeley Church at 315 Queen St. E. has been a film studio, a place for work parties and a concert venue. Now it's going to be the country's first all-green music venue, kicking up a notch its appeal to bands who, in addition to their desire to rock out, feel kindly toward the planet.

But the church is only the starting point. Its owner, Doug Wheler, a dapper 70-year-old man who dons checkered plaid shirts and reveals a straw-sized space between his two front teeth when he smiles, has plans afoot for the old Wesleyan Methodist building that will look to boththe past and the future.

Mr. Wheler is in the midst of expanding his five distinct party locations to seven, including two whimsical venues mostly completed, as well as developing an ambitious green condominium project that could be groundbreaking in this city.

To get the green certification for his projects, Mr. Wheler's company, Plumtree Group Projects, signed on last week with the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit organization that encourages buildings to minimize their environmental impact. Buildings are rated on a point-based system, receiving a LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, certification. (Roughly 8,000 buildings worldwide are certified.) Mr. Wheler's determined wish is that his complex, when developed, will be registered "platinum" LEED.

To become LEED certified, the church itself is buying used materials - steel, doors and windows - from Priestly Salvage, which obtains them from demolition sites.

"The fact that [the church]is old and heritage puts us in a good position, so we don't have to change too much," said Mr. Wheler. "We are in very good shape." But there will be some alterations to come. For instance, in the new year, the heating in the basement kitchen used for catering parties will be changed from gas to solar hot water.

Mr. Wheler bought the old building in 1995, and turned it into one of the most happening places in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood, holding both public and private events, hosting everyone from Dave Eggers to Courvoisier, from the World Wildlife Fund to Spacing magazine. Coldplay, Sam Roberts and Juliette Lewis have all crossed the threshold of this old house of worship.

By going green, the church may now have a greater chance of luring big acts such as these on their altar-cum-stage, as rock tours are increasingly jumping on the enviro-bandwagon, riding in ethanol-fuelled tour buses or using recycled-paper ticket stubs. "We're slowly but surely greening it," he said.

Mr. Wheler is expanding the hipster party vibe to the Field House, a building located in the old lumberyard next door to the church. He bought the property in 2003, just after it closed, to use for storage. Now it's being cleared out to become a venue for corporate events and concerts. While the top two floors are still in the works (solar panels are being installed on the 3,000-square-foot, second-floor roof deck), the bottom floor is finished and has already been host to a number of events since it opened in October.

Not only is Mr. Wheler getting in early on the green scene, he is also looking back, part of the trend of celebrating the city's history that's starting in this district, which once used to house our parliament buildings. In 2009, the 175th anniversary of the incorporation of the City of Toronto will see an ambitious exhibition of Toronto artifacts on display at St. Lawrence Hall.

Although a playful project, the Taddle Creek Treehouse, sitting in the branches of a big oak tree in the Berkeley's backyard, fulfills a serious purpose. The 25-seat Treehouse, painted aqua, will act as an homage to the creek that once ran from Wychwood, down Bedford Road, to the Distillery District. Like many of the water courses in this city, it was eventually buried to make way for housing. In the summer, the Treehouse's capacity will expand to 100 as it makes use of an outdoor deck.

Mr. Wheler's biggest, most ambitious project to date, though, is his projected green condo, which he intends to take to the city's planners in a few weeks time. The condo plan, which will "envelope and enshrine" the church, contains 200 units on 20 floors, and will both expand on his green thinking and retain the complex's history. "We're keeping the 1871 church totally intact," he assures. Two floors of the prospective structure will be devoted to a boutique hotel, in which, among many interesting initiatives, Mr. Wheler says, "We're putting in a rather glorious spa with a lap pool that extends over Queen Street."

But the best part? In a bid to marry green trends and historical ones, the condo will formally recognize the significance of machines on two wheels.

"The bicycle is important to the culture of the church," says Mr. Wheler, noting that, not only do they help reduce emissions nowadays, they contributed to the emancipation of women at the turn of the century.

Future condo owners will be invited to be members of the 1871 Berkeley Bicycle Club. "We're hoping the neighbourhood will take part," Mr. Wheler adds. "We want to be inclusive."

With all the green projects on the go, Mr. Wheler is a poster boy for the future. "You can't look behind the times but ahead of the times," he says. "You have got to strive for green."

In LEED we trust

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is a point-based system in which projects earn LEED green building certification. In each of the six credit categories, projects must satisfy particular prerequisites. The categories are Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Innovation in Design. The number of points the project earns determines the level of LEED certification the project receives. Certification is available in four levels: certified, silver, gold and platinum.

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