Toronto Estonians celebrate KESKUS construction milestone

Toronto’s Estonian community is marking the construction of its new KESKUS cultural centre with a multi-day festival, although the building is not yet complete, ERR reported.

The festival was originally planned to celebrate the opening of KESKUS, which is being built in downtown Toronto. Because construction has fallen behind schedule, the community is instead marking the project’s final stretch.

The centre was expected to open in August, but work is still under way. The original target was 2022.

Project manager Ellen Valter said the pandemic, sharply higher construction costs, supply problems and technical issues had delayed the project.

“The plan was actually to open in 2022, so the schedule has shifted. We really were supposed to be ready for Restoration of Independence Day. We are making a real effort now to finish the construction work so that we can hold Christmas celebrations and welcome the New Year in a newly opened centre,” Valter said.

KESKUS has cost 56 million Canadian dollars, or about 35 million euros, making it one of the largest undertakings by Toronto’s Estonian community. The project has been funded through the sale of the former Eesti Maja building six years ago, private donations, and support from the governments of Estonia and Canada.

The sale of the old building prompted mixed feelings in the community. Although it was far from downtown and outdated, it held decades of Estonian community history.

Veiko Parming, chairman of Toronto Eesti Maja, said leaving the building had been emotionally difficult but necessary.

“The old Eesti Maja was our home for a very long time, throughout the period when Estonia was not free. It was the place where everyone who lived here came together. So it was very difficult to leave the old Eesti Maja. But the building was no longer in very good condition, and we had to move forward. Now we have a new Eesti Maja,” Parming said.

The new centre will include a concert hall, library, classrooms, offices and a restaurant. The community hopes the downtown location, in the centre of Toronto’s cultural life, will bring Estonians together under one roof and attract more young people through improved accessibility.

After years of waiting, organisers hope to open KESKUS by the end of the year.