Revered real estate

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/10/2021 (1509 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Oh, God — what a listing.

A 124-year-old convent in St. Jean Baptiste — the oldest Roman Catholic convent in rural Manitoba — hit the market this week for $625,000.

But it’s not a conventional convent: this one underwent a conversion in the mid-1990s, when it was sold and subdivided into nine residential suites, making it the community’s only rental apartment complex and despite its name, quite an unconventional property indeed.

“No, absolutely not,” said realtor Cheryl Demarcke, who’s handling the deal for the current owner. “I have never sold a convent before.”

The Convent of the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary was built in 1897, designed by renowned architect J.A. Senecal, who served as mayor of St. Boniface a few years later as well as president of the St. Jean Baptiste Society.

Located on Rue Caron, the community’s main street, the Old Convent, as it’s sometimes known, is an example of the Second Empire style of architecture, a common approach used in turn-of-the-century French Catholic structures in the province, according to the Manitoba Heritage Council. Originally, the building was used as a convent by the Sisters, who first arrived in Manitoba in 1874, with its residents living in large, shared rooms that one day would make it a natural apartment building. Later, it became a girls’ boarding school, an educational centre, a music school and an infirmary, before being sold on the eve of its centenary in 1994.

After that transaction, the building’s owner developed the convent into a residential rental property, making updates to the facility while maintaining features which would help it become a provincially protected heritage site in 1997: decorative exterior brickwork, interior millwork, wooden banisters, dentil mouldings, the wooden cross and date plaque on the front pediment and more. Many original doorknobs even remain.

After 10 years, with the building consistently full, the owner sold to the one who is choosing to sell it now, a person Demarcke said owns several older buildings and is opting to sell off parts of their “collection.” The owner didn’t buy it as an investment, rather a showpiece of sorts, but nonetheless has made facility upgrades including a new metal roof to replace the original cedar shingles and an upgraded boiler system.

Throughout its history, the old convent has been an object of pride for the community, which has retained its French Canadian heritage: at the time of its original sale, some locals called for it to become a museum, a tea room or a gift shop, but the buyer saw potential as a rental apartment block, something the community of over 1,000 lacked.

Demarcke said that the building makes sense as an investment, considering it has been “cash-flowing” since its conversion, and is also a timely one to consider. Many buyers are looking at the area as an opportune spot to settle down, considering its close proximity to Winnipeg and to Highway 75, a roadway she said is well-maintained throughout the winter.

“Real estate here is changing,” said Demarcke, recently elected the president of the Morris Area Chamber of Commerce, which represents nearby St. Jean Baptiste.

Some reasons for that include the bang for buyers’ bucks: larger homes with larger lots sell for less than in cities like Steinbach or Winnipeg, the latter of which has until recently been plagued by lack of supply. As well, the area has been connected to high-speed Internet within the last few years, something which was a sticking point for some potential buyers in the past.

Compared to before the pandemic, Demarcke, an agent for Royal LePage Dynamic Real Estate and based in Morris, said interest from buyers outside the area has increased by nearly 100 per cent. She said some potential investors from Winnipeg and Steinbach have shown interest in the old convent, which represents an uncommon investment opportunity in the area given its classification as an apartment building.

The building is adjacent to the community’s elementary school and is near all the town’s major amenities, Demarcke said. The top floor of the building — a five-bedroom penthouse unit — is where the school children slept, and like every other unit, is currently leased. Rents range from $550 to about $800 for the other units, and the building has consistently been profitable.

As buildings like it usually are, it’s also been the source of local folklore. “I have heard from some who used to live there and a few who used to take music lessons there when Grey Nuns still occupied the building that the nuns have been seen in mirrors,” Demarcke said, with a healthy dose of skepticism. “The current tenants who I have talked to have not reported any of this.”

The ghost stories don’t seem to have scared off interest: within two days of the listing being posted, Demarcke booked 14 showings with prequalified buyers, about half of whom are from Winnipeg. Offers are expected to come in today.

“I believe this building represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said Demarcke, polishing off an age-old real estate chestnut.

This is probably one of the only times it’s true.

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca