Leap of faith

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This article was published 08/04/2019 (2407 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

After two centuries of building churches, schools and hospitals, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of St. Boniface is taking a leap of faith by jumping into the property-development business.

The diocese is partnering with real estate developer Discovery Homes in Leola Village, a 40-unit condo development on the site of the former French parish Notre-Dame-de-l’Assomption in Transcona, diocesan financial administrator Richard Fréchette said.

“We have a hand in building something that will look good in this neighbourhood and also do something good for the parish,” he said.

If the project proceeds, the A-frame two-tone brick church on Leola Street, which closed in 2016, will be demolished to make room for three 10-unit condo buildings.

A fourth condo building is planned for the northern edge of the property, now the site of the former parish’s community hall.

Fréchette said the blue metal-clad hall is being rented by the Manitoba Provincial Rifle Association, and plans are to demolish it for the second phase on the housing development once the lease expires in four years.

“It was really a place for the community, so there are lots of happy memories there,” he said of the hall, which hosted wedding socials and other community events for decades.

“The main purpose of the hall was to serve the parish and to serve the community.”

Declining attendance and changing demographics in Transcona led to the parish’s closure and the inside of the 1962 church has already been stripped of pews and other religious fixtures, Fréchette said.

The proposed three-storey walk-up contemporary condo buildings will face Leola Street, with similar setbacks as the neighbouring single-family houses, Gordon Gray of Discovery Homes said. The development includes shared green spaces, garden areas for residents, a lockable bicycle storage and parking for 46 cars.

Each building will include 10 open-concept units, ranging in size from 730 to 1,000 square feet, all with private balconies. The two third-floor units will feature front and back private terraces.

Fréchette said the $6-million project has minimal risk for both the archdiocese and the developer, since it will only go ahead once six of the 10 units are sold in the first building.

One-bedroom units are expected to carry a price tag of about $200,000, and two-bedroom units about $250,000, Gray said.

The archdiocese will maintain ownership of the land until the condos are sold, and then will sell the lot to Discovery Homes. The property includes the church building and a large surface lot along Leola Street, with a frontage of about 250 feet.

“The trigger will be pulled once we have enough deposits,” Gray said, adding his company is in the process of applying for building permits and may start construction this summer.

If the condos don’t sell, the archdiocese will retain ownership of the property and explore other options, Fréchette said.

The English-language Blessed Sacrament Roman Catholic Church and its parish hall, both located west of the former French parish, are not part of the proposed development.

Fréchette declined to say what the expected profit will be for the archdiocese, but noted the partnership with Discovery Homes is more lucrative than just selling the vacant church and adjoining parking lot. Proceeds from the sale of the land will be distributed among area parishes according to canon law, Fréchette said.

“The diocese isn’t allowed to close churches and take the money,” he said.

The condo development will provide affordable first homes for a younger demographic or housing for Transcona residents looking to downsize, Regan Archambault of Century 21 Advanced Realty said.

“Quite likely, the people who are purchasing here are already in the neighbourhood,” she said, adding she will set up a sales centre in the empty church within the next month.

If this is successful, the archdiocese will consider future development projects with other properties, Fréchette said.

“We do have surplus lands,” he said.

“We’re wanting to see if we could develop those to bring additional revenue to the archdiocese.”

brenda@suderman.com