A century-old church along Alberta Avenue is hoping to transform part of its land into an affordable housing project focused on seniors and families — and now has the funds to get started.
With cracking foundations, St. Faith's Anglican Church is already going to have to rebuild much of the building. But with a new program launched by the City of Edmonton and Edmonton Community Foundation, the church is looking to enter the affordable housing market to provide living spaces.
Faith Lands Affordable Housing Incentive
Using the City's Faith Lands Affordable Housing Incentive to assess the building, Reverend Travis Enright said he's hoping to take down much of the building — while keeping the inner sanctum — and use the land and parking lot to build a five storey multiplex to house 40 families. Residents will not only have affordable rent, they will also be a stone's throw away from the church and the services it provides.
Of its $2 million available, the Faith Lands incentive provides up to $135,000 for faith-based organizations to navigate the initial paperwork for a housing initiative, particularly the required feasibility and environmental studies which can eat up funds before a project is even approved.
A Mission of Neighbourliness
"Our mission is not necessarily to proselytize people, our mission is to be neighbourly," said Reverend Travis Enright. "Our mission is to care, to show love and compassion. The way we do that is making sure our buildings are used for that. Not just on Sunday — what is the church doing the rest of the week? It's reanimating these spaces."
Building a community is important, said Enright, because of the loneliness epidemic. "We want it so there's as much community engagement as possible," he said. "So people aren't living in isolation in boxes — they can come and have a whole set of experiences, engage their spirit, engage their physicality and their emotions."
Declining Churches Repurposing for Community Good
Faith-based organizations have been declining for decades, with 4,300 churches shutting down between 2009 and 2018 and another 9,000 expected to close by 2035. Many are re-assessing their roles in the community and trying to find new ways to contribute.
Right at Home Housing Society executive director Marisa Redmond said she's helped two congregations with similar projects and encouraged more to get on board. "When you're building affordable housing, you're building it for the people who reside there," she said. "When you're pairing this with a faith-based community you're building a microcosm in the community itself. We have the opportunity to do community space along with the housing. These projects give that additional benefit to the community. There's tons of them out there we can do, and I think they can turn out really well if we invest the right amount of dollars and time into them."
