Church relocation creates possibilities on Eighth Street
A church on Eighth Street is on the market for $7.5 million as its congregation moves closer to occupying a new space in Lakewood.
Elim Pentecostal Tabernacle will put the proceeds of the sale toward its new facility on Slimmon Road, said senior pastor Marvin Wojda.
The church on the corner of Eighth Street and Moss Avenue, which was built in 1976, started to reach its capacity in the 1990s, Wojda said, and Elim's congregation approved the purchase of 10 acres of land in Lakewood in 2005.
"We started really feeling the pinch of the size of the facility and probably the design of the facility, too, in a sense," he said. "It was designed for a smaller congregation and it was designed to function well for the church in the mid- to late-'70s, and it was fairly functional up until the mid-'90s or so."
The pastor hopes the location of Elim's current church will help draw interest from potential buyers. If the 224,025-square-foot property sells for more than its list price, the extra funds will also go toward the new facility. The nearby Elim Lodge senior's residence is not included in the sale.
"We didn't come up with the price arbitrarily. It really is based on what the values are up and down Eighth Street. I think it will be the largest piece of property on Eighth Street that has come up for sale in several years," he said.
Ken Suchan, vice-president of Colliers McClocklin Real Estate Corp. and Elim's real estate agent, said although the property has only been on the market for a few weeks, potential buyers have expressed interest.
The only drawback, he said, is the church's RM4 zoning for high-density residential. The City of Saskatoon, however, is open to proposals for site redevelopments that are outside of the zoning requirements, Suchan said.
"They (the city) haven't told us exactly what they will do, but they've said, 'If you have an idea that you think will work, then we'll have a look at it,' " he said.
Businesses such as banks, hotels and restaurants may be considered for the site but something such as a nightclub wouldn't, Suchan added.
Plans for Elim's new church, meanwhile, are in the design phase, with the congregation hoping to move into its new space in 2010. Wojda said the Lakewood facility will be about 60,000 square feet in size -- about double the footprint of its current space -- and will include seating for 1,800, an auditorium and a full-size gymnasium.
Wojda said Elim's new church is being designed with the community in mind.
"In that area, (Lakewood) there's really no available gymnasium . . . so we really have planned this facility with the community in mind because we've had feedback that would be something that's really desirable."
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It would be cool to see some high density res. development happen here, I'm really sick of the strip malls on eighth so hopefully that doesnt happen.
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