Century-old church to be sold, possibly replaced by condos
By Drake Fenton, OTTAWA CITIZEN June 26, 2013 7:07 PM
OTTAWA — It was the birthplace of Vanier’s francophone community and was the home of secret societies and Christian paramilitary groups, but when the 105-year-old Saint-Charles Church is put up for sale this fall, a reminder of all that history might be replaced by condo buildings.
The church has been vacant for the past three years and while the building hasn’t officially been listed for sale, according to Kevin Beach, a vicar with the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Ottawa, the parish responsible for the church has asked to sell the property.
Beach would not discuss who might be interested in the site, but the development company Domicile has expressed interest in purchasing the building. Domicile is building a 10-storey condominium building on Beechwood Avenue, three blocks east of the church.
“We are interested in the site and have no information about who else might be,” said Domicile’s senior vice-president David Chick in an email. “We are not ‘in discussion’ with the church, but we have been in contact with the Archdiocese to let them know we are interested when they are ready to sell.”
It might be too soon to say whether condos spring up at the Saint Charles site, but according to a city official who was involved in the planning process, two years ago there was a plan to preserve a portion of the church’s architecture to be used as a mixed-used space, with condo buildings wrapped around the perimeter.
But negotiations with the developer broke down because of a “personal” reason, the city official said.
“The parish committee looked at some projects,” Beach said, “But it didn’t work out. Let’s just put it that way.”
But now, Beach said, he doesn’t believe that any of the church’s structure will be kept. “I can’t imagine a developer wanting to keep that building on the site,” he said.
The possibility of the church disappearing has some Vanier residents worried.
“We don’t prefer one type of project in particular, but the only important thing is the preservation of the building,” said Yanick Labossière, the exhibition manager at the Vanier Museopark. “If only the front of the church can be saved, we can live with that. We want to preserve the history of the church and the significance it has for Vanier.”
Labossière explained that the church helped to create and maintain a lasting francophone community in the Vanier area. He said the church’s former priest François-Xavier Barrette created the Order of Jacques-Cartier, a secret society based out of Saint Charles and dedicated to defending Canada’s francophones. The all-male society dissolved in 1965, but at its peak it was estimated to have more than 11,000 members across Canada.
Despite its history, Labossière said, the church was never designated a heritage location because it went through massive interior renovations in the 1960s that disqualified it from heritage status.
And renovations are at the root of the problem today. The principal reason the church is being sold is because of upkeep costs.
“The church costs a lot of money to maintain,” Labossière said. “The renovations needed to get the building up to date would cost more than $1 million.”
Those costs paired with an expensive listing price — a real estate agent who has sold properties along Beechwood said he estimates the church will be listed somewhere near $2 million — have other Vanier residents considering their options if the church is demolished.
“The development opportunity for a condo isn’t a bad thing,” said Janak Alford, a designer for a non-profit company who will be presenting at a Vanier community meeting Wednesday night on different ways the church could be redeveloped. “These developments can become significantly richer if we think how we can make a community within the building itself.”
Alford said a new development can still carry on the tradition of the church as a community gathering point. He said the options are wide-ranging, from installing a space where local events could be held to creating an artists’ loft where residents can display their art.
But Labossière is not sure any of that could make up for what would be lost.
“This would be devastating for Vanier’s francophones,” he said. “This church is much more than a brick structure. It represents the memory of a people that has long had to fight for its survival.”
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