Demolition of Gothic Arches

Stone Church Hall demolition

The work to take down the hall at the stone church has begun.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/stone-church-hall-saint-john-1.3325906

Cathedral Restoration

The Cathedral on Waterloo Street is one of historic churches whose steeples form part of the Saint John skyline. As our historic buildings age, many congregations are not able to keep their buildings in working order.

The Catholic Diocese of Saint John and their contributors are working to restore the landmark Cathedral.

 

On the project website, the Diocese explains that the goal of improving their building is not the end of their journey. The site explains:

Transformation of the “Waterloo Village” area will become a catalyst for further improvements to the city core, including

• Integration of social justice and community outreach services.
• Expansion of the area’s community care services already in place.
• Re-purposing the former St. Vincent’s High School building.
• Revitalization of a residential neighbourhood with respite and elder care facilities and safe, desirable and affordable housing.
• Attracting new business and tourists and fueling economic growth.
• Bringing residents and visitors back to the area.
  Significant positive historic, cultural, heritage and environmental impact.

Outflow continues work repurposing old Church Building

I had a chance to check out the old church building on Waterloo Street that Outflow has been using as a homeless shelter since some major renovations over the last year.

Outflow turned the lower levels into the shelter and are working on turning the upper floor into a large assembly space.

The work they have done is substantial and is exciting to see as someone who is curious to see what old church buildings can become. It is good to see this building being put to a use that will help out people in the community.

Churches for Sale

Last night on CTV there was a segment about various churches for sale around the city of Saint John.  The story explains that there are at least a dozen churches for sale and that this number has climbed in the last year.

While not included in the story, it is worth noting that several church properties have been repurposed in recent years:

• Waterloo Street Baptist will become the Outflow Men’s Homeless Shelter
• The former Baptist church on Danells Drive is now home to the Mosher Chedore law firm.
• While the church came down Safe Harbour is building a youth shelter on a former Anglican Church site in the south end
• When Main Street Baptist moved to its new location and rebranded as River Cross they did not leave their old church empty, instead they kept up a wide variety of community service mission work in the space in the north end
• The Gothic Arches sold after years of redevelopment speculation.

Heritage renovation– St. Andrew and St. David

Scaffolding used for repairs at the Church of St. Andrew and St. David.

Main Street Baptist Church

Photo of their now complete new building:

Main Street Baptist Church

Photo update on March 8, 2013:

Main Street Baptist Church

Construction on January 19, 2013:

Main Street Baptist Church construction

I thought that a photo update of a church being built made sense as a Christmas post:

Main Street Baptist Church

New construction progress (December 8, 2012):

New north end church building

Main Street Baptist Church is building a new church building on Forbes Drive in the north end.  Here are some photos from the construction: