Oct. 6, 2024
The former Faith Lutheran Church is destined to be resurrected as supportive housing in Rosedale thanks to a unique sale agreement that supporters hope could be replicated elsewhere in the city.
The congregation vacated its nearly 65-year-old King Street East home during the pandemic amid a wider amalgamation of four Hamilton-area houses of worship into what is now Trinity Lutheran Church downtown.
This month, the church sold the 9,000-square-foot building and land for about $1.2 million — half the appraised value — to supportive housing provider Indwell, with the Hamilton Community Foundation stepping in to handle the mortgage.
The below-market sale price — and “favourable” mortgage terms — effectively allows Indwell to leverage more than $1 million for planning and pre-development work for an eventual affordable housing project on King east of Kenilworth Avenue, said agency head Jeff Neven.
Without those partnerships, “we wouldn’t have been able to go ahead with the project,” said Neven, who toured the former church with The Spectator after the sale closed this week.
It’s still too early to say how many apartments will end up in the project. Neven cautioned construction is still likely years away given the lineup of eight different Indwell builds already underway or in planning in Hamilton.
The fate of the existing, stained-glass-fronted former church is also still up for debate.
Indwell has a history of adaptive reuse projects, but has also partnered successfully on a new apartment build on James Street North that features affordable housing on top and space for James North Baptist Church on the ground floor.
Neven said Indwell will talk to neighbours first and spend some time exploring the possibilities, but noted the location is “perfect” for housing given its proximity to transit, a grocery store and pharmacy.
“We’re in a housing crisis,” he said. “We’re going to take the time to determine how (this project) can have the most impact.”
Right from the start of amalgamation conversations in 2018, local Lutheran Church members were adamant at least one of their former spiritual homes would become literal homes for residents in need, said Trinity Rev. Jordan Smith.
“There’s always some sadness to losing a place that was an important home to people,” he said. ”(But) everyone was always very behind the housing partnership … You see the need in the community. For so many of our congregations this is a huge issue, addressing the housing need.”
Historically, Smith noted congregation members who emigrated from Europe after the Second World War also had help from their pastor and fellow churchgoers in finding homes in Hamilton.
“It’s sort of embedded in their DNA, that the church should help with housing.”
Selling the King Street East property also gives the 90-plus Trinity congregation the ability to proceed with eagerly awaited redevelopment plans at its downtown hub at 104 Hughson St., he noted.
It’s the kind of “wonderful story” the community foundation would love to see repeated, said president Rudi Wallace.
“It’s a story of the community coming together to find a way forward that makes sense,” said Wallace, who noted the foundation has committed $50 million over a decade to leverage affordable housing construction or preservation.
It cannot fund every project that deserves support, he noted. But conversations with “willing partners” are always welcome.
“If (other) churches are wanting to do that, give us a ring … We’ll try to find a way,” he said.