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Stoney Creek United Church explores plan to downsize, put in affordable housing

Jul 04, 2017 | by Laura Lennie



Stoney Creek United Church hopes to address changing times and assist young families.

The church is looking to replace its building with a smaller one and add affordable housing to the site through a partnership with Hamilton East Kiwanis Non-Profit Homes Inc.

Council chair Doug Caldwell says the church’s “nest is emptier than it was.”

“We don’t have the capacity and resources to maintain such a large building,” he said. “This would enable us to remain in the community and take care of our neighbours in the process.”

Stoney Creek United Church – originally a Methodist church – became one of the first united churches in Canada in 1925 at 1 King St. W.

Caldwell, who’s been a member for 17 years, said he doesn’t know how many parishioners attended the church in the early days, but 400 people were going to its services in the 1960s.

That doesn’t happen anymore at Stoney Creek United or most protestant churches, he said.

“Before I became a member here, I was at other united churches and I believe numbers began to drop in the 70s and that trend has continued on,” Caldwell said. “The church is seen by many as exclusive, judgmental, privileged. It’s seen as a lot of things that it hasn’t anymore.”

Stoney Creek United has about 150 to 200 parishioners today.

It also needs an estimated $400,000 in repairs.

Caldwell said to compensate for lower attendance and increasing maintenance costs, the church had two choices: sell and relocate or downsize.

“Our members want to stay in the community and they know downsizing is the only thing we can do,” he said, adding they also “overwhelmingly” support adding affordable housing to the site. “Housing is critical – it’s the No. 1 thing for people at the bottom and it’s also the No. 1 thing for people in the middle. We’re here to help in any way we can.”

Hamilton East Kiwanis Non-Profit Homes Inc. executive director Brian Sibley said the church and Kiwanis have a mission in terms of the people they want to serve.

“The reason it works is because we’re looking at affordable housing for families – that’s who we are – and it’s one of the biggest needs in the community,” he said. “We know that we have the assets to build and incorporate the church’s part of it, and what they bring to table is the land.”

Sibley said Kiwanis already has acquired the services of a developer.

The next step is a feasibility study, followed by a rezoning application and the site plan process, he said.

“The rezoning will take a while – I would assume a year – so we’re probably talking 2020 before we would be ready to open the door,” Sibley said. “The current building would need to be demolished and then we’d be looking at maybe a six or seven-storey building with a number of family units in it. The church would have a portion of that building – probably integrated within the building – it would be a church space and community space.”

Caldwell said he’s hopeful the city will approve the zoning change, so the church can move forward with the plan.

“It’s really up to council, whether we’re able to do this,” he said. “I think council certainly believes in affordable housing and I think unless there’s some sort of huge groundswell of opposition stronger than the notion that people need a place to live, than we have an obligation to help our neighbours. I have a lot of trouble thinking of anything stronger than that, but what will be will be.”