Durand heritage property threatened
August 18, 2006

St Mark's Church. The city purchased the property in 1994 to prevent it, and the greenspace around it, from being replaced by another high rise tower in the park-starved Durand neighbourhood.

The historic St Mark's Church at Bay and Hunter appears headed to the auction block. The city purchased the property in 1994 to prevent it, and the greenspace around it, from being replaced by another high rise tower in the park-starved Durand neighbourhood. But staff have not found another use for the 129-year-old building and have now laid out a set of final steps leading to offering it for sale on the open market.

Senior heritage planner David Cuming warned members of the city's volunteer municipal heritage committee (LACAC) that "this is a pretty critical time" for the heritage structure, and advised the committee "to communicate with people in the community" about the likely fate of the church.

In a report presented to last month's meeting of LACAC, Cuming outlined the condition of the building, and the "probable course of action over the next twelve months".

The first step will be "a final call" for proposals to purchase and re-use the existing structure and grounds. That has been tried before without success, and staff say any alternative they have investigated would cost more than the market value of the church. Cuming told the committee that if there are "no sound or acceptable proposals", city departments will be asked if they can make use of it, after which "it will be offered for sale on the open market".

The report notes that a private buyer may seek to demolish the existing building. The city paid $425,000 for the property in 1994. An attempt in 2000 to sell it to a controversial religious group for $350,000 fell through.

Local residents have argued that their high-rise neighbourhood needs the open space, and that argument helped convince the city to make the original purchase of the 0.3 hectare property in 1994 after the Diocese of Niagara proposed a 10-storey seniors apartment building.