Church converts school into seniors’ apartments
NIAGARA FALLS, ON - Thanks to a significant grant and some creative thinking, Glengate Alliance Church has converted a financially-draining investment into new homes for seniors.
Glengate bought a 108,000 square-foot high school on Valley Way for $2.2 million in November 2004. The congregation raised $900,000 in less than six weeks to buy the 10-acre property, complete with two green houses, a football field, three kitchens and an 8,000 square-foot double gymnasium.
Shortly after the sale was completed they discovered the former vocational school had an aging, expensive, gas-fired boiler heating system, no air conditioning, little parking and a 40-year-old roof well past its 30-year life span.
The dream to rent out a large portion of the facility to the government didn't happen. This left the church with large costs and growing debt.
“When I first arrived in 2007 I was writing monthly mortgage payments for $15,500," says pastor Jake Birch. He adds that together with annual natural gas bills of more than $30,000, hydro bills totaling $20,000 and maintenance costs in the tens of thousands of dollars, the building was sinking the church financially.
So Glengate set up Valley Way Non-Profit Housing Corporation (VWNPHC) Inc. in 2008. The church then sold the building for $1 plus all the debt to VWNPHC and applied for funds through the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing Program.
The $4.08 million federal and provincial grant let the church transform classrooms into 34 affordable housing units for seniors. Each unit has one bedroom, an open concept kitchen and large windows. The apartments are accessible with four designed specifically for those with handicaps. Residences were occupied on July 1.
"Providing affordable housing to seniors from both our church and community is part of what we believe it means to truly be a family," says Birch. "We care not only about the souls of those in our community, but about their daily livelihoods as well."
The VWNPHC Board has several other phases on the drawing board. Birch says another seniors' phase would most likely be a life-lease, assisted-living facility where residents will be able to receive a level of personal care consistent with their needs.
The project left 75,000 square-feet of the building for further development. Birch says the church wants to keep 50,000 square-feet for its own use, but is open to anyone with a vision for Christian education for the other 25,000 square-feet.
"The space is more classrooms and would be suitable for a daycare, Christian school or college or university," says Birch.
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