Stoney Creek church needs new home

Asking about $2.8 million for its building at 1 King St. W. after plan falls through

Members say Stoney Creek United Church has started the process of finding a new home. Council chair Doug Caldwell said the historic church is up for sale after an idea to address change last year presented too many challenges.

“Everybody feels bad about leaving behind an old home, but there are changes in life and this is one of them,” he said, adding the church was put on the market through Colliers International.

The church — which is asking about $2.8 million for its more than 23,000square-foot building at 1 King St. W. — was exploring a plan to compensate for lower attendance and increasing maintenance costs last summer.

Its strategy included replacing the building with a smaller one and adding affordable housing to the site through a partnership with Hamilton East Kiwanis Non-Profit Homes Inc.

Caldwell said the idea was to remain in the community and take care of young families, but the plan started to hit a few obstacles. There was concern about acquiring the needed rezoning — institutional to residential, he said.

Caldwell said there also was some doubt around the project’s economic feasibility. Hamilton East Kiwanis Non-Profit Homes Inc. staff worked all of the numbers in terms of how many apartments could fit on the site and the view was that it was “less likely than likely that the project would be financially viable,” he said.