Kitsilano Anglican Church hits the market for almost $12 million
The Anglican Church has decided to sell St. Mark’s in Kitsilano where no Anglicans have worshipped for five years.
St. Mark’s Anglican at 1805 Larch sits on three lots with a 150-foot frontage along West 2nd. Total square footage of the corner site is 17,700 sq. ft. The asking price is $11,998,000 according to a listing for Colliers International.
Rev. Richard Leggett said the diocese has a number of vacant properties where congregations have declined to the point that they can no longer sustain the building.
The diocese looked at them all to determine which ones it would sell and which ones it would keep in case it ever re-established an Anglican ministry on any of the sites.
“St. Mark’s was one of those properties which we determined that it was highly unlikely that we would ever re-establish an Anglican congregation in that location,” he said.
Leggett is chair of the trustees at St. Mark’s. He’s also the priest at St. Faith’s Anglican Church at 57th and East Boulevard in Vancouver.
The Colliers International promotional brochure points out that the property is “strategically located” on the city’s west side within walking distance of Kits Beach and pool.
“Kitsilano is one of Vancouver’s most prestigious residential districts,” Colliers says about the neighbourhood.
The congregation that used to worship in St. Mark’s moved east and merged with St. George’s to form a new congregation called St. Mary Magdalene.
“Anglican congregations rely on the funding support of an actual worshipping community,” Leggett said. “In 2012-2013, it became clear that there was no longer a viable community to support the (St. Mark’s) building.”
The building has housed community groups on one-year leases. A Tenth Church congregation started worshipping in St. Mark’s on Sundays three years ago, Leggett said. Tenth is a Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination.
Leggett said other Anglican Church properties for sale in Metro Vancouver include St. Edward in Richmond, St. Margaret of Scotland in Burnaby, and St. Monica’s in Horseshoe Bay.
Money from the sale of St. Mark’s will go into the church’s Consolidated Trust Fund which uses proceeds to extend Anglican ministry into the community.