Historic Halifax church future in doubt after falling into disrepair
A historic Catholic church in Halifax is facing an uncertain future after falling into disrepair.
The Archdiocese of Halifaxyarmouth is not able to say when or if Saint Theresa’s Church will reopen after it was closed five months ago due to high levels of mould inside the church. More environmental and structural assessments were completed on the church, turning up further structural issues, said the diocese in an email to Saltwire this week.
The church sits on over an acre of prime real estate. The property borders North and Dublin streets and is assessed at over $3 million.
The diocese says the property is not for sale.
Pat White lives across from the church on Seaforth Street and is concerned about what the future holds for the property. He says he’s worried that the land will be sold to a developer and the church will be replaced with a sprawling building nobody in the neighbourhood wants.
“I’d like to be consulted about what’s going to go there as opposed to being told what’s going to be there. That’s my main concern,” said White.
The diocese says that Saint Theresa’s belongs to a parish with three other Halifax churches whose futures are also being assessed. They include Saint Patrick’s Church (Brunswick Street); Saint Catherine of Siena Church (Bayers Road) and Saint Stephen’s Church on Normandy Drive.
“In January 2024 the (Saint Francis and Saint Clare of Assisi Parish) leadership began a process of consultation and prayer with parishioners to determine the future of the parish’s resources and their ability to best serve their communities,” said the dioceses. “This process is ongoing.”
According to the parish website, the church held its first mass on Christmas Eve in 1931. The parish decided to put a fence around the church for public safety, said the diocese.
Whatever is in store for the property it won’t happen overnight. The property is zoned institutional which means a multi-unit apartment building can’t be built on the site. The classification allows for smaller structures, including a rooming house, shelter, government offices, library and spectator venues.
“We would like to know what would go on the site; we want something that would fit in the community and that would work in the community.”
Pat White
But that doesn’t mean that the property can’t be rezoned. A buyer wanting to build a multi-unit apartment building could apply to the city to have the property rezoned. Alternatively, a developer could potentially have the property designated a special planning area by the minister of municipal affairs. The application would first have to go through the Executive Panel on Housing before being approved by the minister.
Regardless, people in the neighbourhoods are getting nervous, says White. A seven-storey apartment development is being built a few doors down from the church on the corner of North and Oxford streets. Ardmore Hall — a historic stone building — was torn down to make room for the development.
“We would like to know what would go on the site; we want something that would fit in the community and that would work in the community,” said White. “That means consultation.”