Historic 1871 Ontario Church Raises Asking Price… from $1

With its 150th anniversary approaching, St. Jude’s Anglican Church is up for sale. Constructed in 1871, the nearly-11,000-square-foot brick building was named a national historic site in 1993, but shut its doors in 2015 when parishioner numbers dwindled and upkeep became too expensive for the diocese. The church was purchased in the summer of 2016 by Andrea Murik and Nick Dushko, who bought the property for $400,000. They severed off the adjoining church rectory and sold it for $374,000, with the intent of renovating the church and living in it. “It’s like a beautiful castle,” said Dushko. “I figured let’s try it out.”

With 10,874 square feet, St. Judes has a lot of space, but the $1 price is actually the starting bid. According to the listing, the church is a “development opportunity to re-purpose this beautiful building close to the downtown core. Interested parties to do due diligence with regards to rezoning/future use.”

According to a 2016 story in the Brantford Expositor, the building features an array of stunning stained glass and murals, but the building itself requires some major renovation and restoration work. In fact, the church was in dire need of care and estimates for repairs to the bell tower and mural restoration were estimated at more than $250,000. While the property received several offers, realtor Ray Rodrigues revealed that “none quite reached what the seller’s minimum requirements were.” As a result, the sellers have now re-listed the church at a new price: $399,999.

The interior of the church showcases the artwork and murals, which require some extensive renovation work, as paint has been lifting off them, and, as the Brantford Examiner reported, “earlier attempts at cleaning [the murals] had created additional damage.” When it appeared as if Brantford City Council would be adding protections to the church’s historic elements that would make buying the place prohibitive, the owners threatened to remove the heritage murals and woodwork. “Nobody was sure what they could do to the building,” said the building’s co-owner, Andrea Murik. “We felt like our backs were up against the wall. With a historic designation especially on the interior, it made it very difficult for anybody to repurpose the building.”

As the national register explains, these are no garden-variety murals. “The church is distinguished by its striking interior, painted in 1936, which features a series of painted murals and decorative motifs influenced by the Arts-and-Crafts movement and modelled on the work of the movement’s founder, William Morris,” notes the entry for St. Jude’s. However, if city council went through with plans to add protections, added Murik, “we felt we had no choice but to secure the value here and that would involve removing the historic features that would be designated. As far as removing, I mean it’s our property, right? We were still within our rights at that point to do whatever we needed to do to the property. We were trying to avoid that.”

Along with the enormously high wood ceilings, the church features a number of custom-designed stained glass windows. But back to the Arts-and-Crafts-style murals, which are historically significant as being the “only known example in the country so clearly reflecting the designs of the movement’s founder, William Morris… The murals and painted decorations enhance and are in turn enhanced by the medieval-inspired architectural features of the church’s interior.” In an interview with CBC News, Brantford City Councillor Greg Martin (among the majority who voted not to add additional heritage protections) added that he’s hopeful whoever purchases the church will preserve and restore the unique aspects of the church. “Hopefully they’ll find a buyer that wants to preserve those features,” he said.

Parking won’t be a problem for whoever decides to purchase St. Jude’s, as the property includes this large paved parking lot at the rear. Meanwhile, Murik told CBC News that the highest offer they received was $60,000, which is more than she and her partner have already sunk into renovation. “I can see it had the potential. At one time it was beautiful,” she said, but added that they came to realize that restoring the property to its former glory was beyond what they could afford.

The church also includes this spacious banquet hall, with its own stage, and flooring that appears to be linoleum tile.

Presumably the former church office, there’s even a fireplace (although the new owner will likely want to do something about the red carpet and wood panelling). As for why the local Anglican Diocese decided to sell the church in the first place, it had to do with the cost of maintaining and restoring the property, including the murals. “The diocese has no resources to staff or maintain it,” Canon Paul Rathbone of the Anglican Diocese told Brantford city councillors in 2016. “We want to sell it to further our ministry. There are structural challenges with the building and we’re looking to sell because that would enable us to support other churches.”

The kitchen looks fairly typical for what you’d expect to see in a church basement, but it has all the accoutrements, including double ovens, twin sinks and a staggering amount of cupboard space.

There’s also a large recreation area in the basement, a perfect solution for those times when you’re overcome with the urge to play some impromptu floor hockey.