DANIEL CAUDLE

News Record

Dwindling membership and repairs estimated to cost over $150,000 are facing the congregation at St. Paul’s Anglican Church, leading to its closure in June.

But the property could be repurposed as a retirement community, with enough room to accommodate over 100 people, according to plans proposed by churchwarden Ken Van Riesen.

Van Riesen is seeking to acquire the church’s land. Although the 184-year-old structure would be demolished, he says he would be saving the stained glass that adorns the church’s prayer room.

The land is centrally located, and Van Riesen says he wants to use the property for something that would benefit Clinton for decades to come – a retirement village.

Blueprints depict a four-storey structure with 60 to 80 rooms for single or double occupancy.

“There are a lot of retirement homes in Huron County that do not fit the needs of the people who live there and creates a living situation which does not favour its residents,” said Van Riesen. “The design I have will include design aspects that will benefit those who choose to call this home.”

Included in his blueprints are a library, pub, church, art room, exercise facility, woodworking room, rooftop garden and walking track, as well as an indoor movie theatre.

The church’s property takes in approximately one acre of land.

If created, the retirement community would provide employment for several dozen people, he said.

Yet there are some obstacles.

Located on the church’s land is a monument erected to the memory of Clinton’s pioneers. It reads: “This marks the site of the first church erected in A.D. 1835 and the burial grounds of the pioneers of the district. 1928.”

Status of the burial site is unknown, but an archaeological dig would be necessary if Van Riesen is allowed to pursue his plan.

The church will be closing in late June, but there’s been no vote yet, within the church’s governing council, to sell the land. That’s to happen on June 15.

Clinton’s Anglican Church is not alone in its situation. The National Trust for Canada, a national heritage group, earlier this year said 9,000 churches will be sold, demolished or repurposed in the coming years.