CentreVenture signs agreement to support study on restoring historic downtown Winnipeg church
An agreement has been made to begin a study on the possibility of restoring a historic downtown Winnipeg church threatened with demolition.
CentreVenture Development Corporation signed a memorandum of understanding to fund the first phase of a heritage restoration study at Holy Trinity Anglican Church, a more than 140-year-old church at the corner of Smith Street and Graham Avenue, near both the Canada Life Centre and Millennium Library.
The church, built in 1884, needs an estimated $7 million in repairs due to significant structural issues.
The agreement was signed with the Parish of Holy Trinity, the Diocese of Rupert's Land of the Anglican Church of Canada, Monteyne Architecture and CentreVenture, a Friday news release from the development agency said.
The diocese "celebrates the vision that this partnership will work toward," executive archdeacon Simon Neal Blaikie said in the release, calling it "a great day for the city of Winnipeg and the parishioners of Holy Trinity."
Mayor Scott Gillingham called the church "a landmark of Winnipeg's history and a key piece of our downtown."
CentreVenture's president and CEO, Rochelle Squires, said heritage buildings are "a unique asset" to Winnipeg's downtown, with each telling "a unique and rich story about our shared history."
Under the agreement, CentreVenture — an arm's-length City of Winnipeg development agency focused on downtown projects — has committed to funding up to half of the cost of a feasibility study into stabilizing and restoring the building, which is a designated National Historic Site of Canada and a protected historical building in Winnipeg.
The church has significant structural damage, including water damage and cracks that creep up the walls around the altar and elsewhere in the building.
In an annual report released last year, the parish said it has been aware since the late 1980s that "major repairs to build a foundation under the historic church would be necessary to avoid a collapse."
When Holy Trinity was built, it was not uncommon for buildings in Winnipeg to be constructed without foundations.
Without an estimated $7 million in repairs, "structural failure and/or the building being condemned is likely a matter of months to a few years at most," an April 2024 post on the diocese's website said.
The first phase of the rehabilitation study will be led by Monteyne Architecture and includes building monitoring, surveying, conditions assessment, environmental and hazardous materials assessments, geotechnical investigation, structural analysis and preliminary design of a new foundation, CentreVenture's release said.
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