A Tired Rectory Makes Way for 40 Homes: Ottawa’s Anglican Diocese Builds Housing Beside a Suburban Church

• The Anglican Diocese of Ottawa plans to replace the rectory at 3865 Old Richmond Road, Bells Corners
• A four-storey building would hold up to 40 rental apartments, mostly for low-income tenants
• The ground floor would house a food cupboard, a community resource centre and a commercial kitchen
• Non-profit developer Cahdco is leading the project, with city fee relief and grants

Beside Christ Church Bells Corners in Ottawa’s west end stands an ageing rectory that the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa believes can do far more good as housing. The Ottawa Business Journal reported in July 2019 that the diocese planned to replace it with a four-level mixed-use building of up to 40 rental apartments at 3865 Old Richmond Road.

The flats would range from bachelor units to three bedrooms. Most would be aimed at low-income tenants, with some let at market rents to help the numbers work. Units were to be reserved for residents moving on from Chrysalis House and Cornerstone Housing for Women, two local organisations that support vulnerable women.

The ground floor was designed for community use, with a commercial kitchen and offices for the Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre and the FAMSAC Food Cupboard. The non-profit real estate developer Cahdco was developing the scheme, and the city’s Action Ottawa programme was providing fee relief and grants. Occupancy was targeted for late 2021 or early 2022. Christ Church serves about 300 households.

P.J. Hobbs, the diocese’s director of mission, framed the plan as part of a wider commitment. “The diocese has a real commitment towards using church property for missional purposes, particularly in the provision of affordable housing when it can work,” he said. “It’s a real dynamic and encouraging confluence of partnerships that are making this all happen.”

The project shows how a denomination can look again at buildings attached to a church, such as rectories and manses, that no longer suit modern ministry. Rather than simply selling the site, the diocese chose a use that multiplies its value to the community.

Many Jamaican churches own old manses and rectories that are expensive to maintain and sometimes stand empty. The Bells Corners model, pairing a church with a non-profit developer and public grants, offers congregations at home and in Canada’s large Jamaican community a practical way to turn such buildings into homes for women, families and elders in need.