These downtown St. John's neighbours want to turn an old church into a community centre

From serving as a bingo hall to a venue for punk shows, an old Anglican church in downtown St. John has had several lives. A group of its neighbours are hoping to give it one more.

A band of Casey Street residents pass by the 7,000-square-foot building every day, and have long dreamed of using it as a place for the community to come together.

It’ll be a long road to establishing what the group is calling the Casey Street Commons, but it's one that they’re happy to start on.

“People talk about the epidemic of loneliness or kind of lack of connection, especially in the post-pandemic years,” said filmmaker Fred Schmidt-Arenales, one of the organizers.

“We're looking at creating a space where a broad-based set of people can come into contact with each other."

Casey Street Commons, once it’s up and running, will be home to a micro-cinema, a performance and rehearsal space, and have room for co-working.

An open house was recently held at the former church to pitch the idea to the neighbourhood. There, fellow organizer Sam Chaulk realized just how much demand there is for a new community centre. She said more than 200 people showed up.

“Each person that I spoke to during the open house expressed the exact same things that we expressed, which is, there is not enough space like this in town,” she said.

“The arts community is absolutely busting at the seams and needs more space to continue to grow.”

The organizers don’t want people to feel like they have to be an artist to avail of its programming. The building will also host bicycle repair workshops and opportunities to obtain affordable food and other resources, said Chaulk.

Like several neighbourhoods downtown, 146 Casey Street is situated in a relatively low-income area, said Chaulk.

“The idea is to provide resources that make life easier and better and more connected for all of those demographics that live in this neighborhood,” she said.

‘Something to give’

Tamara Turchetta, who has lived on Casey Street since 2021, is bringing her experience founding the non-profit Building U — which helps high school students plan for their futures — to the initiative.

She knows she and her partners are taking on something that requires tedious planning.

“I'm a team person,” said Turchetta.

Turchetta said she’ll help the group gather resources so that they can reach the people they aim to serve.

“That doesn't mean just saying, ‘Welcome community, you can come!’ But really making an active effort,” she said.

“From connecting with people and from doing things … you have more capacity and have something to give.”

The old Anglican church on Casey Street is listed for about $325,000.

Turchetta, Chaulk and Schmidt-Arenales are hoping to incorporate either as a non-profit or co-operative so they’re eligible for grants. In the meantime, they’re appealing to private investors to aid in the purchase and renovations needed to get the idea off the ground.

Chaulk says “a lot” of work has to happen, but she hopes it’ll be done in about five years.

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