The Diocese of Niagara is continuing the trend of combining its church buildings with community centres and, in this case, a retirement home. The current church building will remain, but will be moved.

This secularising of churches has the benefit of creating an aura of vitality in otherwise flagging parishes and also brings in cash to the financially struggling diocese.

Not all the residents are happy about the plan: some are discontented with the size of the new building and others with the ecological effects it will have. It appears to be going ahead though.

St. Luke’s is the parish where the diocesan version of St. Hilda’s meets; there aren’t actually any people in the diocesan version of St. Hilda’s, but the diocese likes to maintain the fiction, nevertheless.

From here:

Palermo’s St. Luke’s Anglican Church has been cleared for take off.

Town council voted, Tuesday night, to approve an application from Fram Building group that will see the historically valuable church moved to the eastern side of the same property, which is bounded by Dundas Street West, Valleyridge Drive and Springforest Drive, to make way for a 7-storey retirement facility and a new parish hall and community centre.

The proposed development will be accessed via Dundas Street and Valleyridge Drive. Parking for each facility will also be established.

The cemetery on the site will be maintained, while the existing parish hall and rectory will be removed.