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5 | W aterloo C hronicle | T hursday,M arch 3,2022 w aterloochronicle.ca Graduating from College or University? KELSEY '12 Concurrent Disorders Specialize your skills with a one-year graduate certificate. Start September! mohawkcollege.ca/GradStudiesHESTON '18Business Analysis Avenue, and has been a de- cade in the making. About two-thirds of the property to the west, in- cluding the current church building, has been sold for future residential develop- ment. "It sounds like we're shrinking, but we're still growing," Levesque said, adding that the new 15,000- square-foot structure will be about 50 per cent larger than the current building, which includes an addition that was poorly laid out and requires $750,000 in maintenance upgrades. All Saints Anglican Church shared its current building with the former Waterloo North Presbyte- rian Church that it bought out after it closed in 2012. Levesque said the deci- sion to sever and sell a large portion of the proper- ty, including the current building, eliminated an outstanding mortgage of more than $500,000 and ul- timately unlocked its value for community benefit and much-needed homes. According to city plan- ning director Joel Cotter, All Saints is working on completing the site plan to secure a building permit and start construction in the coming months. He noted that the updated de- sign triggered a minor variance for parking along with some other technical matters. A past petition circulat- ed online opposed future residential development; however, local home- owners generally support the church itself, which works with non-profit or- ganizations such as the House of Friendship and Carizon Family and Com- munity Services. Levesque said it has been in discussions with nearby schools, communi- ty associations and various other organizations about establishing partnerships for cooking classes, after- school tutoring, ESL in- struction and open gym nights with games of pick- up basketball and volley- ball for neighbourhood youth. "Really, at the end of the day, we're allowing the community around us to drive the need and what we're going to provide," Le- vesque said. "We're not interested in the type of like evangelism or postulation that comes from, you know, 'Come to our open gym night, but first we're going to pray and here's a floppy Bible.' That's not what we're looking at doing at all." Levesque noted that there isn't a gym in all of Waterloo that is free and open to the public. Anyone will be wel- come, regardless of race or denomination. "When people come out, come up to us and say, 'Why do you do all this for the neighbourhood? You don't get anything out of it,' that's when the opportunity for conversation happens," Le- vesque said. With about 375 current members, the local church still wants to grow its faith and plans on introducing a third Sunday service in Fil- ipino. "We look at that as or- ganic growth that comes naturally from relation- ships and walking with people in their everyday lives and journeying with them wherever they hap- pen to be," Levesque said. "I would like people to know that we're here to serve the neighbourhood, to be the hands and feet of Jesus Christ in this world today. If they're excited to join this vision, we're hap- py to have them. Other- wise, we're looking for- ward to welcoming the neighbourhood into the new building once it's com- pleted in 2023." STORY BEHIND THE STORY: All Saints' Angli- can Church held a ceremo- nial groundbreaking for its long-standing rebuild project and the Chronicle wanted to learn more. NEWS Continued from page 3 REBUILD TO INCLUDE GYMNASIUM, INDUSTRIAL KITCHEN, NURSERY AND PROGRAM SPACES An architectural rendering of the new church and community centre at the corner of Northfield Drive West and Highpoint Avenue. Right: The community centre portion of the new building. All Saints Anglican Church photo