On the condo project that local entrepreneur Reed Bousada is trying to develop behind St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Tim Wiebe, minister for church, clarified that the church’s part in the project is essentially over with. The church signed a purchase and sales agreement with Bousada, with the goal of selling him a piece of its land for $1 million. With the sale, Wiebe said the ministry hopes to continue to carry out its work in the community and that the development project is in Bousada’s hands.

“All along St. Paul Road, all of that land once belonged to the church. It was called the ‘gleeb.’ That was land that was actually donated by Kernel Paul Holland Knowlton (founder of the village) for the upkeep of the church. The land was supposed to be used in order for the church to have an income,” explained Wiebe. “So, it goes way back in history. We have, in the past, used some of our land to support the church.”

Wiebe said that St. Paul’s was inspired by a project taken on by another church in Toronto that bought pieces of land to build affordable housing to rent out to people while maintaining ownership.

“That was our initial project that we thought of, but that just didn’t work in Quebec. What we discovered is that only a small portion of the land that we seek to sell is actually buildable,” he said. “We then worked with a fellow by the name of Phil O’Brien who had lots of ideas; he was very helpful. Taking some of his ideas, really it was a conversation between Skip Eaman (treasurer for St. Paul’s board of management) and Reed Bousada just to kind of offhand ‘would you be interested in doing something?’

Recognizing that community members have concerns over the project and that some don’t want to see it happen at all, Wiebe said that from his perspective Bousada has been nothing but honest and open to their questions.

“Now, the interesting thing is that Reed has said from the beginning that he would walk away from the project if the community came up with the amount that he is willing to pay St. Paul’s for the property,” explained Wiebe. “The folks that we have spoken with or heard from said ‘oh, we got money and we can do that,’ but there’s never been a conversation where anything remotely positive has come forward.”

Wiebe emphasized that an important part of the project is that it is meant to benefit the local community.

“I think Reed has said constantly that he wants to build a high-quality project that contributes to the beauty and that contributes to the community. The idea partly behind the project is that the people who would be moving in, would be people who are presently a part of the community,” said Wiebe.

Wiebe clarified that the construction and the financing of the construction falls on Bousada.

“One of the important things that people need to know is that we signed a contract, a purchase and sales agreement contract, with Mr. Bousada,” he explained. “The extent of our involvement is the sale of the property. We’ve accepted a million dollars for the property. When we receive that money, some of that can go towards capital projects. The rest will go into what is called the “Anglican Balanced Fund.” That money is guaranteed to the church at 4 per cent per year.”

Whatever Bousada chooses to do as a project, a new plan is expected to be presented to the town this summer; Wiebe said he has put in a lot of effort to help support the church.

“He really wants to see the church’s work continue. He loves Knowlton, he has said that many times,” said Wiebe.

CIDI’s interview with Bousada can be read here.

Listen to CIDI's interview with Wiebe below: