For $12M, you can own St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Vancouver’s Kitsilano area

By Emily Lazatin CKNW

Posted February 20, 2018 12:48 am

Updated February 21, 2018 4:05 am

1 min read

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Click to play video: 'High housing prices put churches on the block'

1:49 High housing prices put churches on the block

The Anglican church says high housing prices are one reason why it's selling four of its churches in B.C. Linda Aylesworth reports – Feb 20, 2018

St. Mark’s Anglican Church, a 100-year-old facility in Kitsilano, one of B.C.’s most upscale areas, is up for sale at the steep price of $11,998,000.

Rev. Richard Leggett said Anglican churches in the Vancouver area are moving elsewhere due to, in part, the steep cost of housing.

Other Anglican properties up for sale include St. Margaret of Scotland in Burnaby and St. Monica’s in Horseshoe Bay.

“Housing prices in Vancouver have grown so rapidly and so high that the grandchildren of the grandparents who built the church are no longer living nearby,” said Leggett.

“Whether they are living in North Delta, or Richmond, or Surrey or other cities, they’ve moved away from these congregations,” he said.

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The church stopped serving Anglican congregations five years ago and has relied on rental income from community groups.

At just under 18,000 square feet, and in a location at the heart of a popular neighbourhood,the church might sell for more as it’s considered to be prime real estate.

The church is located at the corner of West 2nd Avenue and Larch Street. Colliers International

Leggett said money from the sale will go into the church’s consolidated trust fund, and that proceeds will go toward initiatives in the Anglican ministry.

The church is on a property that’s zoned RT-8, which prioritizes the “retention and renovation of existing buildings which maintain an architectural style and building form consistent with the historical character of the area.”