Courtesy City of Moncton
A four-storey, 80-unit apartment building with underground parking is slated to be constructed on Pleasant Street at Lewisville Road in Moncton.
The Saint-Louis-de-France Catholic Church which sits on the site will have to be torn down.
The church closed last year amid declining attendance and the diocese’s financial problems.
Moncton ward one councillor Shawn Crossman says his big concern with this project is the traffic in the neighbourhood and how dangerous the intersection of Pleasant and Lewisville can be.
Councillor Paulette Theriault, who also represents ward one, says she has concerns about preserving the legacy of the church and losing a building with architectural significance.
Theriault was hoping the developer would incorporate part of the church into the new apartment building.
Developer Albert Boudreau recognizes this is an emotional issue since monumental moments like marriages and baptisms have taken place there.
“I was raised in a small community and it’s my religion… I understand it. But for the business model that we’re doing, we couldn’t see where we were going to put the facade of the church into our building… we couldn’t see any part of that,” he noted.
The matter will be addressed further at a public hearing on April 1st.
