Saint-Louis-de-France Catholic Church will be torn down to make way for a new apartment building. (courtesy Google Maps)
A new four-storey, 80-unit apartment building has been given the green light by Moncton City Council at the corner of Pleasant Street and Lewisville Road.
The site has been rezoned since the now closed Saint-Louis-de-France Catholic Church will be demolished to make way for the project.
Diocese of Moncton archbishop Valery Vienneau wasn’t aware the church had architectural value but is glad a portion is being saved by the developer, Albert Boudreau.
“I’m pleased he found a way to integrate the structure of the bell tower into this project responding to the concerns of some members of the heritage board and also of city council,” he noted.
The church closed last year due to declining attendance and Vienneau stated the Catholic Diocese of Moncton needs the money from the land sale due to its precarious financial situation linked to sexual abuse cases.
Architect John Leroux had hoped more of the church could be preserved since it is a significant example of Brutalist-style architecture in the province.
Leroux wrote a book about this style and noted how the Saint-Louis-de-France Catholic Church (built in 1972) and the old Moncton City Hall built in 1971 (which now houses Scotiabank on Main Street) are two of the most important Brutalist buildings in New Brunswick.
A traffic study will also be conducted where the new apartment building will be built at Pleasant and Lewisville.
Several city councillors have expressed concern about how traffic safety could be impacted with the addition of this apartment building in the area.
