The Diocese of Hamilton has decided to renovate the 161-year-old rectory adjacent to Basilica of Lady on Catholic Hill.
The four-storey building, which sits just southwest of the church, serves as a residence and administrative space for the parish, with three people currently living there.
Initial studies are underway and an architect chosen for the project, which is expected to take up to an estimated 18 months and cost somewhere between $3.5 million and $6 million, said Jim Long, Director of Finance and Administration for the Diocese of Hamilton.
It will be paid for by the diocese, not the parish.
“We’ve done a really nice job on the renovations of the church and the bishop has made a commitment to the rectory. He wants something done,” Long said.
First step is an analysis of the structural integrity of the building to make sure it can handle the renovations. That will be finished at the end of March and decisions made shortly after.
“We’re pretty sure it can handle the renovations,” Long said. “But you’ve got to remember that the beams downstairs that hold the rectory up date back to the 1860's and 1870's.
“But based on early reports, we don’t expect that it’s going to come back as being in terrible, terrible shape. We don’t expect any big surprises, but we’ve got to be sure.”
Larkin Architect Limited, the same firm that did the renovations to the Basilica, is doing the work.
The oldest parts of the building date back to 1857, 31 years before the Basilica itself was dedicated, and was intended to serve as Ignatius College. That purpose was abandoned after a few years when there weren’t enough students.
It has been a residence and administrative building since then and the upper floors are currently used for storage.
At one point there was even a handball court and a bowling alley on the top floor, Long said.
The diocese has been looking at what to do with the building for several years and at one point it was felt it might get completely demolished.
“I don’t want to say it was ever headed for demolition. We were looking at all the options available to us,” Long said. “We’ve done a good job of renovating and restoring our older buildings and this is one of them.
“I know we don’t do them all, and people want us to do them all, but you can imagine the cost involved. You can’t do them all.”
Long said that parts of the building that were added on over the years will likely be removed, retaining the heritage elements, and that the stucco finish on the building’s exterior will also likely be removed to expose the original limestone beneath.
Not a designated heritage property, the rectory is listed on the Municipal Register of Cultural Heritage Properties as a non-designate built heritage resource and Long said the diocese has reached out to the Guelph Heritage Society to make sure they are on board with plans “and they are.”
Long said once renovations are done, the rectory and Guelph Museum (formerly a convent) will make impressive bookends to complement the Basilica of Our Lady on the hill.
“It’s an exciting project for us. It will complete the religious part of hill,” Long said.
St. Agnes school, the building adjacent to Cork Street that is currently boarded up and unusable due to structural issues, will remain the lone building on the hill in need of a decision.
Long said a decision on St. Agnes will come after the rectory project is completed.
“Right now, we can’t do it all. We’ve concentrated on the church and we’re concentrating on the rectory. When this is done, we’ll see what we can do with St. Agnes,” Long said.
The diocese has tried to sell that building in the past, but it was in too bad shape to garner any offers.
