The Background

For more than 50 years, Hope Lutheran Church has been more than a building. Located beside Anselma House; a shelter supporting vulnerable women, it has been an anchor, where generations have celebrated weddings, baptized their children, mourned loved ones, found comfort, and built lifelong friendships.

Hope Lutheran has quietly served the wider community with compassion, spiritual guidance, family support, and a welcoming place for people of all ages. Hope Lutheran is a community institution whose value extends far beyond its walls. That legacy is now at risk.

The Issue

Like many faith organizations, Hope Lutheran faces financial challenges and must explore options to secure its future.

The property is currently being marketed for sale. At the same time, Cook Homes has applied to demolish the church and replace it with a six-storey apartment building and townhouse development.

The proposed development would:

• Permanently remove the property's INS-1 (Institutional) zoning designation, eliminating land intended for community-serving uses and replacing it with a six-storey apartment building and townhouses.
• Demolish a long-standing community institution that has served residents for generations and remove an essential element that helps make neighbourhoods complete and livable.
• De-Value a community anchor. Rezoning primarily rests on its residential redevelopment potential rather than its institutional use, making it financially unattainable for churches, charities, and community organizations that could continue its intended purpose.
• Introduce a six-storey building immediately adjacent to Anselma House, raising concerns about compatibility, shadowing, privacy, and the well-being of vulnerable residents.
• Increase neighbourhood density without sufficient public confidence that the cumulative impacts on traffic, infrastructure, noise, and neighbourhood character have been fully evaluated based on studies conducted.

The Result

The City of Kitchener planning department must now decide whether to permanently remove an irreplaceable Institutional designation or pursue planning solutions that achieve housing objectives while preserving an important community asset.

Housing can be built without sacrificing the places that give neighbourhoods their identity, compassion, and sense of community. Some losses cannot be measured in square feet or housing units—they are measured in the generations of lives they continue to touch.

Although Hope Lutheran's current chapter is closing, the building's purpose does not have to end. A new church or community organization could breathe new life into the property and once again the community it lies within.

Just as many homes in the neighbourhood are changing hands to a new generation of families, this church can have a new beginning. But that opportunity will disappear if the property is marketed solely for redevelopment rather than support the next generation of families, neighbours and community it was intended to serve.

The Ask

We respectfully ask the City of Kitchener, City Planning staff, and Members of Council to:

• Reject the proposed removal of the INS-1 Institutional zoning designation for this property with the current application.
• Ensure every reasonable opportunity has been explored to retain this site for institutional or community-serving purposes.
• Protect scarce institutional lands that contribute to complete, healthy, and resilient neighbourhoods.
• Pursue housing solutions that achieve the City's growth objectives without permanently sacrificing essential community infrastructure.

Sign the Petition

By signing this petition, you are asking the City of Kitchener to preserve the property's INS-1 Institutional designation and keep this site available for future community-serving uses.

Your support sends a clear message that strong communities need more than housing. They also need churches, charities, and institutions that bring people together, support those in need, and strengthen neighbourhoods for generations.

SPECIAL NOTE:

A MONETARY CONTRIBUTION IS NOT REQUIRED AND IS VOLUNTARY. NO CASH PROCEEDS ARE BEING RETAINED BY THIS PETITION