The St. Anthony Church that towers over Toledo’s Junction neighborhood soon will be in the hands of the Lucas County Land Bank, marking the end of a whirlwind of back-and-forth between the nonprofit and the Diocese of Toledo about the historic building’s future.
Land Bank officials on Tuesday informed the diocese that they will accept an offer to take ownership of the church, the land it sits on, and an adjacent parcel. The church for months has been slated for demolition, but community groups and elected officials advocated for the building to be preserved and repurposed as a focal point for the neighborhood.
“A month ago, I would have said there was a 99.9 percent chance this building would have been demolished by today,” Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz said. “Instead, we found that one-tenth of a percent. I think you can say that saving St. Anthony’s Church was almost a miracle.”
The diocese in December announced its plans to demolish the church, which has not been used for liturgical services since 2005. But after push back from community leaders Bishop Daniel Thomas offered to deed the parcels to the Land Bank.
“Now that the Land Bank has accepted the gift of the buildings and the land, it is the sincere hope of the diocese that, in coordination with the Padua Center, the future use of the property will provide a safe environment as well as promote even greater outreach for the good of the community,” Bishop Thomas said in a statement.
The diocese will cover the expense of breaking the demolition contract, but it will not provide any funding to the Land Bank to put toward preserving the church, as Land Bank officials had previously requested.
Land Bank board members will soon begin meeting with community leaders to develop a strategy for how to preserve the church and renovate it for future use.
Lindsay Webb, Lucas County treasurer and Land Bank board member, said saving St. Anthony is a victory for the neighborhood.
“The reason why we saw the outcry from the community was because of how well organized that neighborhood is,” she said. “They have a vision for that neighborhood, in particular as an arts and cultural area for the African-American community, and it’s already happening. I feel very encouraged for what that means to St. Anthony’s in the long run.”
Toledo City Councilman Yvonne Harper, who represents District 4 where the church is located, said she is looking forward to community organizations getting together to come up with a plan for how to breathe new life into the long-vacant building.
A key part of that will be securing funding to ensure the structure can be both preserved and renovated, she said.
“Land Bank stuck its neck out there. We need to back them up,” she said.
Land Bank officials estimated the building would need at least $150,000 in “immediate investment” in order to be stabilized, which included $100,000 for masonry reconstruction, downspout replacements, and securing openings in the structure.
A five-page report issued this week from Napoleon-based W.R. Meyers Co., which donated its time and labor to inspect the church’s steeple, indicated the steeple is in “excellent condition” in some areas but needs “an extensive overhaul” in others. It is not clear if the Land Bank’s initial preservation cost estimate will rise now that the steeple inspection is complete.
U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D., Toledo), who has advocated for the church’s preservation, pledged $25,000 from her family’s foundation to put toward its restoration.
Contact Sarah Elms at selms@theblade.com, 419-724-6103, or on Twitter @BySarahElms.
First Published June 26, 2018, 4:05 p.m.
