After being on the market for only a few months, Trinity United Church on Pine St. S has already found a buyer.
Two local not-for-profit agencies Gateway and Mainstream have bought the building to make it their joint headquarters.
“We have been working for the last couple of years trying to find a building we can all be in together,” says Executive Director Margaret Beaupre, in an interview with ThoroldToday. “This just came up and it was just so perfect for us. It’s centrally located. Our programs are regional so Thorold is the perfect sort of center for us to be."
Mainstream is an agency that provides supports and services to adults with developmental disabilities, and Gateway provides support services to people with a moderate or intensive mental illness.
“Our primary focus on both sides is supportive housing,” explains Beaupre. “We have been in alliance since the last four years, together as the two agencies. This is really the next step in the evolution of our alliance to make sure we’re in the same building.”
The agencies don't intend to use the church itself.
“We’re going to leave the church alone because it’s a beautiful historic building,” says Beaupre. “We’re just going to convert all the office space, do minor renovations and move both our office spaces there.”
Beaupre says that the two nonprofit agencies are looking for ways to use the church "as a community resource."
“We like to maybe consult with some people locally to see what they see happening,” she says. “At the end of the day we are both charities and we want to give back to our community. Any way we can figure out how to do that we’re going to do that.”
The agencies are closing on the building by the end of October, after which they will renovate the office space, with the intent of moving in by March 2024.
“We cannot wait to get in there,” says Beaupre. “I know how welcoming Thorold is so it’s going to be nice for us to be in a community that is so close-knit and familiar and ready to welcome us.”
