The former Sainte-Famille Church in Fleurimont will be converted into a municipal library, and not a 30-unit social housing building as originally proposed by Sherbrooke’s city council.
According to a press release issued last week, the city held discussions with its partners and came to an agreement that the church would be the ideal location for a library. Mayor Évelyne Beaudin noted that the location, Sherbrooke’s east end, was ultimately the determining factor.
It’s a disadvantaged neighbourhood with three elementary schools and one high school within 1.5 kilometres of the church. Office municipal d’habitation de Sherbrooke Executive Director Marie-Claude Bégin added that the building lends itself more to a library than social housing.
“It was possible, but it would have required some acrobatics to make 30 units in this building and we would certainly have had to sacrifice some architectural elements,” she said. The social housing proposal will shift over to a city-owned piece of land on McCrea Street.
The city council will reportedly adjust the purchase offer for the church to match the new project after next week’s city meeting on March 22. The intention at this point is to complete the acquisition as quickly as possible in order to begin construction on the municipal library.
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