The property of the former St. Paul’s Church in LaSalle is one step closer to a new future. Town council approved a rezoning application of the property at 5885 Malden Rd. on Tuesday afternoon, allowing Rock Developments to move forward with plans for commercial use at the northwest corner of Malden and Sprucewood Avenue. The property was previously zoned institutional which would allow for builds such as a daycare or library. The commercial zoning will allow for a number of uses, including financial institutions. The former church was sold to Rock Developments for $1.2-million at the end of June and was demolished throughout July. The church had seen a significant decline in attendance since 2019, while about $500,000 in repairs were needed, including a new roof, siding, windows and repairs related to water damage. Rock has also agreed to install a commemorative plaque recognizing the significance of the church. Mayor Crystal Meloche says the new zoning fits with the surrounding area. “The property right now is zoned institutional, which would allow for daycare’s, library, town facilities, that kind of thing. They’re coming in and they’re asking us to change it to TC1, which is commercial, which is what most of everything around that area is already zoned. So it would stay with what is expected in that area.” She says the redevelopment could actually improve traffic and parking conditions since it will have on-site parking compared to when the church was there. “People who attended mass were crossing across Malden, they were crossing Sprucewood, not necessarily at the light. They were parking everywhere and it had created a dangerous situation there as well,” Meloche says. “It obviously wasn’t as often because church is on the weekends, Sunday service, the occasional wedding or funeral. It wasn’t on a daily basis like we’ll see now, but I actually think this is creating a safer situation.” Meloche added she’s thankful that Rock Developments is making an effort to preserve some of the church history. “They’ve been very thoughtful through this process knowing what that church meant to the community. They had the Horticultural Society come out and save some of the plants that were on the property. They’ve donated pews and they plan to incorporate something from the church into the final build design that they’re doing. So they understand what it meant to the community, which I think is really important when a developer comes in and makes such a big change.” The specific commercial development has not yet gone through the site plan control process, so further details about the building and its layout will be determined at a later stage.
