(Quebec) Quebec is investing more than 10 million to revitalize 22 heritage religious buildings in order to give them a second life.
Posted at 3:25 p.m.
Culture Minister Nathalie Roy made the announcement Thursday in Chelsea, Outaouais. These are amounts that were already provided for in the last budget.
Mme Roy indicated that 12 of the 22 projects are new projects in “development”, while the other 10 are at the transformation stage.
Among the new projects, note the conversion of the Church of Saint-Enfant-Jésus, in Montreal, into a civic space, and that of the Chapelle conventuelle du Sacré-Cœur, in Baie-Saint-Paul, into an interpretation centre.
The Church of Sainte-Anne de Yamachiche, and that of Saint-Romuald, in Farnham, also obtain funding for their library and socio-cultural center projects.
In total, the 12 projects in development will share $238,578, while the lion’s share — $10,021,178 — goes to the 10 most advanced projects.
They include the transformation of the Church of Saint-Alexandre in Port-Cartier, the Church of Sainte-Brigide-de-Kildare, in Montreal, and the Church of Saint-André, in the Îles-de-la- Magdalene.
During her visit to the Outaouais, Minister Roy confirmed $624,762 in assistance for the La Fab sur Mill project, which will transform the former United Church of Chelsea, built in 1875, into a cultural centre.
The premises will now serve as artists’ studios, as well as venues for exhibitions and performances. Government assistance will go towards preserving the structure of the building and its architectural characteristics.
“These investments will make it possible to carry out projects that aim to give a second life to magnificent buildings,” Ms.me Roy in a statement.
“The latter will therefore continue to bear witness to the legacy of the generations who have contributed to building our culture and our identity,” she added.
The amounts announced Thursday are in addition to the 15 million already invested by the government in the Program for the protection, transmission and enhancement of cultural heritage of a religious nature.