Old churches finding new life in Lambton County

CTV London: Old churches repurposed In Lambton County two old churches are finding new life as municipal buildings. Sean Irvine on whether the idea could spread.

With the turn of a key, the mayor of Plympton-Wyoming Township opens the door to a piece of religious history.

The former Presbyterian church, closed in 2013, is now a piece of municipal property.

After being a church for 85 years, Lonny Napper would like to see it become town council chambers.

"It's just a beautiful building for something like that, lot's of room," says Napper.

The town purchased the church for about $150,000 for the nearby parking spaces.

A possible council chambers is just one idea.

Other ideas have been suggested, but the mayor does not want to see it meet the wrecking ball, even though, bringing it up to modern standards could be costly.

"You know, 10 years from now, we'll need millions for a new building, so why not look at this now. That's something thrown on the table when council discuss it," adds Napper.

With another turn of the key, Napper opens the door on Camlachie's new library.

Located inside a former United church, the municipality picked up the building's purchase price.

Fundraising, sweat equity, and a federal government grant, covered another $150,000 in costs, including a new elevator.

The result? A 1950's church that's now a space for reading and research.

In this case, it made financial sense to complete the renovation.

"You've got to look at it, and say, 'Is this going to be a benefit to my community?' And that's what we've done here. If we didn't feel it was going to be a benefit to us, we wouldn't have done it," says Napper.