'One of a kind' historic Windsor church needs thousands in repairs

Repairs needed at St. Peter's Maronite Church One of a kind heritage building St. Peter's Maronite Church is in need of about $160,000 in repairs. CTV Windsor's Chris Campbell with more.

Windsor, Ont. — Renovations are ongoing at one of Windsor’s most outstanding examples of Art Deco architecture, but staff at the church say more needs to be done and soon — before it’s too late.

St. Peter’s Maronite Catholic Church on Tecumseh Road West needs to secure roughly $160,000 to make various water-damage repairs.

“It’s one of a kind! From what everybody says, it’s one of the last art-deco churches in Canada and we want to preserve that,” said John Swizawski who sits on the church finance committee.

He says the conservation repairs are needed for parishioner safety, noting ceiling tiles have fallen after heavy rain.

“When they get wet, they break down and fall, and that’s happened quite a few times here in the church,” Swizawski said.

St. Peter's Maronite Catholic Church was built in 1930 by local architect Albert Lothian and received heritage designation in 2001, a year after it was bought from the Diocese of London.

“The church has gotten to a point where there’s repairs that are needed that have been neglected for a long time,” he said.

The City of Windsor's Development and Heritage Standing Committee will discuss Monday if grant money from the Built Heritage Fund can help cover half the cost.

Heritage Planner Katrina Tang says a report is going before the committee recommending its approval, noting the structure may be one of a kind in Canada.

“We’re happy to see that they are working towards repair of the building and just getting it into a state where it can continually use for the next decades next centuries,” she said.