Child care centre, community hub taking over South Osborne church

CTV’s Daniel Halmarson gives viewers a look at South Osborne Commons, a new childcare space and neighbourhood hub planned for the community.

A church in Winnipeg’s South Osborne neighbourhood is getting a new lease on life.

Churchill Park United Church has stood on the corner of Beresford Avenue and Nassau Street South for nearly 80 years.

“The sanctuary was built in ’47, so it’s the oldest part of the building,” John McNairnay, a longtime Churchill Park member, told CTV News on Friday. “And the rest of the building was built in ’56 in response to the flood of kids that were part of church congregations in the 50s and 60s.”

But McNairnay said Churchill Park has seen declining attendance over the past decade, and the congregation’s future became uncertain in recent years.

“In this case, the building is in great shape, and the finances weren’t bad,” McNairnay explained. “But it was getting harder and harder for this congregation to operate this church.”

The congregation decided it would donate the building to better meet the needs of people living in the Lord Roberts and Riverview neighbourhoods.

The community-led transformation has been dubbed South Osborne Commons, and the decades-old sanctuary is being converted into a child care centre for around 110 kids.

“I imagine kids’ noise rattling off the rafters in the building and all of these incredible early learning teachers introducing these kids to the world,” McNairnay said.

The sanctuary features a vaulted ceiling with wood beams and an array of stained-glass windows. McNairnay said the windows will be carefully removed prior to renovations, while he hopes the wood beams will be incorporated into the new design.

The child care centre will sprawl throughout the church’s main floor and include several different rooms, including a kitchen.

Ginny Collins, a mother of two, said finding child care anywhere in Winnipeg feels next to impossible.

“We had our kids on the [wait] list before they were even born,” Collins explained. “And my 6-year-old was in school before we even got a call for child care.”

She said another child care facility in the heart of South Osborne is long overdue.

“It’s a major need, and I have a lot of hope for the families in this area being able to access those things in the future,” Collins said. “I think it’s huge in the process of raising a child and wanting the best for them to be around other kids, to be in a safe environment, a licensed child care facility.”

South Osborne Commons’ aspirations don’t stop at child care. The second floor of the church—including its 50s-era gymnasium—will be home to social service providers, a commercial kitchen, and a gathering space for community groups.

“There’s already a lot of people using this building,” Beverly Suek, South Osborne Commons’ treasurer, said. “We’re hoping to have some of those people come back… dancers and choirs, and there’s Girl Guides and Boy Scouts.”

Suek said she’s lived in the area since 1971 and said the project addresses immediate needs for families living on both sides of Osborne Street.

“We have good community spirit here in South Osborne, and this seemed like a really important thing to do,” Suek said.

One of the groups expected to access the upper-level space on a weekly basis will be the Churchill Park United Church congregation itself.

“The important part is the people that get together and the people that support each other, so that’s still going to happen,” McNairnay said.

South Osborne Common has launched a fundraising campaign and is also looking for storage space while the building undergoes renovations. People interested in supporting the project can find more information online.

The building’s transformation is expected to start this summer and be finished by September 2027.