By Fletcher Word
The Truth Editor
During a Kwanzaa Park Neighbors’ meeting at the Padua Center on Thursday night, December 5, representatives from the Lucas County Land Bank presented preliminary plans for the restoration of St. Anthony’s Church and what those plans will mean for the community.
David Mann, Land Bank CEO, and Shantae Brownlee, Land Bank senior vice president for operations and chief financial officer, revealed to the attendees that the funding for the restoration has been raised thanks to Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur’s obtaining $4 million in federal American Rescue Plan funds, along with the commitments from Lucas County Commissioners and the City of Toledo of approximately $1 million each. Toledo City Council just approved that sum last week.
“This is an opportunity to find a plan that makes sense for the community,” said Mann as he introduced the ideas that have already been proposed. Mann admitted that “it’s hard to turn the building into everything that the community needs” but given the size of the facility there is much that it can be used for after restoration – recreation, food banks, neighborhood meetings, movies and events, for example. An attendee suggested that a dance studio be included and that was the type of suggestion, said Mann, that they would be seeking from the community.
Mann revealed that the plans call for the lot across the street to be turned into parking for the building. That construction will begin in May 2025. Referencing Kaptur’s calls for energy efficiency, he said that a solar canopy will be placed above the parking lot since the roof of the church would not be able to handle the weight.
With the solar panel in place the restored building will have efficient heat, along with air conditioning for the first time. The restoration could well be completed as early as August-September 2026.
“We are trying to create a plan so that the community can take over,” said Brownlee, noting that the Land Bank will not be administering the facility in the future. The current plan is to turn the restored building over to the City of Toledo to be managed as part of its Parks and Recreation Department.
St. Anthony Church, a four-story building completed in 1894, sits on the corner of Junction and Nebraska Avenue. Closed for two decades, the Catholic Church had planned to demolish the building but the neighborhood fought that decision feeling that the structure could be of value. The demolition was stopped at the last minute The Land Bank acquired the 12,000 square-foot church five years ago.
Neighborhood discussions are an important part of the Land Bank’s desire to ensure that the restorations are in line with what is needed in the central city community.
The structure, said Brownlee, “needs to represent the people of this community today.”
