Reframing Space: How Social‑Purpose Real Estate is turning community land into community good
Across Canada, empty pews and dwindling congregations pose a challenge for churches and other social‑purpose landowners.
For Reframe Concepts, this challenge is also an opportunity. Their Kelowna‑based advisory firm partners with churches, non‑profits and mission‑driven landowners to re‑imagine under‑used properties as inclusive community hubs and affordable housing. As partner Laurence East explained at a recent public forum in Vernon BC, Reframe wants to hear from neighbours and gather diverse perspectives “to re‑imagine how their assets, especially land, can be leveraged for lasting community benefits” vernonmorningstar.com. The company emphasises that they value good governance, inclusivity and transformation “built on good governance, service, and sustainability.”
This mission places Reframe Concepts squarely within a growing social‑purpose real estate movement.
Around the world, faith communities and non‑profits are confronting declining attendance, aging buildings and skyrocketing real‑estate costs by turning their land into social assets. The underlying idea is that real‑estate can be a lever for social and environmental change, not just a financial investment. Historically marginalized communities have been excluded from ownership; by providing below‑market office space to non‑profits, we can aim to shift power and build community wealth.
A wave of church conversions
In Canada, the scale of opportunity is enormous. Approximately 4,000 churches across Canada closed between 2009 and 2018, and around 10,000 of the country’s remaining 28,000 churches are expected to close within the next decade causeartist.com, and the Trinity Centres Foundation (recently renamed Relèven) has developed a model to repurpose these buildings as community hubs and affordable housing.
ImpactAlpha reports that the foundation has helped St Jax Anglican Church in Montréal share its sanctuary with a circus company and other non‑profits, while Bow Valley Christian Church in Calgary is exploring the addition of up to 700 000 sq ft of housing and a community hub impactalpha.com. In a podcast interview with Causeartist, CEO Graham Singh explains that the foundation built a “social business model” that preserves sacred spaces while generating income and social value causeartist.com.
Reframe Concepts builds on this momentum at a local level.
It recognises that many churches are struggling with declining attendance and financial strain, yet still possess valuable land. Its church renewal methodology urges congregations to shift from a congregation‑centric model to a community‑centric one, focusing on neighbourhood engagement rather than Sunday attendance. Reframe helps groups explore partnerships, data analysis and development models, ensuring that projects respect tradition while meeting contemporary needs.
A global chorus
Reframe is not alone in this work. Around the world, similar initiatives are emerging:
United Kingdom – The Church of England’s Housing Project is mobilising parishes to address the housing crisis. The project notes that outdated church halls, surplus car parks or vicarage gardens could be redeveloped to provide social homes while improving community facilities and parish finances. Backed by a £4.25 million commitment, the programme offers expert advice and small grants so churches can overcome early barriers like feasibility studies. Richard Sudworth, director of Faith & Public Life, calls the initiative “a simple response to a biblical mandate… to welcome the stranger”.
United States – Houses of worship across America are confronting a “tsunami of emptying houses of worship—up to 100,000,” according to Urban Land Magazine urbanland.uli.org. Housing advocates see these underused faith properties as natural sites for affordable housing, particularly when the U.S. faces a deficit of 500,000–700,000 affordable homes urbanland.uli.org. The article notes that matching surplus church property with housing need could help communities flourish urbanland.uli.org but acknowledges barriers such as congregation resistance and outdated zoning urbanland.uli.org.
A 2025 article summarises some U.S. examples: Arlington Presbyterian Church in Virginia sold its stone building to construct Gilliam Place, a six‑storey complex with 173 apartments and space for the congregation and a culinary job‑training facility. St Austin Catholic Parish in Austin, Texas is building a 29‑storey tower that will include 200 units of affordable student housing and new ministry space. Emory United Methodist Church in Washington, DC, redeveloped its property into the Beacon Center, creating 99 affordable apartments alongside community spaces and a commercial kitchen that trains formerly incarcerated people. And in Seattle, the Nehemiah Initiative works with Black churches in the Central District to redevelop property into housing to prevent displacement yahoo.com.
British Columbia – Closer to home, the Social Purpose Real Estate Collaborative unites funders and investors to help non‑profits tackle real‑estate challenges. It aims to enable resilient, inclusive communities by ensuring that social‑purpose organizations have access to space through grants, partnerships and impact‑investing socialpurposerealestate.net. The proposed Social Purpose Real Estate Impact Investing Trust (SPREIIT) seeks to channel private capital toward redeveloping underused community properties, including churches and cultural sites releven.org.
These examples show a consistent theme: housing and community needs are converging with excess faith‑based real estate. Demographic shifts mean many religious buildings sit half empty. Meanwhile, housing costs are rising, social services are strained and community groups struggle to find affordable space.
By reimagining church halls, parking lots and fellowship spaces as places for affordable housing, childcare, co‑working or cultural venues, social‑purpose real estate projects create tangible social value while honouring the original missions of the community.
Principles for purpose‑driven development
Through its work, Reframe Concepts demonstrates several principles that have emerged from the broader movement:
Start with mission and community – Reframe’s process begins by listening to neighbours and clarifying mission. The Vernon forum invited residents to share ideas on how church‑owned land could meet local needs vernonmorningstar.com. Similarly, the Church of England emphasises that the housing crisis is ultimately about people; it encourages parishes to see their neighbourhoods through a justice‑oriented lens and identify what skills, buildings and relationships they already have to address local housing issues churchhousing.net.
Value inclusive partnerships – Purpose‑driven real‑estate projects succeed when they bring together congregations, developers, social enterprises and community members. Gilliam Place in Virginia was built through a partnership between Arlington Presbyterian Church and the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housingyahoo.com. Reframe Concepts acts as a neutral advisor connecting churches with architects, planners and investors. At St Jax in Montréal, the Trinity Centres Foundation (Relèven) coordinates multiple non‑profit partners to run programmes in a shared spaceimpactalpha.com.
Design for financial and social sustainability – Social‑purpose real estate is not charity; it is an investment in community resilience. Projects often incorporate revenue‑generating components—below‑market rents, co‑working fees, or event rentals—alongside social services, allowing properties to maintain heritage buildings and support ongoing mission. The Beacon Center’s affordable apartments and commercial kitchen generate income while serving residents yahoo.com. The Church of England’s Housing Project notes that redevelopments can simultaneously improve parish finances and community facilities.
Advocate for supportive policy – Many jurisdictions are removing legal barriers to faith‑based housing. In California, the Yes In God’s Backyard (YIGBY) law allows religious institutions to build affordable housing by right, bypassing certain zoning hurdles shelterforce.org. The Nonprofit Quarterly highlights similar legislative proposals in New York and other states and notes that not all properties are suitable; careful planning and mission alignment are essential nonprofitquarterly.org. In B.C., Reframe Concepts and the SPRE Collaborative advocate for policy and financing tools that make social‑purpose projects feasible.
Why this matters for Reframe Concepts
Reframe Concepts’ vision of “purpose‑driven guidance” reframeconcepts.com is more than a slogan. It aligns with a global shift in how communities think about land and property. Right here in BC, the need is acute. Rising costs, volunteer shortages and increased demand have left many non‑profits struggling. Yet as Reframe’s Laurence East observes, the assets these organizations already own - churches, halls, meeting rooms, parking lots—may hold the key to long‑term sustainability. By walking “at the speed of trust” and grounding development in community conversations, Reframe Concepts helps mission‑driven landowners move from liability to legacy.
In Summary
The social‑purpose real estate movement is more than a clever reuse of bricks and mortar; it is a moral and civic project that asks how our inherited spaces can serve the common good. In Canada, the US and the UK, congregations and nonprofits are discovering that when they open their doors to housing the homeless, incubating social enterprises or hosting the arts, they become catalysts for community renewal.
Reframe Concepts stands at the forefront of this movement in western Canada, translating high‑level ideals into concrete projects. As other jurisdictions adopt YIGBY laws and social‑purpose investment vehicles, the firm’s mission to “re‑imagine land for lasting community benefits” will only gain relevance.
It invites us all—faith leaders, neighbours, policymakers and philanthropists—to ask: what if our buildings could do more than house us?