Church makes space for housing, childcare in Vernon

A local church is looking to use its space to help relieve the community’s housing crisis and child care needs.

Peace Lutheran Church in Vernon’s East Hill is developing a plan to build 20-to-25 units of affordable housing on its two-acre site.

The plans also include a new daycare for 80 children and green space at the 30th Avenue property.

“We had unused space, but no vision of what to do with it,” said Russel Crawford, Peace Lutheran Church chair of council. “We didn’t want to just subdivide and sell. We wanted to use it to benefit the community.”

With a congregation of 40-to-50 mostly senior members, Peace Lutheran offers Sunday service as well as actively serving its neighbourhood through four weekly recovery programs and community space for an assortment of local groups.

But the question of what came next had no answer. Until it connected with an Okanagan building company.

Reframe Concepts says it is helping faith communities across B.C. transform underused church properties into affordable housing and community hubs.

A 2025 report by the Canadian Urban Institute found that nearly one-third of Canada’s 27,000 churches and faith-built spaces could close within the next decade.

“These are not just empty buildings. They are the spaces housing food banks, recovery groups, childcare programs, refugee services, and cultural gatherings that entire neighbourhoods quietly depend on,” Reframe said.

With Canada’s affordable housing shortage, many of these properties sit on incredibly well-positioned land – which Reframe is helping to drive a clear path forward.

“We help them go beyond mere survival – to ask what the community actually needs them to be, and what it needs them to do,” said Brian McKenzie, Reframe co-founder.

The Kelowna company says as congregations age they are cycling through uncertain conversations of whether to sell, walk away or limp forward.

“We kept going in circles until we reached out to Reframe,” said Karen Lee, Peace Lutheran treasurer. “They were very respectful and helpful all along the way.”