Chapleau

Chapleau Hub

ABOUT US

St. John’s Anglican Church is the oldest public building remaining in Chapleau. It is also a beautiful building filled with character and rich history. In 2016, under new ownership the Church was transformed into a Community Hub. There was a vision to engage local entrepreneurs, social service groups and welcome the community at large in this lovely space. This building remains a place of worship for the Anglican congregation however during the week, a variety of activities take place from Yoga to Piano Lessons to Movie Nights. EarlyON and Chadwic Home also join us in this space. On the lower level we host a licensed restaurant. Stonewalls has the only waterfront patio and wood fired oven in town.

Our goal is to preserve the oldest public building remaining in Chapleau and ensure that future generations can enjoy this 111 year piece of history as much as current and past generations.

Historic Chapleau

Historic Chapleau: An evolving Story

1908	Although St. John’s was established in Chapleau in 1885, the first service was held in the present church on March 29, 1908, making it the oldest ‘public’ building remaining in Chapleau.

2015	…St. John’s Anglican Church changes ownership and we are most excited to announce that the current congregation will remain using the church as its place of worship.

2016

small

We partnered with small, a non-profit organization affiliated with ERA Architects, a heritage architecture firm, who joined the project to help design the basement. They also facilitated an Open House within the community to gather what the people of Chapleau wanted to see in this new space.

2017

…Rustic Bear Den Café and Market

In Feb, local businesswoman and artisan Tanya Keech joins us as our first lower level tenant. A vibrant market was built to showcase the handiwork of local craftspeople and a café emerged to offer snacks and drinks to bring some warmth to walks along the winter waterfront.

2018	…Chapleau Hub A vision to open up the space further to the community results in the creation of the Chapleau Hub. Yoga, BootCamp, Movie Nights, Youth Camp, Creative Kids Club, EarlyON and Chadwic Homes join us. We also hosted on of the mayoral debates, Canada Day festivities and private parties.

2018	…First Carbon Neutral building in Chapleau A state of the art wood pellet boiler is installed on the premises to replace the former oil furnace. We are now the First Carbon Neutral building in Chapleau!

2019

…Winner of National Trust for Canada’s Ecclesiastical Insurance Cornerstone Awards for Transformative Projects

The Ecclesiastical Insurance Cornerstone Awards bring national attention to exemplary projects and places that contribute to quality of life and sense of place, and illustrate the viability of heritage buildings and sites for traditional or new uses. The awards are presented in two categories, with the potential for up to six (6) awards in each category:

A. Transformative Projects Projects completed between 2016 and 2019 that have creatively renewed or transformed historic places or landscapes for new or traditional uses; and

B. Resilient Places Historic places or landscapes that illustrate extraordinary resilience, significance, and benefit to a community over a sustained period of time, with a successful track record of 10 years or more.

THE NEWEST CHAPTER

IT ALL STARTED WHEN…

…there was a vision to preserve the historical church which was in desperate need of maintenance. A kind soul took on the challenge and a plan was developed to transform the space for multi-use while maintaining a place of worship for the Anglican community.

WHO’S INVOLVED

Some kind souls…

Jason Rioux

Born and raised in Chapleau, Jason loves his hometown and believes there is so much untapped entrepreneurial spirit in this community. He wishes to nurture this spirit and provide a “start-up” environment for these small businesses. Giving them the confidence to launch their ventures into public spaces, providing an environment where it is critical to support one another while having little financial risk. Jason also believes in social responsibility. Taking care of others. Helping one another’s causes so we as a collective whole are better off in the complex world we now live in.

Victoria Cheng

Lives and breathes the Chapleau Hub. She is driven and focuses her efforts on creating a self-sustaining repeatable financial model – showing by example – how underutilized historical spaces in small towns can transform into success stories instead of becoming forgotten or even worse. Victoria is a professional marketer who volunteers her skill set to our Hub tenants so they can focus on the operations of their businesses.

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TAKE PART IN THE
TRANSFORMATION

Chapleau Hub relies on support from our tenants, volunteers and community partners. In exchange for flexibility and lower than market rental rates, our tenants split duties to care for the building. We do not have any employees. We do not have any building management. If you’ve always aspired to grow your home business, join us at the Hub where you can surround yourself with like minded folks. Together we can grow and prosper while giving back to the community.

Chapleau Hub