A survey to help determine the fate of Chanhassen’s historic Church of St. Hubertus is being conducted by the St. Hubert Parish in Chanhassen.
Parish leadership seeks community input before deciding whether to have the historic building restored, added upon or respectfully demolished. Responses are sought from the broad community to help leadership act in line with the parish’s mission in the greater community of Chanhassen.
The historic church is one of two Chanhassen properties listed in the National Register of Historic Places, a historical register authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and run by the National Park Service.
The Church of St. Hubertus was listed in the register in 2000. The Albertine and Fred Heck House, a historic farmhouse settled in 1881, was Chanhassen’s first property listed in the register in 1982.
Built in 1887, the historic church is the third church built by St. Hubert since the congregation’s formal organization in 1865. The parish moved to its fourth church structure in 1976 — what is now Chapel Hill Academy — and in 1997 into its current church and school campus on Main Street.
St. Hubert’s survey comes at a time when significant deterioration of the historic church calls for parish leadership to consider the costs and merits of its preservation. To guide the decision, the parish under Rev. Ralph Talbot, who was assigned as pastor of the Church of St. Hubert in Chanhassen in 2023, reconvened the Historic Church Committee. The committee has provided cost estimates, considered potential uses for the church and explored funding options.
At two Historic Church Town Halls this month, the committee presented its findings: the estimated cost of restoration stands at $2.5 million; the cost of restoration with the addition of usable bathrooms, meeting rooms and a small gathering space is estimated at $3.9 million; and the cost of demolition is approximately $144,000.
Part of the survey asks whether respondents would financially support restoring the church or restoring and repurposing sacred items from the church prior to demolition. According to a post on the St. Hubert website, “Carver County and the City of Chanhassen expressed support for preservation but are unable to provide financial assistance.”
The parish’s Town Hall presentation also raises potential uses for the historic space: monthly daily masses, choral and organ concerts, vespers for special feast days, Stations of the Cross during Lent, Eucharistic Adoration, weddings, funerals, school masses and youth events.
After the deadline, survey data will be presented to Rev. Talbot, who will consult with church leadership and come to a decision about the future of the historic church. Rev. Talbot will announce the final decision to the parish.
The deadline to complete the survey (which can be found here) is Oct. 31 at 2 p.m.
