For nearly 140 years, the old Church of St. Hubertus has dominated downtown Chanhassen’s skyline and served as a visual link to the community’s past.
But these days the facility faces an uncertain future, as the local Catholic parish inches closer to demolishing the aging building. To the delight of historic preservationists, however, an ad hoc community group has formed to explore the feasibility of saving the church and reopening it for public use.
According to Jeff Burzinski, a St. Hubert’s parishioner since 1992 who is leading the charge to save the church, the next three months will likely determine if the church can be saved from the wrecking ball or not.
“As a fourth-generation Catholic, I have a great appreciation for the memories that are held within the walls of this church,” he says. “It’s a historic piece of art within our own community. If it were to be demolished, it would be gone forever. You can’t rebuild it.”
Through a community-wide conversation, Burzinski hopes to better gauge the actual support for saving the building. Burzinski says he feels compelled to lead this last-ditch effort to preserve an important piece of the city’s heritage.
“At the end of the day, if people don’t want to restore it and that’s the conclusion, then I did my job,” he says. “I fulfilled my mission.”
Church Timeline
Constructed in 1887, the church is by far the oldest building in Chanhassen. Unfortunately, it’s showing its age.
Broken glass from several busted windows is scattered on the grass. The wooden structure attached to the back of the church is in serious need of a paint job, and it appears the ornate bell tower requires a major restoration effort. The roof leaks, and electrical, HVAC and plumbing upgrades are needed.
The historic church building hasn’t been used as a regular place of worship for Catholics since 1976, when St. Hubert’s Church moved to a new location in Chanhassen. (The Catholic congregation built its current church in 1997.)
The city leased the historic church from 1978 to 2009, paying $1 per year in rent and using the space for community events and Chanhassen Historical Society gatherings. The city also sublet the space to two different church congregations during that time.
In 1982, the old Church of St. Hubertus was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
When the city declined to renew the lease for St. Hubert’s in 2009, the church went dark and fell into disrepair over the next decade. Discussions about its possible restoration and future use have periodically taken place over the years.
In 2024, St. Hubert’s Parish hosted several town halls to consider options for the old church building’s future. The parish also held several open houses at the church, giving local residents a chance to see the interior of the Church of St. Hubertus for themselves.
Then, in 2025, St. Hubert’s Parish conducted a survey of parishioners and community members. Despite a slim majority of respondents indicating they were in favor of saving the historic church, parish leaders decided to move ahead with demolition as repair estimates totaled between $2.5 million and $3.9 million.
Crunching the Numbers
Despite the parish leadership’s decision, Burzinski — a retired community banker with a long history of philanthropy in the southwest metro — hand-picked an ad hoc committee to further explore options for saving the church. Among committee members are former city leaders, historical society representatives, long-time residents and a former state representative.
The group came up with reduced cost estimates — between $1.5 million and $2 million — to restore and reopen the church. Costs can be contained, Burzinski suggests, through in-kind contributions from the community and local businesses.
“I just retired from banking in December,” he says. “I’ve done at least a thousand construction loans in my career. I trust our numbers.”
According to Burzinski, supporters of restoring the church had previously pledged $2 million toward the plan. He’s convinced a fundraising goal of $3 million is “very achievable,” which would leave enough funding for the restoration plus at least a $1 million endowment to help pay for ongoing maintenance and operational costs.
“There’s a lot of support already for this,” he says. “That’s what compelled me to get involved.”
Burzinski points to two similar church restoration projects — St. Joseph’s Church in Lino Lakes and St. Joseph’s Church in Rosemount — as possible templates for Chanhassen to follow.
The historic church in Lino Lakes was restored by the parish’s Knights of Columbus Council and remains open to parishioners wishing to pray or host events. The Rosemount facility, now known as the Steeple Center, offers programming for residents who are 55+ and also hosts Rosemount Area Arts Council activities.
What’s Next
An initial GoFundMe account set up for SOS (Save Old St. Hubert Church) raised about $3,000 to help pay for the 501(c)(3) nonprofit designation to begin the community campaign. A new account is being established to raise $10,000 in tax-deductible donations to hire a consultant, who will facilitate the conversation with community leaders that will ultimately determine the next step.
According to Burzinski, if the upcoming community conversations find that restoration is justified and potential uses are identified, the SOS group will hire a professional fundraising organization that will conduct a feasibility study to identify donors willing to help the cause.
If the restoration is eventually completed, Burzinski envisions that a seven-member governing board will oversee the ongoing maintenance and programming of the reopened church building.
The SOS rallying cry faces a tight time crunch, Burzinski says. St. Hubert’s current priest, Father Ralph Talbot, leaves his position on July 1 to become pastor and rector of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis.
“He’s been a good partner to work with,” Burzinski says. “He’d like to get this done before his replacement gets here, and I don’t blame him. So, we’re really kind of under the gun.”
In the end, Burzinski says the entire effort will go one of two directions — either the community-wide conversations will agree with the parish’s determination that the building is not worth saving, or the community will take ownership of the church and restore it.
“We may reaffirm their decision, which provides them cover … or we take the church off their hands,” he says. “Either way, I think it’s a win for St. Hubert’s.” As the committee continues its work, Burzinski says he’s committed to a transparent and unbiased process for deciding the future of the Church of St. Hubertus.
“I could have started another bank with the time I’ve spent on this deal,” he admits. “But that’s not how I want to spend the rest of my life. I’m 73, and I don’t know how much energy and resources I have remaining. But whatever I do, I want to spend my time helping people that help others. Does this fit into that goal? Yep, I think so.”
For more information or to support the restoration effort and be directed to the tax exempt GoFundMe account, visit the SOS Save Old St Hubert Facebook Page. You can also email jfburzinski53@gmail.com with questions, or if you’d like to offer your support for the project.
Did You Know?
Before the community was named Chanhassen, the village surrounding the historic church was named St. Hubertus. The congregation was established in 1877 by Father Aloysius Wewer. Over the next decade, the church used two buildings for worship services before moving into the newly constructed building in 1887.
The construction cost for the Gothic-style building? Just $6,400. Constructed by John Geiser, the red brick structure is trimmed with Chaska brick.
In 1896, the village was renamed Chanhassen, but community life continued to center around the activities of the Catholic congregation.
