Despite a seemingly growing wave of support for the restoration of Old St. Hubert Church in Chanhassen, the last remaining historic building in the community still faces an uncertain future.

Built in 1887, the Church of Hubertus was last used for Catholic services in 1976. Since then, parish officials have debated how the facility could be used.

For about 30 years, the building was leased by the city and hosted various events and religious gatherings, including Chanhassen Historical Society functions.

But the church has been closed to the public since 2009, and that’s when discussions about possibly razing the aging building began. No official action had yet taken place, however.

Now the St. Hubert Catholic Community parish is poised to dispense with the facility, barring a last-minute effort by a nonprofit organization to raise funds necessary to restore the historic church.

According to outgoing parish Pastor Ralph Talbot, the church was officially relegated from “divine to secular” use, effective June 30 — Father Talbot’s last day at St. Hubert’s.

The parish also has received permission from Archbishop Bernard Hebda to expend funds — estimated at about $144,000 — to demolish the church, Father Talbot said.

“But the decision of when to do that … he [the archbishop] left in our care,” he said. “The archdiocese doesn’t have an ownership interest in the church. It belongs to the corporation — the Parish of St. Hubert — and we’re just pausing.”

If the parish decides to proceed with demolition, Father Talbot said St. Hubert’s will need to apply for a permit from the city. That will likely happen sometime in the fall, Father Talbot said, but only if ongoing fundraising efforts fail.

“Most people want to see the church restored and saved … but we have limited resources,” he said. “We need to spend those limited resources taking care of our current facility, and for programming and administrative outreach. But if folks want to invest resources in this, the parish would not object to it. In fact, they would probably welcome it.”

According to Jeff Burzinski, who has been leading the push behind restoring Old St. Hubert Church, about $29,000 has been raised to conduct a feasibility study to identify potemtial donors who support restoration of the church.

But the nonprofit group — SOS Save Old St. Huberts — is awaiting parish approval of a Letter of Understanding that outlines ownership clarity, allowed uses of the church building, future maintenance plans, fundraising timelines and governance of a future nonprofit overseeing the church’s operation. The letter as drafted indicates that the parish would retain ownership and lease the property to the future nonprofit for up to 99 years.

Once the letter is signed, Burzinski said the feasibility study can begin and take two months to complete.

Burzinski said he’s optimistic that there’s enough support throughout the parish and the overall community to save Old St. Hubert Church. But donors will want to know the details of the Letter of Understanding before pledging money to the cause.

Jars tell the story

Three plain, glass jars visually illustrated the sentiment of those attending a community-wide meeting in Chanhassen on June 5.

The jars, labeled with a colorful sign, asked for attendee opinions on the possibility of restoring or demolishing Old St. Hubert Church in the city’s downtown.

Those attending were each given a small wooden token to place inside the jar that best represented their feelings about the future of the church.

In the end, no tokens were inside the jar that read “I support demolition over community-led restoration.”

Inside the jar labeled “I support restoration but might not donate,” there were just five tokens.

The final jar, labeled “I support restoration and will make a financial gift,” was filled to overflowing.

Jeff Burzinski, a St. Hubert parishioner since 1992, has been leading an effort to restore Chanhassen’s oldest historic building since St. Hubert Parish leadership officially voted in 2025 to demolish the dilapidated structure.

Parish officials estimated restoration costs at between $2.5 million and $3.9 million, and they felt those numbers were cost prohibitive. Also, a survey of parish members showed that a slim majority favor razing the structure. A survey of community members indicated that a majority wanted to save the historic church.

Burzinski said he was excited about how many people — nearly 100 — showed up at the June 5 meeting, held in the Wilder Room at the Chanhassen Library. Some folks were parish members while others were from the community. He was equally thrilled with the overall tenor and results of the gathering.

“I was overwhelmed,” he admitted, “and I was happy to see it. Hope abounds for saving the last remaining historical site in Chanhassen.”

Initial fundraising efforts collected enough funds for SOS Save Old St. Huberts and its partner — the Community Asset Foundation — to begin the feasibility study.

“We keep earning the right to take the next step,” Burzinski said. “The meeting we held was huge and puts us in a good position to continue to move forward.”

Burzinski and the SOS group estimate the project will require approximately $1.5 million to $2 million to accomplish the necessary upgrades to the church.

The overall budget requirement will be less than initial estimates, he noted, because expected in-kind contributions will help to reduce the overall cost, and a true restoration rather than a repurposing of the building will not trigger expensive Americans with Disabilities Act upgrades.

In addition, the hope is to establish a $1 million endowment to pay for future maintenance and operation of Old St. Hubert Church, bringing the overall fundraising goal to $2.5 million to $3 million.

Study Start

SOS has retained Fox Advancement, a capital campaign consulting firm, to complete a feasibility study over two months.

If a minimum of 40% of the $2.5 million to $3 million fundraising goal — or about $1 million to $1.2 million — is pledged during the upcoming study period, the real work of fundraising will kick into gear. If an adequate level of support is identified, Burzinski said the SOS organization is seeking to raise the remaining three-year pledges over the next 12 months to round out the necessary funds.

If the fundraising drive is successful, Burzinski said restoration work would begin within three months of the lease execution.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Burzinski said of the upcoming study, “but anything short of the $1 million or $1.2 million … we won’t be able to deliver a restored Old St. Hubert.”

Burzinski said the delay in the parish’s approval of the Letter of Understanding has stopped progress of the study, but he and his team are ready to press ahead once given the green light.

“We continue to exercise patience,” he said. “We’re not at the finish line, but we’re closer than we’ve ever been.”

Your Support

For more information or to offer your support, contact jfburzinski53@gmail.com.

For updates, visit the “SOS Save Old St Hubert Church” Facebook page.