Heavenly house: Ottawa woman buys church to turn into dream home

OTTAWA -

The hot housing market has some people stepping outside the real estate box. One Ottawa woman found a heavenly deal that she hopes to turn into her dream home. 

Morgan Rukiewicz has bought the old Maxville United Church, and has big plans to renovate it.

“I am a millennial and a single mom, and the housing market since COVID has skyrocketed,” Rukiewicz said. “I have never been the traditional cookie-cutter person that wanted a townhouse in Barrhaven. I saw a church and I thought. ‘Oh that would be cool.’”

The church was built in 1926 and is located in Maxville, Ont., just southwest of Ottawa. It closed in 2019 and has been rezoned as a residential property. The 33-year-old bought it this spring for just under $350,000.

“I got this church for a smoking deal,” she says. “You would not be able to buy a one-bedroom apartment in downtown Ottawa for what I paid for this.”

Sitting at 2,500 square feet, with 50-foot ceilings in the sanctuary, renovating the building will be no easy task.

But on a tour with CTV News Ottawa, Rukiewicz says she’s up for it.

“I grew up in a family that does a lot of renovations, so I have doing them my whole life,” she says. “Something like this doesn’t scare me.”

Morgan Rukiewicz bought Maxville United Church, and has big plans to renovate it into a home. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

The choir area and pipe organ will become the master bedroom, she said. The outside of the building will also get a new look with a fresh coat of paint, and a new front door.

Rukiewicz says it should take about two years, and she plans on saving by doing most of the work herself.

“I have a son, I am a single parent, I come home at night time and I pretty much go from about 4 pm to one in the morning and then I do it all over again.”

She says she plans on taking divine inspiration from the building itself, keeping the stain glass windows and repurposing some of the wood.

“We ripped up the red carpet in (the main room) and found stunning hardwood,” explains Rukiewicz. “It needs to be refinished, but it is beautiful.”

Morgan Rukiewicz bought Maxville United Church, and has big plans to renovate it into a home. (Leah Larocque/CTV News Ottawa)

Her favorite part of the house, she says, is the bell tower. It will become a deck and fire pit, complete with heavenly views of Maxville. 

Does Rukiewicz have any superstitions about living in a church? She just shakes her head.

“My son slept through the whole night the first night. So I don’t think there are any ghosts,” she laughs, adding that she is ready to bring her new home to life. 

“It doesn’t scare me off,” she says. “It motivates me to bring my vision to life!”