For sale signs leave Third Avenue United Church followers in limbo

The future of Saskatoon's Third Avenue United Church has been up in the airand thingsjust got cloudier.

The owners of the property have put the downtown lot for sale, less than one year after seizing it as collateral from former owner John Orr.

"It's putting high stress on the congregation," said Kenneth Holmes, chair of the 60-to-80-member congregation's board, of the For Sale signs that went up recently.

"They don't know how long they're going to be allowed to stay in the church."

Interest from 'a few parties'

Dale Anderson, the co-owner of the lot, says he put it on the market "because I had some other interested parties that were very interested in purchasing it."

While that opportunity fell through, other interested buyers have since emerged.

"We've been talking to a few parties on and off," he said.

Holmes says he expected the lot to go up for sale, but not so soon. Now he's wondering if the church will have to quickly hightail it should a sale occur.

Further complicating matters, Holmes says, is that the church is waiting on a Court of Queen's Bench decision on who the church is leasing the building from, asOrr has contested Anderson's ownership of the property in court.

"As far as the courts are concerned, they have not decided yet whether there will be a continuation of [our]lease into the next ownership," said Holmes.

The church's lease with Orr is set to expire inJune 2018.

Heritage status held up by board

The For Sale signs aren't the only thing hanging over the congregation.

The City of Saskatoon has recommended to city councillors that the church building be preserved as a municipal heritage site.

• Saskatoon organization seeks heritage designation for Third Avenue United Church

While that's good news for the congregation,Orr has opposed that designation, which has put the preservation effort into a limbo of its own.

Orr's appeal means the Saskatchewan Heritage Foundation's appeals board mustmake a recommendation to the city about the appropriateness of the heritage designation.

That recommendation, while not legally binding, is needed before city councillors can move forward to createthe bylaw cementing the church's protected status.

"We're anxiously awaiting that recommendation," said Randy Grauer, the city's general manager of community services, adding that the board's decision is expected "in the next month or so."

In an email to CBC News, the provincial government's Heritage Conservation Branch, which oversees the review board,said it's working with the city to hold a hearing into Orr's appeal in July. Theboard then has 30 days after the hearing to make its recommendation.

As for what's taking so long:"The referral came during the process of new members being appointed to the board."

The delay is frustrating Holmes.

"We're very disappointed that it's taken so long," he said.

Building protected no matter what: city

The church's heritage status would protect it against future demolition, but even without that designation, the church building itself is safe, says Grauer.

For one, any company looking to take the building would need city council to sign off on the demolition permit, he said.

And until the property's ownership riddle gets solved in court, "there'sa Queen's Bench order that protects this building from sudden demolition," said Grauer.

"I just want to make sure to dispel any notion that the building, because it hasn't been designated yet, that it's not a protected building," he said.