The pews at the First United Church at Hastings and Gore streets have been makeshift shelter beds for the neighbourhood's homeless for years.
Now that the Downtown Eastside is under pressure by developers, Rev. Ric Matthews is taking the first step to ensure residents get a permanent home - by razing the church and constructing a development that would provide housing and social services for hundreds of people.
It's not a pipe dream, the $30 million project is already in the early stages of planning and fundraising.
"As a church we are called to be at the margins of society," Matthews said. "So we work with issues like poverty, addiction, mental illness every day. The idea of this housing entity is what would you put in the building if you had a magic wand."
It would host a range of social services on the first few floors and shelter space - affordable and supportive housing - on the rest.
It would also ensure the DTES remains an inclusive community once market housing floods in.
Matthews spent the last year lobbying politicians on the idea and says feedback has been positive - though no money has been committed.
The church's board will vote on the direction of the proposal Jan. 16 before moving forward with design.
