Stony Plain church can be bought for $1

It may be the Holy Grail for bargain hunters in Alberta's real-estate market — a century-old chapel in Stony Plain is up for sale at a bargain price of $1.

Hope Christian Reformed Church comes complete with a vaulted ceiling, stained-glass windows and a 50-foot-high steeple.

The only catch? The buyer will be responsible for removing the chapel from its current location.

"It's such a landmark; it would be a shame to tear it down," said Pastor Jacob Boer, who says relocating the building off the church-owned property could cost up to $30,000.

The building, adjacent to a historic cemetery, has been mostly vacant since the mid-1980s when a new church was built on a neighbouring property.

Boer says members were using the old building for youth-group activities, weddings and other events for a while, but operation costs have become too much for the dwindling congregation.

"The decision was made that we really can't maintain both, and we're hoping that someone would be able to love the building as much as the church congregation here has loved it," Boer said.

The congregation offered the church, which was built in 1912,  to a number of historical groups but was turned down, and made the difficult decision to put it up for sale on Kijiji. 

Boer says the church has become a symbol of home for many in the community. He hopes the character of the church will be maintained, and it won't be moved too far from its current location.

"We have so many members who have been baptized there and have been married there . . . so it's a big part of their faith journey. So their prayer is that someone will use it."