If you peruse Peoria real estate listings, you may have noticed a beautiful, historic church for sale on North East Madison Avenue. Looking closer at the listing, you might also notice: it's listed as four beds, two baths and single family residential.
William Buckner is the owner of the former St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church. He has a lot of fondness for the historic building and is hopeful for its future as a family home or the place of worship for a new congregation.
When I visit the property, Buckner swings the large red double doors at the front of the church open to reveal a sanctuary still full of pews, all of the workings of a massive pipe organ and his canine companion Brock.
Buckner is a real estate investor. He says the church is the latest of seven properties he's renovated to potentially flip. He's also an entrepreneur and creative, with some work in music and film.
The interest in churches, however, developed somewhat recently.
“I got interested in churches checking out a small chapel in Colorado,” he said. “That was about five years ago and I’ve kept my eye out for churches ever since, because I thought it would be a really good home.”
Buckner traveled to Peoria shortly after seeing the listing. He says he was one of the first people to view the church and made an offer to the Episcopal Diocese within three hours.
“I’m interested in old architecture, stone architecture,” said Buckner. “I’ve been to a lot of temples all over the place.”
With a beautiful stone exterior still intact, Buckner went to work on the inside of the church. A large basement was converted into a living space, with a TV, a workspace, gym equipment, couches and tables. Three classrooms became bedrooms. The large kitchen is mostly untouched.
There are some aesthetic changes too, Buckner removed low drop ceilings in a couple of rooms. In other places he cleaned and applied a new coat of paint.
“Just freshening it up. The structure is in great shape already,” said Buckner. “There used to be carpet on the walls, it used to be a daycare for a while. There was a lot of old furniture in here that had to be removed.”
Fortunately, the inner workings of the church are still operational. There's heating, cooling and natural gas, all still fully functional for the church he calls home.
Buckner is careful that his changes and updates don't change the overall nature of the building. He says he sees himself as a caretaker, as well as a renovator.
“I want to keep the integrity, I don’t want to change it up that much,” Buckner said. “I feel like, eventually, I hope that it is used for a church again.”
Buckner himself is very religious. He says the Bible and scripture are incredibly important to him.
“There’s nothing else more important for us to know,” he said. “It’s our story, it’s his story. There’s no other book that more other books rely on.”
So Buckner says he would love to see another congregation call the church home one day. At the same time, he's put some effort into learning about the very first worshippers to fill the pews after construction on the church finished.
“The land here was left by John Birket. It was built in 1897. The Birkets came here with the intention to build an Episcopal church and an Episcopal school,” said Buckner. “Some of his letters back home regarding this are in the book ‘Invisible Immigrants’ by Charlotte Erickson.”
Buckner says the church has a lot of history and it's an honor for him to be the owner for a little while. He also says it's been fulfilling personally to wake up each day in a hallowed space.
“It’s also inspirational,” he said. “Living in a structure like this, it affects you. It’s gonna have an effect. It’s going to inspire you, it’s going to push you a little bit. I think it has. It’s changed me. It’s made me a better person really.”
When asked about the challenges, he says there are very few. The church's old elevator got stuck on one occasion, though he was able to find his own way out, and the costs of utilities are a bit higher than your average house.
That's to be expected, as the church sprawls across 9,621 square feet. For comparison, the average American single family home comes in around 2,000 square feet, according to the United States Census Bureau.
But Buckner says the benefits outweigh the challenges. He says it feels like a castle some days. Beautiful afternoon light streams through dozens of ornate stained glass windows. Plus, there's plenty of room for him and his dog to run around.
“All of that, it’s very cool, unique,” said Buckner. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience to be able to do this man. I can’t imagine anybody else not wanting to do it, you know?”
For anyone who might be considering it as a home, he compares it to loft living: comfortable quarters in big open spaces.
Plus, Buckner says, the neighborhood is great and he was drawn to Peoria from the very beginning.
“I looked at several churches before I ended up purchasing this one,” he said. “Different cities, you get different vibes. When I came to Peoria it seemed super chill. People are super friendly. So, yeah, good vibe from you guys.”
The property is listed for sale with Jessica Ball of RE/MAX Traders Unlimited, you can find more photos here or here.
