SOS Save Old St Hubert Church

09/09/2026

With the Letter of Understanding signed, the next phase is already underway.

This week, the Save Old St. Hubert's committee signed an agreement with Fox Advancement to lead our feasibility study, the next concrete step toward full restoration of the old church.
This study builds directly on everything this community has already given: the May gathering with local leaders, the June conversation with almost 100 neighbors at the library, and now the deeper conversations that will help shape what a capital campaign for Old St. Hubert's could look like.

We're planning a kickoff event soon and will share details the moment they're set. For now, know this: the momentum this community built is turning into action.

09/06/2026

It's official.

After two and a half months of good-faith conversations, St. Hubert's Parish and the Save Old St. Hubert's committee have signed a Letter of Understanding for the future of the old church.

This agreement means we can commence the feasibility study, and if successful in identifying $1.5 million in pledges between now and November 8th, our nonprofit would then have 12 months to raise an additional $1 million for an endowment to cover ongoing maintenance and expenses, just as we proposed back in June. And there's something more. As part of the agreement, the building will be open to Christian congregations across our community, not just St. Hubert's parishioners, once restoration is complete. A landmark built by one community, now able to hold an even wider one.

139 years of history. And now, a real path forward.
Thank you to St. Hubert's Parish for working through this with us in good faith. This is what partnership looks like.

More updates coming soon as the next phase begins. Follow along and stay close.

08/08/2026

Hello Everyone,

GOOD NEWS !!!

Following 8 weeks of negotiations we finally have a mutual agreement on a Letter of Understanding (LOU) between the Save Old St Hubert Committee and its nonprofit partner Community Asset Foundation with St Hubert Parish. The agreement identifies who and how the old church may be used in the future. Fr Talbot’s email to Fr Bennet and myself recently incorporated the most recent and agreed upon changes. See his email below,

“Fr. Bennet and Jeff:
I have attached the 4th version of the Letter of Understanding regarding the St. Hubert historic church, incorporating changes from the parish and the Community asset foundation. It is ready to be signed, if everyone agrees. Since I am not pastor of St. Hubert, Fr. Bennet should sign on behalf of the parish.
Fr. Talbot”

Once executed this agreement will now allow a feasibility study to commence. It is the third step of the committee’s original vision of holding more objective community wide conversations about the fate of Chanhassen’s lone remaining historical site. The two previous discussions occurred earlier this summer with community leaders and later with almost 100 area residents. The study may be the most important step as it seeks to identify pledges for the costs of restoring the old church in the amount of $1.5 million dollars. This will be accomplished by conducting one on one conversations with prospective donors. If successful the campaign will continue as we attempt to raise an additional $1 million dollars for endowment to fund ongoing operating expenses. We will provide you with timely updates as this process continues. In the meantime a sincere thanks to all of you for your continued interest, patience and prayers 🙏.

Sent from my iPhone

07/17/2026

If Old St. Hubert’s is restored, it doesn’t just belong to one congregation. The vision for this space has always been bigger than that. A place where the broader faith community in Chanhassen, people from different traditions and different backgrounds, can gather in a building that has held this town’s history for 139 years.

Chanhassen has always been a community that finds more common ground than not. This building could be a reflection of that.

More on what that looks like as things develop.

07/15/2026

Something we want you to know.

The Letter of Understanding is in the hands of the parish. Fr. Talbot has reviewed it with legal counsel and is now in the process of requesting formal approval from the Archdiocese. That’s not a slowdown. That’s the process doing what it’s supposed to do.

These things take time. Anyone who has been part of a significant real estate or development project knows that. And this committee has been part of some of the most complex ones this parish has ever undertaken, including the land acquisition and development of the current St. Hubert’s campus, the Chapel Hill sale, and the Summerwood partnership with Presbyterian Homes.

They’ve earned the right to see this through. And they’re not going anywhere.

We’ll keep you updated as things move forward. Thank you for staying in this with us.

07/08/2026

A number of people in this community have reached out wanting to know exactly what the Save Old St. Hubert's committee has proposed to the parish. Here it is.

The committee submitted a formal Letter of Understanding to St. Hubert's Parish on June 11th. The lead committee members are the same individuals that represented the parish when the land was acquired and developed for St Hubert’s current parish/school location, negotiated and sold their former campus to Chapel Hill Academy, joined with Catholic Elder Care and Presbyterian Homes to assist Summerwood develop their current location on campus.

The terms of this LOU are simple: a 99-year lease between the parish and the nonprofit. The nonprofit takes on full financial responsibility for all restoration and all ongoing maintenance. The parish gives up nothing and risks nothing financially.

That proposal came from this community. From the people who showed up, donated, shared their memories, and kept asking what comes next. The committee is here to carry that forward.

We are waiting, respectfully and in good faith, for their response. Included here is the actual letter for your deeper understanding. This is all public and we share it here so you too can be informed.

07/03/2026

Tomorrow, America turns 250.

Old St. Hubert's Church has been standing for 139 of those years.

That's more than half of everything this country has ever been. More than half of every war fought, every generation raised, every chapter written in the story of this nation. And through all of it, that steeple has been part of the Chanhassen skyline.
We tend to think of 139 years as a long time. And it is. But when you set it against 250 years of America, it stops feeling like history and starts feeling like something else. Something living. Something that belongs to us.

On a day set aside for remembering what endures, we think about that.
Happy Independence Day , Chanhassen. 🇺🇸

07/02/2026

The Save Old St. Hubert's committee has put a formal proposal on the table. We call it a Letter of Understanding, and we believe it is fair to the church, fair to the committee, and above all, fair to this community.

The terms are straightforward. The parish would enter into a 99-year lease with our nonprofit. In return, the nonprofit takes on full financial responsibility for restoration and all ongoing maintenance costs. The parish gives nothing up and risks nothing financially. The community gets to keep one of the last historic landmarks in Chanhassen.

We think that's a fair deal. We hope the parish does too.

This proposal is now in the hands of St. Hubert's Parish leadership. We are waiting, respectfully and in good faith, for their response. And we remain ready to move forward the moment they are.

If you believe this building deserves a chance, this is the moment to say so. Share this post. Let the community know where things stand.


Read our most recent article in Carver County Local News
https://cclocalnews.org/2026/07/01/future-of-old-st-hubert-church-remains-uncertain/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=jetpack_social&fbclid=IwY2xjawSzX6NleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETF3c2hQdzk2Y2pRaHV1c2VYc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHuSzwDv86Gb_2UTK9PDzedyi_FynWH9w4qhsFiCr_9tRW0Zoiy-bx5Y5YdJm_aem_bszifio_UPfNNqfSrMaHFA

Despite a seemingly growing wave of support for the restoration of Old St. Hubert Church in Chanhassen, the last remaining historic building in the community still faces an uncertain future. A nonp…

06/29/2026

This effort has always been about community. And community this big deserves leadership you can trust.

The people leading the Save Old St. Hubert's committee aren't newcomers to Chanhassen or to St. Hubert's. Several are third and fourth generation members of this community. Others have deep roots here and a long track record of service. These aren't people passing through. They're people who will be here long after this campaign ends, still invested in both communities.

Their experience with this place runs deep. Committee members were involved in the relocation to St. Hubert's current campus, the sale of its former location to Chapel Hill Academy, the original construction of the current church and school, and the school's subsequent expansion.

One member served with distinction as one of St. Hubert's lay trustees and Treasurer for over 18 years. Another served as head of the parish's building committee and real estate liaison for the sale and purchase of church property. They've also been part of some of the most significant public and private development projects across Carver and Scott County over the past four decades.

It's that depth of experience that shapes how they're looking at restoration costs, and why their independent analysis lands where it does: approximately $1.5 million. Not $3 million. Not $4 million. $1.5 million, confirmed through updated engineering and cost modeling done by people who have actually built and restored buildings for decades.

And here's what makes that number feel different than it sounds.
Historic churches across this country have been saved through the exact same combination this building has going for it: capital campaigns, named giving opportunities, and community fundraising rooted in the kind of deep loyalty Old St. Hubert's has earned over 139 years. This committee has been part of significant Catholic capital campaigns in this region. They know how these efforts come together, and they believe this one can too.

What drives them isn't just experience. It's a genuine love for this community and for what this old church means to the generations of people whose lives have been marked by it.

They've assembled a team of skilled professionals to support the work ahead, including community engagement specialists, communications support, and experienced fundraising counsel.

Every piece is in place.

The question now is whether the community will join them.


City of Chanhassen, Minnesota Government Chanhassen Historical Society Chapel Hill Academy

06/26/2026

The feasibility study is funded. You did that. This community showed up and made it real.

Here's what comes next.

Before moving forward, the Save Old St. Hubert's Committee and the parish must have a formal agreement in place. This isn't a technicality. This agreement defines what every serious supporter of this effort will want to know before getting behind it financially: how the property will be owned, what it will be used for, and what the committee is committing to in order to see this restoration through.

Donors don't write checks to good intentions. They write checks to clear plans with solid foundations. This agreement is that foundation.

The committee is ready. The plan is real. The community support is documented. What we're working toward now is the framework that turns all of that into something a donor can stand behind with confidence.

We're not at the finish line. But we're closer than we've ever been. And we're not going anywhere.

Follow Save Old St. Huberts Church and stay close as this moves forward.

📷 Credit Star Tribune

City of Chanhassen, Minnesota Government Chanhassen Historical Society