A drop in price, a developer willing to back out of a deal, a church's capital campaign that switched into high gear years ahead of schedule, and perhaps a little divine intervention combined last week to save the Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist on Queen Anne Hill.
The new owner of the 1926-era building on Eighth Avenue West is the Seattle Church of Christ, said Seventh Church board member Chuck Bergstrom on Friday, Aug. 31. "It closed today," he said of a $1.56- million deal that spares the church from demolition.
The congregation at the neighborhood church had dwindled to less than a dozen, and the building was put up for sale because it needed repairs the Christian Scientists couldn't afford, church spokesman Scott Davis said at the time.
And developer David Fletcher of TM Homes LLC stepped in with an offer to buy the property, tear down the church and an office wing, and replace them with four new homes.
The news of the pending sale met with sharp criticism from many Queen Anne residents, the community council, the Queen Anne Neighbors for Responsible Growth and the Queen Anne Historical Society, historical society president John Hennes pointed out.
The Washington Trust for Historic Preservation also stepped into the fray, putting the church on this year's list of "Most Endangered Historical Properties."
There were also environmental concerns about the project - especially for Jorge Baron and his wife Tyler Crone. They live right next door to the church and were worried that the demolition would expose their young children to the harmful effects of lead paint on and inside the church.
Still, the Department of Planning and Development issued a demolition permit for the project, said DPD spokesman Alan Justad. Baron and Crone promptly appealed the demolition permit, joining four other appellants that included the Queen Anne Historical Society.
A city Hearing Examiner sided with the neighbors and the neighborhood groups, sending the permit back to DPD for a more thorough environmental review, Justad said.
TO THE RESCUE
The Seattle Church of Christ, which was formed 18 years ago, has been renting space in other buildings all that time, said Charles Robinson, chair of the church's building committee.
But the congregation had started scouting around a few years ago for a permanent home, and a capital campaign was launched last March, he said at the end of a congregation work party at the church last Saturday.
The goal was to get enough money together to buy something in about three years, Robinson added. "We were praying for a free church, honestly," he smiled.
"We looked at this church about one-and-a-half years ago," said Pastor Jay Kelly, who heads up the congregation. There was a problem, though. "They were asking $2.3 million," he recounted. "We couldn't afford it."
That changed.
"TH Homes graciously stepped aside," added Bergstrom from the Christian Scientists. And the Seattle Church of Christ was able to raise a $500,000 down payment and got commitments from congregation members for the balance of the $1.56-million price tag, Pastor Kelly said. The Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist is also carrying the loan contract, he added.
Kelly was hesitant to claim that God had a hand in the deal, but he acknowledged that buying the church's first home wasn't easy. "There were so many obstacles," the pastor noted.
One of them was making sure the building wasn't in danger of falling apart, according to Steve Kaeyser, a member of the building committee. But the congregation had a structural engineer inspect the church, and it passed muster, he said. "I was amazed by the building."
Kelly said the church currently has between 260 and 270 regular members, and he expects the numbers to increase. "We're definitely a growing church, and we're focused on community outreach," the pastor said.
But Kelly hopes those numbers don't translate into a parking problem for the neighborhood. "We're certainly going to work hard not to bother the neighbors," he said.
'SMILES ALL AROUND'
"We're happy the building is going to be preserved," said Baron, the next-door neighbor worried about lead exposure. The sale showed that the church could remain standing, he said, adding one caveat. "We still think there's an issue of demolition and lead paint," Baron said. "The issue ... is not going away."
QAHS president Hennes is also pleased that the church won't be torn down. "I really wanted that to be preserved," he said. "It's a handsome building."
Hennes also said the struggle over preserving the 81-year-old church helped raise public awareness about historical buildings disappearing at an increasingly rapid clip in Seattle. "If nobody had said anything [about the Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist], it would have faded out."
Bergstrom, from the old church, said the congregation members will join another Christian Scientist church in the University District, and he's glad the ordeal is over.
"We've had a lot of bad publicity," Bergstrom said. "We were in the unfortunate position of doing something the community didn't want," he said of the planned demolition. "We didn't either."
Both Bregstrom and members of Seattle Church of Christ at last weekend's work party said neighborhood reaction has been positive about the sale of the building. It's been "smiles all around," is how Bergstrom put it.
Staff reporter Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlinki.com or 461-1309.
[[In-content Ad]]
