The First Church of Christ Scientist held its final services last October, not long after the property was sold to a local developer. As an official Seattle landmark, the exterior of the building will remain untouched. But exactly what use the building will have in its next incarnation remains up in the air.
Located at the southwest corner of 16th Avenue East and East Denny Way, the former church is currently slated to be converted into 12 high-end condominiums. Given the unique nature of the building and the continuing demand for upscale housing on the Hill, there is little doubt that the units would command a high price.
Music lover Dan Fievez has another idea. For the last 10 months, Fievez has been working to save the church building and convert it to a different use. His goal is to establish the First Center for the Performing Arts, a classical music venue and music education center. The former church has spectacular acoustics and could accommodate roughly 1,100 people for larger events.
His goals are more grand than developing a performance space. Much like Town Hall downtown (itself a former Christian Science Church), Fievez aims for a diverse arts center, one which a variety of musical organizations which lack their own performance venue could call home. The building also would accommodate smaller events and allow for musical instruction as well.
THE USUAL BARRIER
For Fievez, it comes down to money. He has yet to come up with the six-figure earnest money that would officially put the project on hold for a year and give him time to raise the rest of the funds needed to purchase the property outright.
"We're close. I'm still waiting for that one investor who can get this moving. Many people have expressed financial interest, but it just hasn't happened yet," he said.
Fievez said that the larger financing needed to buy the church is likely a quicker process than getting the initial earnest money. He's had serious conversations with one bank which, he said, provided him with a letter acknowledging its interest and stating that the project and its financial requirements are within the scope of what the bank can and wants to do. Brochures describing the project and inviting people to become members of the First Center for the Performing Arts were printed last week and are being distributed.
Despite months of involvement, Fievez remains more than enthusiastic about the project.
"This place can be a home for all kinds of musical organizations, and can serve people of all ages and abilities. Turning the church into a performing arts center would provide a marvelous resource for the neighborhood and the city," he said.
NOT OPPOSED
Joe Soecette, who owns the building, is proceeding with his plans to develop the church into luxury condominiums. While the pace of his plans has slowed in the last few months, thus providing Fievez more time to come up with the necessary funding, he isn't spending his days waiting for an offer to appear.
"I haven't spoken at length with Dan for a few months," he said. "There are no offers currently on the table. When and if there is a bona fide offer we'd seriously consider it. As we get further along this will be harder to do."
Harder, if not impossible. Several months ago, Soecette was getting very close to beginning the interior demolition work that will begin the condo construction in earnest. The church organ has been removed, and the pews have been donated to other churches. But while some structural work was done and some soil samples were taken, the interior of the church remains essentially untouched. Soecette had employees working on other projects as well. Design work also lagged slightly.
This unplanned delay has kept the idea of the performance space from completely evaporating. Once major interior work begins, the prospect of converting the church to a performance space would be lost.
"We haven't submitted for our building permits yet," he said. "We'll be going for permits as soon as we get all the documents together, maybe about 30 days."
Soecette said he remains open minded to any offer Fievez presents. In general, he likes, even favors, the idea of the church being used as a performance space. But the economics have to work. It's a valuable piece of property, one he's invested a great deal of money in. And, he added, he could get a demolition permit almost immediately.
"Dan needs to get something on the table pretty soon. We've been dabbling with our own plans, and right now the church is about 99 percent intact but it won't remain that way for long," he said. "We could be ready to start major work soon."
Fievez acknowledges that time is of the essence. He's disappointed that raising the earnest money has proved so challenging. It's been a chicken and egg problem: people want to contribute to the project but won't do so until others have contributed. He remains undeterred, but he feels the anvil over his head - the building's impending interior demolition - is hanging by a slender thread.
"Getting the money together has been difficult," he said. "I keep hearing that the larger arts organizations are always beating me to it."
Pursuing this project has been essentially a full-time job for him.
"In my mind, this can be a community asset, a place where people and musical groups can have a musical home. It can be a place for establish artists, those on their way to stardom or even personal enlightenment. This building fills what the city needs in the musical world. If we can pull this off, the community wins. If not...."
Doug Schwartz is the editor of the Capitol Hill Times. He can be reached at editor@capitolhilltimes.com or 461-1308.
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