3:57 PM
Congregation likes plan to save old building downtown
Praise the Lord and pass the blueprints for Belltown church
By KATHY MULADY
P-I REPORTER
First United Methodist Church members embraced an offer Sunday that could save the seemingly doomed historic church in downtown Seattle from the wrecking ball.
The offer would preserve the old sanctuary for public use and provide cash and property for the group to build a new church in Belltown.
Mike Kane / P-I
The 1907 First United Methodist Church at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Columbia Street would be preserved under a proposal from developer Nitze-Stagen.
The Sunday meeting was the latest in a controversy this summer over the future of the historic building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Columbia Street.
Just three months ago, the same congregation voted overwhelmingly to accept an offer from skyscraper developer Martin Selig that would give them a new church in Belltown, but would require them to first tear down their existing church, which was built in 1907.
"That kind of kicked off the activity. The threat of demolition on this site was taken seriously," said Kurt Armbruster, a member of the church building committee.
Soon after the June vote, two other developers, Nitze-Stagen and Sabey Corp., which owns the Seattle P-I building, raced to First United Methodist with alternatives to save the sanctuary.
Elected officials, including Mayor Greg Nickels, King County Executive Ron Sims and King County Councilman Dow Constantine tried to encourage church officials to consider the alternatives.
Mike Kane / P-I
First United Methodist Church members meet for Sunday services. They are expected to vote next month on a plan to save the church.
The delay frustrated Selig, who withdrew his offer in August. Sabey's offer faded around the same time, after several City Council members said they wouldn't support part of Sabey's plan. Sabey would have required eliminating height restrictions on property to be built across the street from City Hall.
The congregation is expected to vote on the Nitze-Stagen proposal next month.
Kevin Daniels, president of Nitze-Stagen, was greeted almost as a white knight Sunday as he outlined his proposal to the congregation and answered questions.
Congregation member Lisa Newbury-Smith, a fan of historic architecture, said she was saddened by the plan to raze the 99-year-old sanctuary, but remains convinced that people are more important than buildings.
Under the latest proposal, First United Methodist will be able to continue, and possibly expand, its food and shelter programs in Belltown, said the church pastor, the Rev. Kathlyn James.
Church officials have said that their mission of serving the homeless is hampered by the cost of maintaining the crumbling building, which was further damaged during the Nisqually Quake.
"I love this building, my kids love this building. It is beautiful, but it is too big and too expensive for us," Newbury-Smith said.
Mike Kane / P-I
The Rev. Kathlyn James, First United Methodist Church
Wolf said:
but it's good to see some other demo guys are interested in trying to save these landmarks sometimes too.
[font=Verdana]I think there is a lot of us, there are times, believe it or not, that I hate to see a building get demolished. [/font]
[font=Verdana]Although with some people of the community (city) would say tearing down a 1956 building that is depleted, windows are broken out, and they have homeless leaving in there, can be rehabbed. They think money grows on trees. In many instances it
3:26 PM
I would be sad to see it go too. That is a beautiful old church--have been inside it many times and it is a landmark when you come off the freeway. Wondering why they can't build the tower above it or around it--or at least preserve part of the facade in the new building. Oh, well, I guess that's progress, but it's good to see some other demo guys are interested in trying to save these landmarks sometimes too.
[font=Verdana]A year short of its 100th birthday, [/font][font=Verdana]First[/font][font=Verdana] [/font][font=Verdana]United[/font][font=Verdana] [/font][font=Verdana]Methodist[/font][font=Verdana] [/font][font=Verdana]Church[/font][font=Verdana] in downtown [/font][font=Verdana]Seattle[/font][font=Verdana] is facing demolition to make way for a 33-story skyscraper. But preservationists, hoping to rescue a piece of [/font][font=Verdana]Seattle[/font][font=Verdana] history, are wondering: Can it be relocated rather than razed?[/font]
[font=Verdana]A coalition of preservation groups is working on a last-ditch plan to save the 1907 church at [/font][font=Verdana]811 Fifth Ave.[/font][font=Verdana] by moving it to a different location. Money may be available for the move, but that still leaves a host of other complications to work out.[/font]
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[font=Verdana][font=Verdana]High-rise developer Martin Selig has made a deal with First Methodist, giving the congregation part of a block he owns at [/font][font=Verdana]Third Avenue[/font][font=Verdana] and [/font][font=Verdana]Battery Street[/font][font=Verdana] in Belltown in exchange for the church property. Under the agreement, the church is required to tear down the distinctive, domed sanctuary before Selig takes ownership.[/font]
[font=Verdana] [/font]
[font=Verdana]I wish the could do this, but I think the cost of the move would out way building
[font=Verdana]I do have to say I will miss this church building. It's one that as soon as you exit 1-5 it's right there, it's like a "sign" Welcome to Seattle.[/font]
[font=Verdana][/font][font=Verdana][/font][font=Verdana][/font][font=Verdana][/font]
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[font=Verdana]Seattle skyscraper developer Martin Selig has struck a deal to acquire the property where First United Methodist Church has stood for nearly a century, frustrating historic preservation advocates who had hoped to save the distinctive building from demolition. [/font]
[font=Verdana]Basically a land swap, the agreement gives First United Methodist part of a block owned by Selig at [/font][font=Verdana]Third Avenue[/font][font=Verdana] and [/font][font=Verdana]Battery Street[/font][font=Verdana] in Belltown. A vacant one-story building is there now. The congregation plans to build a new church with underground parking and space to continue its ministry of serving the homeless.[/font]
[font=Verdana]The 1907 brick and terra-cotta church with stained-glass windows would be demolished before the property is turned over to Selig. The permit for the property allows construction of a 33-story office tower; however, Selig hasn't confirmed what he has planned for the site at 811 Fifth Ave.[/font]
[font=Verdana]Dave McNeal, co-chairman of the church's building advisory board, said the congregation supports the plan. [/font]
[font=Verdana]"It doesn't mean we will just glibly walk out the door by any stretch of the imagination," McNeal said. "This building has served us well for almost a century and is steeped in all kinds of memories."[/font]
[font=Verdana]The deal is a blow to Friends of First United Methodist Church, the historic preservation group that organized two years ago to save the church. [/font]
[font=Verdana]Last fall the group lost its legal battle when the state Court of Appeals upheld an earlier decision that the church can't be stopped, for landmark preservation purposes, from demolishing the building. [/font]
[font=Verdana]Preservationists held out hope that they might be able to find another solution to save the domed structure.[/font]
[font=Verdana]Lack of parking is a problem. So is the constant cost of maintaining an old building. The church was damaged in the Nisqually Quake, requiring $350,000 in repairs. There are high ongoing maintenance costs.[/font]
[font=Verdana]James said the new location has exciting possibilities.[/font]
[font=Verdana]"We have spent a lot of time dreaming," she said. "It will be wonderful to be in a vibrant neighborhood instead of a commercial district. We can continue our work with the homeless and our feeding program. We want to include a shelter in our new building."[/font]
[font=Verdana]Mike Hassenger, principal at Seneca Real Estate Group, which is representing the church, said that if all goes well, construction of the new church in Belltown could begin by the middle of next year.[/font]
[font=Verdana]ABOUT FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH[/font]
[font=Verdana]YEAR BUILT: [/font][font=Verdana]1907[/font]
[font=Verdana]ARCHITECTURAL STYLE: [/font][font=Verdana]Beaux Arts[/font]
[font=Verdana]SIGNIFICANCE: [/font][font=Verdana]In 2003, the National Trust for Historic Preservation labeled the sanctuary the "poster child" for what it called an epidemic: the demolition of American urban religious structures.[/font]
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