April 8, 2026

A procession of churches hits the block, one landmarked

Photo via NAI Puget Sound Properties [enlarge]

For curb appeal, you can’t beat the former Capitol Hill United Methodist Church.

We're in the midst of Easter season, cherry trees and daffodils are budding, so it's time to put some churches on the market. Fresh listings are sprouting on the Eastside and Mercer Island, in South Seattle, and on Capitol Hill. Let's take a look!

CBRE is offering at least five properties long owned by the Mormon Church (aka the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or LDS). The biggest asking price, at $11.7 million, is for the Bellevue property at 10675 N.E. 20th St. That's in the Ashwood neighborhood (or Northtowne, per the brokers), a little west of Interstate 405, not far from the QFC on Bellevue Way.

Zoning, of course, is single family. So the 3.6-acre expanse is surely bound for a subdivision under new ownership. The vacant church complex dates to 1965, and now looks to be a tear-down. The brokers at CBRE are Ryan and Steve Brunette, with no stated deadline for offers.

Photos via CBRE [enlarge]

In the LDS portfolio, the Bellevue church property carries the highest price tag.

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The LDS church at 13220 N.E. 132nd St., in the Totem Lake area of Kirkland

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Near White Center, here is an LDS property at 9500 Myers Way S.

The same duo is also offering the 2.5-acre Mercer Island LDS property, at 4001 Island Crest Way. That's well south of the commercial area and light-rail station, near Homestead Field and Clise Park, also with single-family zoning. The asking price is just over $6 million, again with no deadline for offers.

The church dates to 1990, and is said to be vacant. Per the listing, “This property presents a once in a lifetime opportunity for a religious or civic, or other congregate group to acquire an irreplaceable location on Mercer Island.” Housing seems the more likely path.

So, too, the offering at 13220 N.E. 132nd St., which is in the Totem Lake area of Kirkland. That property offers about 3.3 acres, and the asking price is $7.3 million. The buildings are from 1989. The property is near the city's 132nd Square Park, and the county's Kirkland Heights apartment complex. So there might be some zoning flexibility there.

Over in Redmond, at 7115 224th Ave. N.E. (on Union Hill Road), that LDS property has about 5.3 acres. It's well east of town, in a mostly single-family area. The asking price is $4 million. The building dates to 2000, and is evidently empty.

Then, way down south near White Center, just west of Highway 509, is an LDS property at 9500 Myers Way S. That offers about 2.4 acres with intriguing C2-75 (M) zoning. An industrial building or self-storage facility might result. The ask is about $7 million. The church is 26 years old, and also apparently vacant.

Lastly, from NAI Puget Sound Properties, is what it calls the Catalysis Building. If that name doesn't scan, think first of the Kaiser Permanente complex on Capitol Hill. Immediately east of that is the former Capitol Hill United Methodist Church, at 1601 E. John St., on the corner of 16th Avenue.

Here we're talking about a landmarked structure from 1906, which can't be demolished to make way for townhouses. The brokers are Rick Page and John Werdel. The ask is $9.5 million, with no deadline for offers. A mostly two-story structure has around 18,844 square feet, including a mezzanine and basement. We won't count the belfry.

As-is, say the brokers, “This owner-user opportunity is ideal for a wide range of professional users including architecture, engineering, graphic design, interior design, legal, private club and other creative or technical firms.”

They also mention possible multifamily conversion, which would be an ambitious undertaking for a building that's on the city roster of unreinforced masonry structures (aka the URM list). There's a narrow surface parking strip, making a companion building unlikely. Google Earth shows about a dozen surface parking stalls.

The old bricks were originally home to First Methodist Protestant Church. That was designed in a generally Gothic style by Pennsylvania architect John Charles Fulton (per PCAD). Historian Paul Dorpat says First Methodist is the city's second oldest congregation, founded in 1865; it moved from downtown after the new Capitol Hill church, its second location, was built by local firm Layton & White.

Digital marketing shop Catalysis bought the building in 2003. Before that, it was owned and converted to offices by the architecture firm once known as Arai Jackson, which acquired the property in 1992. The church was landmarked in 1977, well before that sale.

Church buildings can't be landmarked without the church's consent, since that would be an infringement of religion. Today, when a congregation sells, the land is always more valuable than the tear-down building — so landmarking is eschewed, and demolition generally follows. Decades ago, that wasn't such a consideration, leaving the former Capitol Hill UMC building in the company of Trinity Church, Seattle First Baptist Church and a few others that are now locked in landmarking amber.

The postwar LDS portfolio is a different story, and a more direct path to new construction.