The 1910 church's annex, about a third of the building, will be demolished for an office tower. (Save Our Sanctuary)

After more than a decade of discord over the future of the First United Methodist Church in Seattle, the historic sanctuary is finally on the path to salvation.

In May, Kevin Daniels, president of the local development firm Nitze-Stagen, local lawmakers, and church representatives finally inked a deal that will keep the sanctuary standing but allow a 40-story tower in place of its annex.

The 1910 church is home to a community- service organization, serving more than 60,000 meals a year to the poor and providing meeting space for groups that assist in the recovery of alcoholics and addicts. However, the church's mission, which included a need for a hygiene clinic and several suitable meeting spaces, no longer fit well with the building, and the 600-member congregation approved a plan to sell the property to a local developer that had plans to demolish the structure and replace it with a skyscraper. With the money from the sale, a new church would be built nearby that would better meet the needs of the congregation.

Instead, preservationists protested the potential demolition of the terra cotta-domed church, going so far as to take the church leaders to court in 1996 over First United's right to develop the land and tear down a historic property. Courts ruled in favor of First United; however, local political leaders such as Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels continued to advocate for the preservation of the church.

Now the sanctuary will be saved and restored, with an estimated $1 million from the National Trust's for-profit subsidiary, the National Trust Community Investment Corporation (NTCIC). The sanctuary will also be re-nominated for city landmark status, which would protect it from demolition in the future. An annex next to the church will be demolished to make room for a 40-story office tower. And the First United members will also get what they need: Nitze-Stagen agreed to build a new church for the congregation on a nearby property by Fall 2010.

"Over the years we had made so many approaches to this project, and we just couldn't reach an agreement," says John Leith-Tetrault, president of the NTCIC. "When Kevin Daniels stepped in, he was like a white knight for this building. I was very surprised and very pleased to learn an agreement had been reached."

Read more about the NTCIC in the "Your Trust" section of the September/October 2007 issue of Preservation, or online at www.ntcicfunds.com.

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