A Movie Theatre Church Becomes 255 Affordable Homes: Seattle Mennonites Sell Their Campus for $7.75 Million

• Seattle Mennonite bought a former movie theatre in the late 1980s for $350,000
• Its 1.3-acre campus is being sold to Community Roots Housing for $7.75 million
• About 255 affordable homes are planned in two eight-storey buildings
• The church will own new ground-floor worship space

A Seattle congregation is selling its campus to make way for hundreds of affordable homes, Anabaptist World reported in November 2022.

Seattle Mennonite Church in the Lake City neighbourhood worships in a former movie theatre it bought in the late 1980s for $350,000. Over the years it acquired neighbouring office buildings, assembling a 1.3-acre complex used for worship, classrooms, offices and space leased to nonprofits. It is selling the property to Community Roots Housing for $7.75 million, about $1 million below market value.

The plan is for about 255 affordable homes in two eight-storey buildings, with rents at half the market average for households earning up to 50 per cent of the area median income. The church will own ground-floor space in one building, with a sanctuary, offices, classrooms and a kitchen. Construction was expected to take about two years, during which the congregation would need a temporary home.

“We were not purchasing real estate to be magnates or to support our budget,” said administrator Lee Murray. “We were assembling a church campus with the idea that eventually it would be revealed to us how to use it to meet community needs.” Pastor Megan Ramer said the sale proceeds would not be a windfall: “That $7.75 million that we’re ‘making’ in this sale is going to be gone in a redevelopment of church space.”

The deal shows how land assembled over decades can become the basis for a large housing project, and how the church can keep a permanent home within it.

Jamaican churches holding urban land near transport and services could explore similar partnerships with housing developers. A sale below market value can support affordable homes, while owning the new worship space protects the congregation’s future. Professional advice on valuation and contracts is essential.

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