Selling the Sky, Keeping the Church: Seattle’s Trinity Parish Makes Way for a 30-Storey Tower

• Trinity Parish Episcopal Church in Seattle owns the whole 31,000-square-foot parcel at Eighth and James.
• It is selling air rights over the northern half to Caydon Property Group of Melbourne, Australia.
• Caydon plans a 30-storey tower with 260 condos at 609 Eighth Avenue.
• Three floors of the new building are set aside for church facilities; the 1892 church is unaffected.

One of Seattle’s oldest congregations has found a way to fund its future without selling its church. The Daily Journal of Commerce reported that an Australian developer plans a 30-storey condo tower on the Trinity Parish site on First Hill.

Trinity Episcopal Church owns the entire 31,000-square-foot parcel. It will keep ownership of the land and sell the air rights over its northern half to Caydon Property Group of Melbourne. The tower at 609 Eighth Avenue would have 260 condos, 195 below-grade parking spaces and 19,000 square feet of amenity space, in a building of 360,500 square feet overall. The historic church at Eighth and James will not be affected, and the courtyard facing Eighth Avenue will be preserved.

Three floors of the new building are designated for church facilities, including a new parish hall, assembly space and offices, and the nonprofits the church houses will get more room. Trinity was established in Seattle in 1865 and has been at Eighth and James since 1892; it was rebuilt after a 1902 fire and underwent a $7 million seismic retrofit in 2005.

Caydon founder Joe Russo said: “Building adjacent to Trinity Church is an honor, and we take the responsibility that comes along with it seriously.” The Rev Jeffrey Gill said: “This redevelopment will help us continue to nourish the heart and soul of Seattle long into the future.”

Selling air rights, or leasing land for development while keeping ownership, lets a church unlock the value of a city-centre site without giving up its sanctuary. Jamaican churches on valuable urban plots in Kingston, Montego Bay or other growing towns could look at similar structures, such as ground leases or joint ventures, if planning rules allow. The key is keeping the title and securing space in the new building, as Trinity did. For investors, church partnerships can offer prime locations that would otherwise never come to market.

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