Let Us Build a House Where All Are Welcome
St. Luke’s Property Redevelopment
Two buildings + St. Luke’s = One Community
In 2017 St. Luke’s Church began exploring how to use our land to build a more diverse and inclusive community for all in Ballard. We identified our core values in consultation with our congregation, volunteers and guests at Edible Hope, businesses and residents. We heard common themes from everyone who participated in this visioning process.
The core values of St. Luke’s are:
- Beloved Community
- Loving Service
- Sacred Space,
- Spirit Filled
- Sustainability.
All our decisions are guided by these values.
Our current buildings were constructed without consideration of environmental sustainability or ADA accessibility. The electrical and plumbing systems are out of date. There’s no fire protection and a lot of deferred maintenance. Estimates to bring them up to snuff cost millions of dollars, which we don’t have. We began to look at alternatives. We hired professionals to help us in this process and are now in a position to move forward to construction.
To see renderings of how the buildings may look and read through the FAQs page, click here.
Affordable Family Housing
We have contracted with BRIDGE Housing who will build an 8-story residential building with 84 units of very low income (30-60% AMI), family-focused housing. Half of the units will be 2 or 3-bedroom to accommodate larger and multi-generational families. On-site services and programs will be provided by FamilyWorks nonprofit. Another 40 units of workforce housing (60-80% AMI) will be housed in the mixed use building.
Mixed Use Residential Housing
In partnership with Security Properties, a second, 8-story building fronting 22nd Ave NW will contain both market rate and workforce housing with a higher percentage of 2-bedroom units. The new church space will be located on the ground floor on the SW corner of this building.
St. Luke’s Worship & Program Space
St. Luke’s new space on the corner of 22nd and 57th will be much more than a place of worship. Beloved Community means people of all classes, races, sexual identities, ages and beliefs forming relationships with each other. There will be affordable child care programs to create that place for kids and youth, and community events to offer connection for adults and families.
We will be located on the most visible corner of our property, with nearly 14,000 square feet of space all on one level. The sanctuary and gathering spaces will all be two stories in height with offices, classrooms and storage at one story. Twenty underground parking spaces, accessed by an elevator, designated for use by the church.
Continued Land Ownership
The land will continue to be owned by the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia and both buildings are under 100-year ground leases. There will be an income stream provided through the mixed-rate building but we surrendered half the land value on the site where the affordable housing building will be located.
Construction Progress
The two buildings passed Early Design Guidance in January 2022, a Design Review public meeting in May 2023, and are now working their way through the Master Use permitting process. St. Luke’s is working with its architect, Olson Kundig on design of the new church space.
Anticipated dates for deconstruction are September, 2023 for the affordable housing by BRIDGE and early 2024 for the mixed-use Housing by Security Properties although these dates will depend on the City of Seattle.
St. Luke’s and Edible Hope During Construction
During construction, St. Luke’s will continue its mission to feed people in body, mind and spirit at a temporary location nearby. We will worship on Sundays and other religious holidays. We are talking with two local churches who are interested in hosting the congregation for worship, office space and programs.
Edible Hope Kitchen will move operations to be closer to the population we currently serve. We will continue to provide hot coffee, a meal and community to those who are on the margins and vulnerable. There will be opportunities for our volunteers to continue to serve our neighbors. We are talking with two organizations in our service area with whom we may partner to serve breakfast.
You can participate!
Our upcoming Capital Campaign will raise $1.25 Million for construction of the new church and affordable housing. We expect this project will break ground in late fall of 2023.